Spurs 'n Surrender (Operation Cowboy Book 2)(16)

“Bro, ease up. What’s the rush?” Garrett stared at him. That look he wore was too similar to the one he’d had after seeing Wydell’s raw, burned flesh.

He rubbed his gloved hand over his forearm and shook his head. “Just want to get this done.”

“So you can get back to Miss Texas?”

He pushed a breath through his nose. “No. She and I aren’t cut out for each other.”

“Why’s that?” Garrett’s casual tone didn’t fool him—not after watching each other’s backs for so many years. Still, Wydell humored him.

“For one, she’s prissy. Know-it-all.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. She’s difficult to work with.”

“A woman who knows her mind isn’t a bad thing. Especially one who has a lot of money. She doesn’t seem to be squandering it with one of those big Southern parties on a yacht.”

He rubbed his finger beneath his nose. “No. But this tiny house idea might be a huge mistake and a waste of money. And a waste of my time.”

“Is that what you’re worried about? Not having enough time to do this shit?” Garrett tossed a heavy chunk of metal toward the dumpster and missed.

“You know we have contracts to clear five more lots and we’ll soon be setting those walls. Not to mention work at Brodie’s.”

“I’m pretty sure Brodie and Danica can handle it. They work well together.”

He considered his friend’s words. Why couldn’t he and Anya be like that? They weren’t meant to be a couple, but at least they could get through the bullshit and work together.

He pictured her face, alive with excitement, as the backhoe was getting ready to break ground. She’d worn a glow he couldn’t look away from.

And all that thick blonde hair had felt as good in his hands as he’d fantasized.

Fuck. Just get her out of your head.

He drove himself to the point of exhaustion and still he couldn’t stop himself from throwing looks down the road at the place where her trailer was parked. If he squinted, he could make out the window he’d smacked his head off twice during their romp.

“Why don’t you quit pretending you dislike her and go down there and ask her for some lunch?” Garrett emphasized the last word, sending brand new dirty thoughts careening through Wydell’s head.

“Fuck off.”

“If a pretty little thing like that eyed me the way she does you, I wouldn’t be digging through this crap.”

“That’s disgust you’re seeing. We don’t remotely get along.”

“Mares bite the stallions before they let them mount them.” Garrett didn’t look at him as he said this. He just kept working. Great, now all of their head-butting seemed like foreplay.

Time to change the topic or else Garrett would keep hounding him. “You heard anything from Boyd?”

Their friend wasn’t staying in Los Vista like he, Garrett and Brodie were. His family had set up house in the neighboring town and word was his parents had found jobs relatively quick. It worried all of them that Boyd would settle outside of town too, but nobody voiced it. After all these years, it was difficult being split up.

It was hard enough knowing one of them was missing. Matt’s loss would forever weigh on them.

Instead of hearing the birds flitting around, Wydell’s ears were filled with shots. The grating noise of tank tracks. Screams.

Pressing his lips into a firm line, he looked around and found Garrett staring at him again.

“What? Get back to work.”

“When’re you going to get some help for that?” Garrett asked.

“If anybody else asked me that, I’d kick their ass.”

“I’m not just anybody.”

“No, and you’re lucky. Water break.” His throat was desiccated from the sands and hot, dry air in his imagination. They carefully picked their way out of the mess they were working in and went to the back of Garrett’s truck, where they each had a few jugs of water.

Wydell’s clothes stuck to him and he couldn’t stop himself from looking longingly at Anya’s air-conditioned trailer. He should get a grip. Of course, he was only thinking about cooling off, not about heating things up with her again.

He chugged enough water to quench his thirst, then leaned against the tailgate and backhanded the sweat from his eyes. “I think we can finish this today.”

“I thought you had to meet the plumber.”

“I do.”

“I can work on this alone.” Garrett’s odd tone brought Wydell’s head around.

“What?”

“Go on and talk to her, Hard Ass.”

For a long, pumping heartbeat, he considered it. Just walk down the road and open that trailer door. It would be easy. Launch inside and catch Anya in his arms, bearing her down on that fluffy mattress.

After he rifled all the pillows out.

His jaw set. “No, I’m good. I’ve had my fill of beauty queen this week.”

He suspected the opposite was true, though. He hadn’t had nearly enough. When it came to Anya, he feared a lifetime with her wouldn’t be enough.





Chapter Four


Anya had to do something about her urge to look down the road toward the site where Wydell was working. He was nothing but a tiny speck, but knowing it was a muscled, gorgeous hunk of a speck made her body rev.