The cowboy refusing to mourn. The city girl in a strange predicament. The scoundrel that thinks fiancés come with a price tag.
Never, ever date a client. That’s what I keep telling myself. Until Terence Daniels walks into my office. Fine. I caved. Biggest mistake of my life. Next thing I know I’m fleeing Louisiana, hunkering down with my best friend in Dallas. I’m starving, terrified, so confused, and I’m thinking…things just cannot get any worse. Until Kate’s car breaks down outside this bar that looks like their patrons kill women with sticks. We have no choice but to go inside. What I find in there is nothing that I would expect. What unfolds in the coming weeks are more mistakes. Better ones. And then one that I’ll forever call my favorite mistake.
After the day I’ve had, I’d sooner eat my boot than cook something. My brother Zack agrees, so we go to this hillbilly bar, where we keep a tab. One cranky woman and her sidekick show up, looking like lawyers among us cowboys, and we ask if we can help. The cranky one thinks we’re trying to steal her car, but the other one softens. All is fine and dandy until she hits us with something that would shock a groundhog back into his burrow until hell freezes over. The look in her eyes is what gets me. Fear. I can’t stand that in a woman. Especially this one, with the tough exterior, making out like she’s fine when inside she’s a crumbling mess. Never figured she’d turn things around like she does. Never figured I’d be the one to help her put it all back together. Never figured she’d see right through me yet show me the way in a way that nobody else has.
…and for the life of me, I never figured that she’d inadvertently bring so much danger to the ranch.
HEA (Happily Ever After)
Ranch romance
Cowboy romance
Medium heat
Course language
Cliffhanger ending
Excerpt
Chapter 1
Blake
“I fired Vinnie today.” I grunt, resting my boot on the kitchen chair opposite me, speaking to my brother, Zack, as he walks through the front door.
Pulling his Stetson off, he hangs it on the brass hanger on the wall by the door. “I’d a done that weeks ago if it were up to me.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t seem to find decent help lately. Didn’t want to let our last boy go.”
He walks into the kitchen and shakes his head slowly, giving my hair a tousle. “You look like shit, Blake.”
I ignore him. “How’s mama?”
He nods once. “Good. She was asking about you.” He could pass for my twin. We’re a year apart in age, but you’d never know it. Came in handy in high school when we traded places skipping class.
“They move her back to the room again, or have they still got her in the ward?”
“She’s back in her room, Blake. I told you about that a week ago.” Zack doesn’t hide the annoyed tone in his voice. “And if you’d come visit her, you’d know that.”
I shudder just thinking about it. It’s been three months since daddy died, and nearly that long since we had to commit mama to a mental hospital. The minute we buried him after he got shot accidentally by a drunken hunter, she started slipping. But I can’t go see her. Not there. She’s not the only one who took it bad when daddy died. Blake knows not to pull at this thread, so he moves on to the next subject. “Austin called. Told me he’s coming around this weekend.”
“Yeah. He called me, too.” Austin, our other brother, lives in El Paso.
Zack pulls the chair next to me out, pulls his shirt out of his pants and takes it off, draping it over the back of the chair, and then he takes a seat, grunting theatrically as he sits, exhaling heavily. He props his boots up on the table, taking full advantage of the fact that mama isn’t here. “So, what now, man?” he rakes a hand through his mussed hair, looking as exhausted as I do.
“Well, we bust our asses again, I guess. Until we can find a few boys to help.”
Maverick, our eldest brother, moved away just before daddy died, and Gunner, our baby brother, left for college. Everything happened so goddamn fast, we didn’t have time to think, let alone have enough help around to keep the place up. And with daddy and mama gone, me and Zack can barely keep the stalls from falling over we’re so overwhelmed with work.
“This place looks like a dog’s breakfast, man.” Zack comments, looking around. Dishes are piled up, there’s an unknown family of crusts living on the stove, an inch worth of toast crumbs are on the tablecloth, and you can draw on the floor with your finger there’s so much grime built up.
“I’m too tired to deal with it. We ought to hire a maid while we’re at it.”
“Mama’d slap you upside the head if she heard you say that.” Zack chuckles, yet I detect a warning tone.
“She’d kill us if she saw this place right now, I tell you that.”
Zack sucks his teeth, saying after a beat. “I’m damn near starved.”
“Me too.”
“Whaddya say we head on up to the saloon and grab us some grub. Couple beers while we’re at it.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” I grunt, getting up out of the chair. “I’ll get started cleaning this place when we get back.”
“Yeah, I’ll help.” He says, grabbing his dirty shirt off the back of the chair.
We take Zack’s truck, since his is parked closest to the curb, and head out to Zollo’s. Pat, the owner, sees us as soon as we come in, and he motions us over to him. “I hear you fired Vinnie today.” He says to both of us.
“Yeah, I did.” I admit. “He have anything to say about it?”
