Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) (4 page)

“
I’m positive. Trust me, okay?”
her friend said casting her a bright smile.

Famous last words, Twyla thought, as she
folded her arms across her newly enhanced bosom and huffed a
sigh.

***

“
Mama’s worried about Twyla. It’s
your fault she’s gone, so go get her,” Zack said with a shove to
Ryan’s shoulder.

“
Stop pushing me, dude!” Ryan
shouted, as he staggered back into his locker. “Like she told me,
your sister is twenty-six-years old and if she wants to leave, she
has every right.”

Twyla did have every right, but Ryan was
damned worried too. He’d tried calling her fifty times since she
left two weeks ago to try and talk some sense into her, but she
wasn’t answering his calls. She evidently wasn’t answering her
family’s calls either. That worried Ryan more.

“
My sister belongs here with me so
I can watch out for her. You know Twyla gets into trouble on her
own.”

Twyla did have a habit of getting into
trouble. She was stubborn and hardheaded, especially when she was
mad. Ryan knew she was madder than a wet hen right now, and he had
no idea how to fix it this time, or even if he could. He’d stepped
over a line that he’d danced on with her for a very long
time.

“
Why the hell don’t you go after
her then?” Ryan countered, as he wound his rigging up to shove it
into his duffle bag. “We have a week’s break.”

“
I have to go to see Dean about
the rough stock. Remember we promised to help him train the bulls?
We can’t just dump the stock out there and leave it all to him and
Cord. We have a lot of money invested in that herd, and we have
contracts.”

“
I know we have contracts, Zack.
Those bulls won’t be ready to ride until next year anyway. We have
time.” Finding his sister should be more important to Zack, and he
would probably make a helluva lot more headway convincing her to
come back than Ryan could.

“
I’m going out there. I promised,
and I’m not letting him think we’re reneging on our end of the
deal. And mama is going to string us both up, if we don’t get Twyla
back here.”

“
Twyla is pissed at me. She’s not
going to listen to a word I have to say. You go after her and let
me go out to check on the herd.”

Zack cocked his head to the side, and his
eyebrow lifted. “You taken up riding bulls now?”

“
Um, you know I haven’t.” Ryan
rode broncs, and roped some as a fill-in heeler. He had tried bull
riding exactly once and decided it wasn’t for him. Zack knew that,
and so did he. But Ryan would rather go anywhere than to find Twyla
in Dallas. He’d probably even get on the back of a bull and get his
ass gored to avoid that. Dealing with her was a lot scarier than
getting on the back of a two-thousand pound bull
sometimes.

“
Then you wouldn’t be much help
out there, would you?” Zack said sarcastically. He slapped Ryan on
the shoulder. “Go find my sister, so I don’t have to kick your
ass.”

Ryan wasn’t afraid of Zack, but he didn’t want
to fight with him either. This man was his brother, almost his
salvation. After his father took off with that bimbo when he was
fifteen, and his mother took up with the asshole she eventually
married, Ryan was going to run away. Zack brought him home to the
ranch, and he’d been part of the Taylor family ever
since.

He owed the Taylor family a lot. And this
situation was his own fault for not addressing the infatuation he
knew Twyla nursed for him for so long. The same attraction he’d
fought for years. It was time for them to bury the hatchet and make
a new start. One that did not include the friction that had been
sparking between them for so long. Honesty was the best policy for
them to get back on even ground again. It was time for the talk
that he’d put off for too long.

He glanced at Zack. “You have any idea where
she went?”

“
Mama said she’s with her friend
Heather in Dallas. Remember that hot brunette who used to ride
barrels with her?” Zack reached into his shirt pocket and pulled
out a piece of paper. He shoved it into Ryan’s chest. “Here’s the
address. Don’t come back without her,” he growled as he walked
away.

Yeah, Ryan remembered that brunette. He
remembered her too well. Better than he wanted to remember her.
Knowing that Twyla was shacked up with her sent cold chills down
his spine. That woman was definitely hot, but she was also wild as
they came.

He was as glad to see the back of Heather when
she left the circuit, as every other man in their circle was to see
her walk in front of them. And for some reason, she and Twyla had
connected as friends when she was a rider. The two women couldn’t
be more different. She had led Twyla into all kind of mischief
while she was touring with them. He and Zack had to work
double-duty to get the women out of fixes of their own creation.
Mostly with disgruntled cowboys who thought they were interested in
them.

There was no telling what Twyla had gotten
herself into if she was staying with Heather Morrison, but it
looked like he was about to find out.

CHAPTER
THREE

Ryan stopped his truck at the back of the
packed parking lot of the bar. He just sat there a moment staring
at the neon sign on the roof. The Crazy Cowgirl, with a curvy
blonde cowgirl striking a sexy pose taunted him, making his stomach
queasy.

Thank God the maintenance man at the apartment
complex knew where Ryan could find Twyla and Heather. The leering
smirk on the man’s face made Ryan want to knock it off, but he held
himself in check, because he realized that man was the only way he
was going to find out where the two women were. Once he heard the
name of the bar, Ryan knew Twyla really had gone off the deep end.
He had driven her to this extreme with his harsh words meant to
protect himself. He’d hurt her, even though that had not been his
intention.

