The Trouble with Texas Cowboys (Burnt Boot, Texas #2)(18)

Hart slammed the door shut and waited. “This feels crazy, like a scary movie.”

“Granny knows what she’s doin’,” Randy said. “Them Brennans embarrassed us and caused a hell of a lot of damage to the ranch house at the Christmas party when they pulled that plate glass window right out of the wall. Had to replace the carpet and redo the whole damn room, and like to have never got them cows out of the house. We can put up with a scary movie long enough to get these hogs out of the truck.”

“Then we drive out to Mingus and get to eat at the Smokestack for supper. Lord, I love that food,” Eli said.

“But we will miss getting to meet Tyrell’s new woman when he brings her to supper. I’d love to see Quaid’s face when he loses his hogs and his woman both.” Randy laughed.

“We’ll go to Polly’s tomorrow night and see her. I hear she’s the barmaid there at night, and that Gladys’s new foreman is the grill cook.”

Wallace slammed the gates shut and rattled the side of the trailer. Eli shifted gears and pulled out.

“We did it,” Randy said. “We got our first assignment from Granny, and we did it.”

“Y’all know what we have done is felony larceny, don’t you?” Hart asked.

Randy slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t be studyin’ law right now, Cousin. Just be a Gallagher.”

They were heading south on Interstate 35 when the church doors opened and kids poured out like puppies let out of a kennel to romp and play in the pasture.

*

After the last amen had been said, the Brennan family surrounded Jill, throwing out so many names that they all mixed together. No way would she remember any of them, except Kinsey, with the extra makeup on one cheek, and Quaid with a black eye and a cut across his nose. It was amazing that corn could do that to a big, strong man when it fell from a distance of six feet.

She spotted Sawyer’s black truck pulling out of the parking lot as she and Quaid made their way to his big white double-cab vehicle with an extra-long bed. She was in the process of snapping her seat belt when a bright red truck skidded to a stop right in front of her eyes. Tyrell blew her a kiss, held up five fingers, and then sped off toward the only paved road in Burnt Boot. She hadn’t seen a single sign to point her toward anything but a one-Sunday-stand for both of the feuding families.

“Hungry?” Quaid’s felt hat preceded him into the truck and found its place in the backseat. He strapped the seat belt in place and started up the engine.

“Starving,” she said.

“It’s a potluck, so there will be plenty.”

“You should have told me. I would have brought something. Your family will think I’m horrible, showing up empty-handed,” she said.

“My family will think that you are adorable. And guests aren’t expected to bring food. A heads-up though. Kinsey’s potato salad is fantastic, but Granny’s beet salad tastes like shit.” He laughed.

His laughter was as deep as his voice and downright sexy. His jeans were creased perfectly, his white shirt spotless, and his leather sports jacket fit his wide shoulders like a glove. Three years ago she would have stumbled over her own two feet to get him to ask her out.

Sawyer had told her to forget about the feud, the size of the ranches and bank accounts, and to focus on the man. There was not one thing wrong with Quaid so far. If he kissed as good as he looked, he’d be quite the catch, but there wasn’t a bit of zing, not a single spark or bit of fizzle between them.

“Penny for your thoughts.” He pulled out onto the road and turned right.

“Hundred dollar bills couldn’t buy them.” She smiled. “How far is it to River Bend?”

“River Bend is to your right, but it’s about three miles to the lane back to the main house. River Bend is a conglomerate of several ranches. We’ve already passed the road back to my land. Anytime you want a tour, I’ll be glad to give you one. I’ve got about a thousand acres.”

“How does that work?”

“The land from Fiddle Creek west for more than twenty miles belongs to the Gallagher families, and the whole thing makes up River Bend. Granny still lives in the main house with her youngest son, my uncle, and his family. That’s where we’re going for dinner today. Kinsey is my sister and has a part-time job as a paralegal in Gainesville, but she helps me out on my ranch too. I hate paperwork, so she takes care of that, and she’s good at it,” Quaid explained.

“And the whole family is going to be there today?” she asked.

“Everyone that took up our side of the church.” He smiled. “Just lookin’ over at you makes my heart jump around in my chest. You are gorgeous this morning, Jill. Your sweater is the same color as your mesmerizing eyes.”

It might not be the best pickup line she’d ever heard, but it wasn’t too bad, and he did seem sincere.

“And here we are.” He pulled the truck under a covered circular drive, handed the keys off to a short fellow in a heavy coat and a cowboy hat, and hurried around the front of the truck to open the door for her. The guy didn’t look like a butler or a valet, but evidently he was serving as both, because he opened the double front doors for them when they crossed the wide veranda.

“I’ll put it close by, Mr. Quaid,” he said before he trotted back to the truck. A glance over her shoulder showed that the pasture beside the house was filled with vehicles of one kind or other, with the majority going toward trucks.