“No, but his tab sure did.” Pat says. “He was drunker than a skunk here not an hour ago. I had to call him a cab, and Estelle’s still in there scrubbing the bathroom floor, where he puked and missed about ten times.”
“Ah, shoot. Dang idiot.” I mutter. “He had it coming. I caught him drinking on the job, too, as a matter of fact.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Pat says. “Hey, wasn’t he your last hand?”
“Sure was.” Zack says. “You know anyone else?”
I elbow Zack, giving him a knowing look. Vinnie was Pat’s recommendation. Thanks, but, I’ll pass. Zack looks at me and recognition comes to his face. He changes tack. “Hey, on second thought, it’s okay, partner. We’ll find someone.”
No sooner do those words come out of his mouth when a set of females come walking in the bar, looking stunned and lost. Women almost never come into this bar. At least, not women that look like that. These girls are not from this part of town, for sure. One’s got her hair tied up in a bun so tight she’s giving herself a partial facelift, and the other one’s wearing a tailored suit. Ain’t no way in hell would you find a local girl wearing anything like that here.
Pat looks up from the dishes he’s drying and motions with his chin. “Can I help you ladies?”
The one with the tidy hairdo speaks first. “Our car broke down and both of our phones are dead. Can we use your phone to call a tow truck?”
“What kind of car do you drive?” Zack asks, sizing up the girl in the suit.
“Mercedes. Late model.”
Yeah, definitely not from this side of town. “What’s the problem?” I ask.
“It’s like it boiled over. Steam coming out of the engine.” The girl in the suit answers. She looks like she must be boiling herself. It’s easily a hundred degrees outside today, and she’s wearing a three-piece suit.
“You two lawyers or something?” Pat asks.
“No.” tidy hairdo says but doesn’t elaborate. “Look, can we just use your phone, please?”
“Well, sure, darlin’.” Pat says, picking up an old-school landline telephone from under the counter. He plunks it on the bar and makes sure that she has enough cord. “Here you go.”
She looks at him. “You wouldn’t happen to know the number for a tow truck driver, would you?” she looks around, “Or, maybe there’s one in here, but then…forget it.”
I smile. “You’re thinking y’all don’t want anyone who’s drinking to handle your car.”
She gives me a look like I just called her a whore. “Would you?”
I lift my hands in defence.
Her friend intervenes. “Oh, let me deal with this.” She tuts. “You go use the washroom like you said you had to.” She’s frustrated and flushed, looking as if she wants to tear off her suit like it’s burning her skin, and it probably is.
“Fine.” Tidy hair huffs. “Ask for someone who doesn’t smell like day old pizza.”
Suit lady rolls her eyes as tidy hair walks away. I watch her undo the buttons down her suit jacket before I say anything to her. “I take it it’s your friend’s car that’s broken down.”
“Yeah.” She sighs.
“I’ll go take a gander at it.” Zack offers. “Could just be a coolant hose come loose.”
“It’s the—” suit lady says, but Zack cuts her off.
“Mercedes?” he smiles, then he scoffs. “Shouldn’t have too much trouble finding that.”
Pat’s rifling through an old cookie tin. “Need some help there, partner?” I ask.
“Na, just looking for a number for a tow truck for the ladies.”
I watch Zack walk out the front door. I consider following him to lend a hand, but it’s like my feet are planted to the sticky floor. “This isn’t a line, I swear to God.” I lift a hand. “But I’ll bet money that you’re not from around here.” I say to suit lady.
“No, I’m not. You’d be right about that.” she looks at me and I can’t help but notice the ghost of a smile on her lips. Her eyes aren’t quite smiling, and I take it that she’s uncomfortable being here. Most women are.
I hold out my hand for her to shake. “I’m Blake. Blake Walters.” I say by way of introduction. I add, “Me and my brother Zack,” I gesture to the door, where Zack’s outside, looking at the car, “and I own Halen Ranch just up the road.” Just so she feels more comfortable knowing that I’m not a threat, as I wouldn’t be, if I’m telling her who I am and where I live.
“The one with the big red house and matching fence?” she asks, smiling.
“The very one.” I nod once.
She shakes my hand. “I’m Ruby Fisher.”
“Nice to meet you, Ruby.” I grin at her. “Can I buy you a drink?”
What little smile she has fades. “No. Thanks.”
I change the subject. “Your friend seems a little bit out of joint.”
Ruby lifts her brows and lowers her voice. “You noticed.”
Pat finally manages to find a number, handing it to Ruby on a sheaf of paper, that looks like it’s been ripped off the end of an old envelope. “Here you go. Sorry for the wait.” He looks towards the bathroom. “You sure your friend’s okay? She’s been in the ladies’ room a while.”
Ruby waves. “She’s fine.”
“She one of them types who spends a half an hour in there, putting her face back on and such?” I ask as I work on draining the beer that Pat hands me.
“No. She’s diabetic. She’s taking her insulin shot. It’s also why she seems particularly agitated.” She says flatly, like she scored a point.
I take it down a notch. “Oh. Shoot, I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to offend.”
Satisfied, she nods, looking down. Then she picks up the phone and starts dialing the number. I hear her talking to someone on the other end, when Zack pops back in, scratching his head. Ruby sees him when she turns around at the sound of the door. It looks like she’s on hold with whomever she reached on the phone. “Well, I fixed it for now. Tied the hose back on and added some coolant from the back of my truck.”
“So, we don’t need to have it towed?” Ruby asks.
“I’ll need to see if it’s running again first. You got keys?”
She hangs up the phone. “No, but Kate should be back any second, and she’s got them. It’s her car.”
Pat, overhearing, is the first to see her friend come out of the washroom. “There she is there.”
“Kate. Where’s your keys? He thinks he’s got it fixed.” Ruby says.
Kate gives Zack an evaluating glance. “You sure you’re not just going to steal my car?”
Zack puts his hand on his hip. “Honey, that car will get you to a service shop, but that’s it. The hose is cooked. I’m sure that’s exactly the kind of transportation I’m looking for, when I’ve got my brand new F350 parked in the lot.”
She smirks, unimpressed, handing him her keys. “Fine. But don’t get anything on the seat.”
Zack takes the keys. “You’re welcome.” He says facetiously and walks back outside.
“You need something to eat?” Ruby asks her friend. “Oh, this is Blake. He and his brother Zack own that ranch up the street. The one I pointed out that has the flaming red house?”
“Oh…yeah. Hi, I’m Kate.” She mutters. Sour puss still on her face.
“Yeah, I got that.” I say, shaking her hand, despite her looking like she’d rather put gloves on first before touching me. “Nice to meet you.”
Ruby turns to Pat. “Have you got anything you can whip up fast? She’s diabetic and needs to eat.”
“Sure, darlin’.” Pat says. “I’ve got something cooking back there right now.” he looks at me. “You and Zack hankering for something, too?”
“Yeah, whatever you’ve got, partner. We’ll eat it.”
Zack appears a moment later, and he hands Kate her keys. “She’s running, but not for long. There’s a service station just up at the end of this street. They’re open late, I think. But I’d wait a while before running her again, so she can cool off and the hose doesn’t pop off right quick.” He explains to Kate.
“We’re ordering something to eat, anyway. Plenty of time.” Ruby says.
Pat disappears out back. Kate puts her keys back into her purse, and Ruby looks at her, almost evaluating her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Kate shrugs, and then she just about shudders. “I hate these kinds of places.”
“I’m no big fan, either.” Ruby states.
“It’s not so bad.” I comment. “Looks worse than it is. They have the best wings here, and the draught beer’s pretty good as well.”
Kate pipes up. “I’ll remember that the next time I check in with my penis.”
I chuckle. Zack is standing behind Kate, and I’m standing in front of her. He gives me a look as if to say, ‘what the fuck’s up this chick’s ass?’, and I smile at him. He proceeds to make a lewd gesture, moving his pelvis in and out, indicating that she needs to get laid, and I turn my head so that the girls can’t see me responding to him behind them.
When Pat reappears, he has a tray over his head, loaded with four full plates. “I’d a had Estelle bring these up, but she’s still scrubbing the bathroom floor.”
“You should have her do the ladies’ room next. The whole place smells like an outhouse. My shoes stuck to the floor.” Kate huffs.
“Too bad you didn’t lick it.” Zack mutters, so only I can understand him. It’s a tactic we’ve used since we were kids, first so our folks couldn’t tell when we were lipping back to them, and then with the ladies, so they couldn’t hear our inappropriate responses.
I chew the back of my thumb to stop from smirking.
“Here. I’ll set these over on this here table.” Pat says, not bothering to ask if we want to sit at separate tables.
“Just put it all on our tab.” I say to Pat.
Kate looks at us like we should shower before sitting down to eat, and I’m about to offer for us to go to another table, but Zack is sitting down, and he’s already helped himself to a French fry off a plate, for that matter. He wouldn’t care if we were eating next to a pile of horse shit, he’s so hungry.
Ruby removes her jacket and drapes it over her chair, along with her purse. While Kate takes a wet wipe out of her purse and proceeds to wipe the surrounding table area at the perimeter of her plate, her hands, and her fork, changing wipes for each item. Then she balls the wipes up and signals for Pat to come get them from her. Ruby is mowing down on her food, which consists of wings and fries. For a tiny girl, she sure isn’t shy about eating, surprising me.
“Good?” I ask Ruby, when she stops to wipe her fingers.
“Fantastic. You weren’t kidding. Best wings ever.”
I smile at her.
Kate reluctantly picks up her fork and stabs a French fry.
“It won’t kill you, Kate. Come on, eat up.” Ruby says to her friend, with a good-natured smile on her face. “You’ll feel better and you know it.”
Blowing the steam off a French fry, Kate stuffs it daintily into her mouth, and tries to fight off the smile on her face.
“See?” I gesture to Kate. “I told you it’s not so bad.”
“Where does he get these?” Ruby asks, pointing to her fries with a fork. “They’re delicious.”
“Straight from Idaho.” I answer. “Try the wings. You think the fries are good, those’ll knock your socks off. Pat here makes the sauce himself and slow cooks the wings.”
Heeding my advice, Ruby picks up a wing and takes a bite. Her eyes roll into the back of her head, and it’s kind of hot. I smirk, as she gives me a glimpse of what she’d look like after what I’d like to do to her. Her long brown hair is French braided loose, like one of those streusel pastries, all down her back, with a small fringe off to the side on her forehead. She’s got big hazel eyes and long, dark eyelashes. Pretty thing. Her tiny frame is highlighted by her tight rear, which I noticed when we sat down. It’s one of those I’d like to take a bite out of. “Good?”
“So good.” She exhales. I catch Kate elbowing her in the ribs, chiding her.
“What do you think?” I gesture with my chin to Kate. “Give the wings a try.”
Kate picks up a wing and takes a bite. Although she isn’t as emphatic about it, she does nod and raise a brow. “Not bad at all.”
We’re quiet for a bit as we enjoy our meal, and then I signal for Pat to bring me another beer, and he brings the girls water glasses, offering to bring them something with more umph. “No, thanks. We’re driving.” Kate answers with a snarly wince.
“What about you, sugar? You’re not driving.” I push Ruby, wondering what she’s like drunk. She’s awfully cute sober, that I can tell you.
“No, thanks.” She says.
I give her a look but decide to write it off. “So, what are you two girls doing out here in Clarkstown?”
“We were just passing through. Took a wrong turn.” Ruby answers.
“Yeah?” I say, interested. “Where are you headed?”
“Dallas. For an appointment.” Kate says, and I gather by her glare that she doesn’t care to say much more than that.
“This some kind of legal appointment? How come you two are so dressed up?” Zack tries.
“I’m a head hunter.” Ruby explains. “I dress like this on a regular basis.” She doesn’t have a Texan twang like Kate does, I notice.
“You mean for companies, right?” I joke. “Not like one of them paid assassins.”
“That would be a paid assassin.” Kate clarifies icily. “And do you think she’d tell you if that’s what she was?”
“Listen, I don’t know what your problem is, lady, but I’ve never been talked down to like this before, even by my good-for-nothing cousin, who stole one of my horses.” Pat brings me my beer. “Now, my brother fixed your car, and we’re treating you to dinner, see, so I don’t know what we’ve done to put the pole up your dang ass, so why don’t you come out with it?”
Pat looks at the ladies, interrupting my tirade. “You ladies want a beer?”
Kate’s nostrils flare as she looks at me. “That’s none of your business. We didn’t ask anyone to fix the car. We were just as happy having it towed.”
“By someone who doesn’t smell like day old pizza.” I point out her earlier rhetoric.
She laughs without a trace of mirth, and I feel like I’m going to be wearing the last two wings on her plate in a minute if I keep it up.
Ruby shakes her head no to Pat.
“And you. Why aren’t you drinking, huh? This lady here pushing you around or something? Telling you that you can’t enjoy yourself?”
“She can do what she pleases, asshole.” Kate seethes.
“Right.” I say facetiously. I look at Ruby. “Look, I learned a long time ago to not let people push me around.”
“She’s not pushing me around…” she trails off, like she forgot my name. Either that, or by not using it, she feels like it’s more of an insult.
“Blake. My name’s Blake.” I add, raising my voice.
“I know that.”
Kate interjects snidely. “She knows that, asshole.”
Ruby draws in a deep breath. “Look, Blake, I’m not from around here, neither is Kate. We just came out here to do some business, our car broke down, and now I just want to get the hell out of here before we get shot or something.”
“She tell you that?” I ask, pointing the lip of my beer bottle at Kate.
“Fuck you, shit for brains.” Kate spits.
Pat’s still standing there. “Do you want a beer or not? We’ve got the best draught beer in town.”
“Yes, Blake here has already enlightened me.”
“So, have one.” I look her up and down, giving her my best bedroom eyes.
She catches the look. Something in her eyes betrays her. She looks up at Pat. “No, thank you.” Her voice has lost its clout.
“Why not, sugar?” I say, my voice is low and sultry.
Her nostrils flare, and I can see her jaw working, like she’s grinding her teeth together, trying not to say something she’ll regret. Then she says something that would silence a fucking starving coyote at midnight.
“Because I’m pregnant.”
Never, ever date a client. That’s what I keep telling myself. Until Terence Daniels walks into my office. Fine. I caved. Biggest mistake of my life. Next thing I know I’m fleeing Louisiana, hunkering down with my best friend in Dallas. I’m starving, terrified, so confused, and I’m thinking…things just cannot get any worse. Until Kate’s car breaks down outside this bar that looks like their patrons kill women with sticks. We have no choice but to go inside. What I find in there is nothing that I would expect. What unfolds in the coming weeks are more mistakes. Better ones. And then one that I’ll forever call my favorite mistake.
After the day I’ve had, I’d sooner eat my boot than cook something. My brother Zack agrees, so we go to this hillbilly bar, where we keep a tab. One cranky woman and her sidekick show up, looking like lawyers among us cowboys, and we ask if we can help. The cranky one thinks we’re trying to steal her car, but the other one softens. All is fine and dandy until she hits us with something that would shock a groundhog back into his burrow until hell freezes over. The look in her eyes is what gets me. Fear. I can’t stand that in a woman. Especially this one, with the tough exterior, making out like she’s fine when inside she’s a crumbling mess. Never figured she’d turn things around like she does. Never figured I’d be the one to help her put it all back together. Never figured she’d see right through me yet show me the way in a way that nobody else has.
…and for the life of me, I never figured that she’d inadvertently bring so much danger to the ranch.
HEA (Happily Ever After)
Ranch romance
Cowboy romance
Medium heat
Course language
Cliffhanger ending
Excerpt
Chapter 1
Blake
“I fired Vinnie today.” I grunt, resting my boot on the kitchen chair opposite me, speaking to my brother, Zack, as he walks through the front door.
Pulling his Stetson off, he hangs it on the brass hanger on the wall by the door. “I’d a done that weeks ago if it were up to me.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t seem to find decent help lately. Didn’t want to let our last boy go.”
He walks into the kitchen and shakes his head slowly, giving my hair a tousle. “You look like shit, Blake.”
I ignore him. “How’s mama?”
He nods once. “Good. She was asking about you.” He could pass for my twin. We’re a year apart in age, but you’d never know it. Came in handy in high school when we traded places skipping class.
“They move her back to the room again, or have they still got her in the ward?”
“She’s back in her room, Blake. I told you about that a week ago.” Zack doesn’t hide the annoyed tone in his voice. “And if you’d come visit her, you’d know that.”
I shudder just thinking about it. It’s been three months since daddy died, and nearly that long since we had to commit mama to a mental hospital. The minute we buried him after he got shot accidentally by a drunken hunter, she started slipping. But I can’t go see her. Not there. She’s not the only one who took it bad when daddy died. Blake knows not to pull at this thread, so he moves on to the next subject. “Austin called. Told me he’s coming around this weekend.”
“Yeah. He called me, too.” Austin, our other brother, lives in El Paso.
Zack pulls the chair next to me out, pulls his shirt out of his pants and takes it off, draping it over the back of the chair, and then he takes a seat, grunting theatrically as he sits, exhaling heavily. He props his boots up on the table, taking full advantage of the fact that mama isn’t here. “So, what now, man?” he rakes a hand through his mussed hair, looking as exhausted as I do.
“Well, we bust our asses again, I guess. Until we can find a few boys to help.”
Maverick, our eldest brother, moved away just before daddy died, and Gunner, our baby brother, left for college. Everything happened so goddamn fast, we didn’t have time to think, let alone have enough help around to keep the place up. And with daddy and mama gone, me and Zack can barely keep the stalls from falling over we’re so overwhelmed with work.
“This place looks like a dog’s breakfast, man.” Zack comments, looking around. Dishes are piled up, there’s an unknown family of crusts living on the stove, an inch worth of toast crumbs are on the tablecloth, and you can draw on the floor with your finger there’s so much grime built up.
“I’m too tired to deal with it. We ought to hire a maid while we’re at it.”
“Mama’d slap you upside the head if she heard you say that.” Zack chuckles, yet I detect a warning tone.
“She’d kill us if she saw this place right now, I tell you that.”
Zack sucks his teeth, saying after a beat. “I’m damn near starved.”
“Me too.”
“Whaddya say we head on up to the saloon and grab us some grub. Couple beers while we’re at it.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” I grunt, getting up out of the chair. “I’ll get started cleaning this place when we get back.”
“Yeah, I’ll help.” He says, grabbing his dirty shirt off the back of the chair.
We take Zack’s truck, since his is parked closest to the curb, and head out to Zollo’s. Pat, the owner, sees us as soon as we come in, and he motions us over to him. “I hear you fired Vinnie today.” He says to both of us.
“Yeah, I did.” I admit. “He have anything to say about it?”
“No, but his tab sure did.” Pat says. “He was drunker than a skunk here not an hour ago. I had to call him a cab, and Estelle’s still in there scrubbing the bathroom floor, where he puked and missed about ten times.”
“Ah, shoot. Dang idiot.” I mutter. “He had it coming. I caught him drinking on the job, too, as a matter of fact.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Pat says. “Hey, wasn’t he your last hand?”
“Sure was.” Zack says. “You know anyone else?”
I elbow Zack, giving him a knowing look. Vinnie was Pat’s recommendation. Thanks, but, I’ll pass. Zack looks at me and recognition comes to his face. He changes tack. “Hey, on second thought, it’s okay, partner. We’ll find someone.”
No sooner do those words come out of his mouth when a set of females come walking in the bar, looking stunned and lost. Women almost never come into this bar. At least, not women that look like that. These girls are not from this part of town, for sure. One’s got her hair tied up in a bun so tight she’s giving herself a partial facelift, and the other one’s wearing a tailored suit. Ain’t no way in hell would you find a local girl wearing anything like that here.
Pat looks up from the dishes he’s drying and motions with his chin. “Can I help you ladies?”
The one with the tidy hairdo speaks first. “Our car broke down and both of our phones are dead. Can we use your phone to call a tow truck?”
“What kind of car do you drive?” Zack asks, sizing up the girl in the suit.
“Mercedes. Late model.”
Yeah, definitely not from this side of town. “What’s the problem?” I ask.
“It’s like it boiled over. Steam coming out of the engine.” The girl in the suit answers. She looks like she must be boiling herself. It’s easily a hundred degrees outside today, and she’s wearing a three-piece suit.
“You two lawyers or something?” Pat asks.
“No.” tidy hairdo says but doesn’t elaborate. “Look, can we just use your phone, please?”
“Well, sure, darlin’.” Pat says, picking up an old-school landline telephone from under the counter. He plunks it on the bar and makes sure that she has enough cord. “Here you go.”
She looks at him. “You wouldn’t happen to know the number for a tow truck driver, would you?” she looks around, “Or, maybe there’s one in here, but then…forget it.”
I smile. “You’re thinking y’all don’t want anyone who’s drinking to handle your car.”
She gives me a look like I just called her a whore. “Would you?”
I lift my hands in defence.
Her friend intervenes. “Oh, let me deal with this.” She tuts. “You go use the washroom like you said you had to.” She’s frustrated and flushed, looking as if she wants to tear off her suit like it’s burning her skin, and it probably is.
“Fine.” Tidy hair huffs. “Ask for someone who doesn’t smell like day old pizza.”
Suit lady rolls her eyes as tidy hair walks away. I watch her undo the buttons down her suit jacket before I say anything to her. “I take it it’s your friend’s car that’s broken down.”
“Yeah.” She sighs.
“I’ll go take a gander at it.” Zack offers. “Could just be a coolant hose come loose.”
“It’s the—” suit lady says, but Zack cuts her off.
“Mercedes?” he smiles, then he scoffs. “Shouldn’t have too much trouble finding that.”
Pat’s rifling through an old cookie tin. “Need some help there, partner?” I ask.
“Na, just looking for a number for a tow truck for the ladies.”
I watch Zack walk out the front door. I consider following him to lend a hand, but it’s like my feet are planted to the sticky floor. “This isn’t a line, I swear to God.” I lift a hand. “But I’ll bet money that you’re not from around here.” I say to suit lady.
“No, I’m not. You’d be right about that.” she looks at me and I can’t help but notice the ghost of a smile on her lips. Her eyes aren’t quite smiling, and I take it that she’s uncomfortable being here. Most women are.
I hold out my hand for her to shake. “I’m Blake. Blake Walters.” I say by way of introduction. I add, “Me and my brother Zack,” I gesture to the door, where Zack’s outside, looking at the car, “and I own Halen Ranch just up the road.” Just so she feels more comfortable knowing that I’m not a threat, as I wouldn’t be, if I’m telling her who I am and where I live.
“The one with the big red house and matching fence?” she asks, smiling.
“The very one.” I nod once.
She shakes my hand. “I’m Ruby Fisher.”
“Nice to meet you, Ruby.” I grin at her. “Can I buy you a drink?”
What little smile she has fades. “No. Thanks.”
I change the subject. “Your friend seems a little bit out of joint.”
Ruby lifts her brows and lowers her voice. “You noticed.”
Pat finally manages to find a number, handing it to Ruby on a sheaf of paper, that looks like it’s been ripped off the end of an old envelope. “Here you go. Sorry for the wait.” He looks towards the bathroom. “You sure your friend’s okay? She’s been in the ladies’ room a while.”
Ruby waves. “She’s fine.”
“She one of them types who spends a half an hour in there, putting her face back on and such?” I ask as I work on draining the beer that Pat hands me.
“No. She’s diabetic. She’s taking her insulin shot. It’s also why she seems particularly agitated.” She says flatly, like she scored a point.
I take it down a notch. “Oh. Shoot, I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to offend.”
Satisfied, she nods, looking down. Then she picks up the phone and starts dialing the number. I hear her talking to someone on the other end, when Zack pops back in, scratching his head. Ruby sees him when she turns around at the sound of the door. It looks like she’s on hold with whomever she reached on the phone. “Well, I fixed it for now. Tied the hose back on and added some coolant from the back of my truck.”
“So, we don’t need to have it towed?” Ruby asks.
“I’ll need to see if it’s running again first. You got keys?”
She hangs up the phone. “No, but Kate should be back any second, and she’s got them. It’s her car.”
Pat, overhearing, is the first to see her friend come out of the washroom. “There she is there.”
“Kate. Where’s your keys? He thinks he’s got it fixed.” Ruby says.
Kate gives Zack an evaluating glance. “You sure you’re not just going to steal my car?”
Zack puts his hand on his hip. “Honey, that car will get you to a service shop, but that’s it. The hose is cooked. I’m sure that’s exactly the kind of transportation I’m looking for, when I’ve got my brand new F350 parked in the lot.”
She smirks, unimpressed, handing him her keys. “Fine. But don’t get anything on the seat.”
Zack takes the keys. “You’re welcome.” He says facetiously and walks back outside.
“You need something to eat?” Ruby asks her friend. “Oh, this is Blake. He and his brother Zack own that ranch up the street. The one I pointed out that has the flaming red house?”
“Oh…yeah. Hi, I’m Kate.” She mutters. Sour puss still on her face.
“Yeah, I got that.” I say, shaking her hand, despite her looking like she’d rather put gloves on first before touching me. “Nice to meet you.”
Ruby turns to Pat. “Have you got anything you can whip up fast? She’s diabetic and needs to eat.”
“Sure, darlin’.” Pat says. “I’ve got something cooking back there right now.” he looks at me. “You and Zack hankering for something, too?”
“Yeah, whatever you’ve got, partner. We’ll eat it.”
Zack appears a moment later, and he hands Kate her keys. “She’s running, but not for long. There’s a service station just up at the end of this street. They’re open late, I think. But I’d wait a while before running her again, so she can cool off and the hose doesn’t pop off right quick.” He explains to Kate.
“We’re ordering something to eat, anyway. Plenty of time.” Ruby says.
Pat disappears out back. Kate puts her keys back into her purse, and Ruby looks at her, almost evaluating her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Kate shrugs, and then she just about shudders. “I hate these kinds of places.”
“I’m no big fan, either.” Ruby states.
“It’s not so bad.” I comment. “Looks worse than it is. They have the best wings here, and the draught beer’s pretty good as well.”
Kate pipes up. “I’ll remember that the next time I check in with my penis.”
I chuckle. Zack is standing behind Kate, and I’m standing in front of her. He gives me a look as if to say, ‘what the fuck’s up this chick’s ass?’, and I smile at him. He proceeds to make a lewd gesture, moving his pelvis in and out, indicating that she needs to get laid, and I turn my head so that the girls can’t see me responding to him behind them.
When Pat reappears, he has a tray over his head, loaded with four full plates. “I’d a had Estelle bring these up, but she’s still scrubbing the bathroom floor.”
“You should have her do the ladies’ room next. The whole place smells like an outhouse. My shoes stuck to the floor.” Kate huffs.
“Too bad you didn’t lick it.” Zack mutters, so only I can understand him. It’s a tactic we’ve used since we were kids, first so our folks couldn’t tell when we were lipping back to them, and then with the ladies, so they couldn’t hear our inappropriate responses.
I chew the back of my thumb to stop from smirking.
“Here. I’ll set these over on this here table.” Pat says, not bothering to ask if we want to sit at separate tables.
“Just put it all on our tab.” I say to Pat.
Kate looks at us like we should shower before sitting down to eat, and I’m about to offer for us to go to another table, but Zack is sitting down, and he’s already helped himself to a French fry off a plate, for that matter. He wouldn’t care if we were eating next to a pile of horse shit, he’s so hungry.
Ruby removes her jacket and drapes it over her chair, along with her purse. While Kate takes a wet wipe out of her purse and proceeds to wipe the surrounding table area at the perimeter of her plate, her hands, and her fork, changing wipes for each item. Then she balls the wipes up and signals for Pat to come get them from her. Ruby is mowing down on her food, which consists of wings and fries. For a tiny girl, she sure isn’t shy about eating, surprising me.
“Good?” I ask Ruby, when she stops to wipe her fingers.
“Fantastic. You weren’t kidding. Best wings ever.”
I smile at her.
Kate reluctantly picks up her fork and stabs a French fry.
“It won’t kill you, Kate. Come on, eat up.” Ruby says to her friend, with a good-natured smile on her face. “You’ll feel better and you know it.”
Blowing the steam off a French fry, Kate stuffs it daintily into her mouth, and tries to fight off the smile on her face.
“See?” I gesture to Kate. “I told you it’s not so bad.”
“Where does he get these?” Ruby asks, pointing to her fries with a fork. “They’re delicious.”
“Straight from Idaho.” I answer. “Try the wings. You think the fries are good, those’ll knock your socks off. Pat here makes the sauce himself and slow cooks the wings.”
Heeding my advice, Ruby picks up a wing and takes a bite. Her eyes roll into the back of her head, and it’s kind of hot. I smirk, as she gives me a glimpse of what she’d look like after what I’d like to do to her. Her long brown hair is French braided loose, like one of those streusel pastries, all down her back, with a small fringe off to the side on her forehead. She’s got big hazel eyes and long, dark eyelashes. Pretty thing. Her tiny frame is highlighted by her tight rear, which I noticed when we sat down. It’s one of those I’d like to take a bite out of. “Good?”
“So good.” She exhales. I catch Kate elbowing her in the ribs, chiding her.
“What do you think?” I gesture with my chin to Kate. “Give the wings a try.”
Kate picks up a wing and takes a bite. Although she isn’t as emphatic about it, she does nod and raise a brow. “Not bad at all.”
We’re quiet for a bit as we enjoy our meal, and then I signal for Pat to bring me another beer, and he brings the girls water glasses, offering to bring them something with more umph. “No, thanks. We’re driving.” Kate answers with a snarly wince.
“What about you, sugar? You’re not driving.” I push Ruby, wondering what she’s like drunk. She’s awfully cute sober, that I can tell you.
“No, thanks.” She says.
I give her a look but decide to write it off. “So, what are you two girls doing out here in Clarkstown?”
“We were just passing through. Took a wrong turn.” Ruby answers.
“Yeah?” I say, interested. “Where are you headed?”
“Dallas. For an appointment.” Kate says, and I gather by her glare that she doesn’t care to say much more than that.
“This some kind of legal appointment? How come you two are so dressed up?” Zack tries.
“I’m a head hunter.” Ruby explains. “I dress like this on a regular basis.” She doesn’t have a Texan twang like Kate does, I notice.
“You mean for companies, right?” I joke. “Not like one of them paid assassins.”
“That would be a paid assassin.” Kate clarifies icily. “And do you think she’d tell you if that’s what she was?”
“Listen, I don’t know what your problem is, lady, but I’ve never been talked down to like this before, even by my good-for-nothing cousin, who stole one of my horses.” Pat brings me my beer. “Now, my brother fixed your car, and we’re treating you to dinner, see, so I don’t know what we’ve done to put the pole up your dang ass, so why don’t you come out with it?”
Pat looks at the ladies, interrupting my tirade. “You ladies want a beer?”
Kate’s nostrils flare as she looks at me. “That’s none of your business. We didn’t ask anyone to fix the car. We were just as happy having it towed.”
“By someone who doesn’t smell like day old pizza.” I point out her earlier rhetoric.
She laughs without a trace of mirth, and I feel like I’m going to be wearing the last two wings on her plate in a minute if I keep it up.
Ruby shakes her head no to Pat.
“And you. Why aren’t you drinking, huh? This lady here pushing you around or something? Telling you that you can’t enjoy yourself?”
“She can do what she pleases, asshole.” Kate seethes.
“Right.” I say facetiously. I look at Ruby. “Look, I learned a long time ago to not let people push me around.”
“She’s not pushing me around…” she trails off, like she forgot my name. Either that, or by not using it, she feels like it’s more of an insult.
“Blake. My name’s Blake.” I add, raising my voice.
“I know that.”
Kate interjects snidely. “She knows that, asshole.”
Ruby draws in a deep breath. “Look, Blake, I’m not from around here, neither is Kate. We just came out here to do some business, our car broke down, and now I just want to get the hell out of here before we get shot or something.”
“She tell you that?” I ask, pointing the lip of my beer bottle at Kate.
“Fuck you, shit for brains.” Kate spits.
Pat’s still standing there. “Do you want a beer or not? We’ve got the best draught beer in town.”
“Yes, Blake here has already enlightened me.”
“So, have one.” I look her up and down, giving her my best bedroom eyes.
She catches the look. Something in her eyes betrays her. She looks up at Pat. “No, thank you.” Her voice has lost its clout.
“Why not, sugar?” I say, my voice is low and sultry.
Her nostrils flare, and I can see her jaw working, like she’s grinding her teeth together, trying not to say something she’ll regret. Then she says something that would silence a fucking starving coyote at midnight.
“Because I’m pregnant.”