Now that he saw the place, he was even more
convinced that whatever awaited him behind that rough wooden door
with the half-moon cutout was going to be bad. Very bad. And he was
more than sure Zack was going to kill him—literally—not
metaphorically when he found out. If Ryan couldn’t convince her to
leave this place, he might as well find some place to hide. But he
doubted there would be any place he could hide that Zack wouldn’t
find him.

He had to convince her, before Zack found
out.

Ryan pulled the door handle and opened the
truck door. Even at the back of the parking lot, which was the only
spot he could find, he was immediately assaulted by loud country
music, mixed with loud male whoops and hollers. He shut the door
and locked it then walked toward the entrance on leaden feet, his
heart sinking lower with every step.

The song playing right then was pretty fucking
appropriate, he thought, as he pushed through the crowd outside the
door to grab the door handle. “Wild, Wild West,” he grumbled in
time with the lyrics, as he yanked it open.

This place was as wild as any he’d been in,
and that was saying something. The crowd inside was so thick, he
had to shoulder his way through. The only open spot was near the
wall by the bathroom. He stopped there a moment to breathe and
search for Twyla. He had no idea how he would find her. Over the
music, and the roar of the crowd, he heard a man shout near the bar
on the other side of the room. “Shake it, Daisy—I got a hundred for
ya!” the obviously drunk older cowboy slurred.

The woman on the bar whipped her head around.
Her layered white blonde hair swished, then settled on her
shoulders. A sick knot formed in Ryan’s throat, then sank to his
stomach as she grinned at the man, before whipping her black hat
off of her head. She shook her head and her hair became a wild
white mane around her beautiful, but heavily made up face. Turning
her ass to the man, the dancer spread her legs wider then bent at
the waist to shake her barely covered ass in the man’s face. He
tilted his head back and stepped closer to get a good
look.

The woman extended the hat back to him between
her legs, and he dropped a bill into the hat. Before she could move
away, he ran his hand up the inside of her calf to her knee. She
stumbled away, and spun to put her boot on his forehead, shaking
her finger at him. He reached for her calf again, and with a frown
she shoved him with her foot. He staggered backward and a chorus of
laughter followed.

Some man at the front of the crowd yelled,
“Gut Shot!”

Several others joined in the chant, and before
he knew what was happening, the dancer gave them a coy look as she
tucked the hem of her shirt into her bra. She disappeared beneath
the cowboy hats surrounding the bar, and Ryan blindly stumbled that
way, hoping like hell that wasn’t Twyla. Even though the woman had
the exact same willowy build, she certainly didn’t look like his
best friend’s little sister.

The woman on that bar was wearing makeup, and
she had bountiful breasts pushing over her low cut top. Twyla had
smaller breasts, hated wearing makeup, and wouldn’t be caught dead
in a getup like that. And Twyla did not dance like that woman was
dancing. She was lucky to put one foot in front of the other to
walk. It couldn’t be her. But he needed a closer look to be sure.
He pushed his way to the front row of men around the
bar.

“
Line up!” a gruff male voice
shouted. Ryan leaned around the man in front of him to see the
speaker was a musclebound guy who looked to be a bouncer. He
crossed his arms over his chest, and eyed the line of men warily.
“Have your money ready and no touching!”

Ryan elbowed his way up to the front row and
finally got a good view of what was going on. Twyla, he had no
doubt it was her now, was laid out on the bar with her knees
spread, and Heather was between her knees. The bartender put a shot
on her bare belly, right above her navel and Twyla gasped when some
of the brown liquor sloshed over onto her stomach. She moaned as it
slid down into her navel. Ryan’s tongue burned to trace that trail,
to sip that fiery liquid from the perfect little indention in her
belly.

Heather grinned down at her and tossed her
hair over her shoulder, then licked her lips dramatically. Loud
pained groans erupted from the men. The bouncer collected bills
from the eager men in the front row, counted them then gave her a
nod. Excitement buzzed through the crowd like wildfire. Heather
shoved Twyla’s knees apart forcefully, and loud whoops followed.
Twyla’s body tensed and she grabbed the edge of the bar, watching
the glass intently, as Heather slowly lowered her head toward her
stomach.

Heather’s lips touched down right above the
waistband of her shorts, and Twyla moaned loudly. Her breathing
increased as Heather’s tongue dragged up from the waistband to her
navel, and so did Ryan’s. Twyla turned her head to the side arching
her back, as Heather circled her navel with her tongue. She then
took a dip inside and flicked her tongue, pulling a shiver and mewl
from Twyla. Electricity zipped down his spine right to the end of
his dick. Ryan felt that damned tongue on his body, tasted the rich
liquid on his own tongue. He was so damned hard, his zipper cut
into his flesh. He didn’t want to like this, but dammit he did.
Just like every other man in this bar. Ryan couldn’t help it, he
finally had to adjust himself.

This was about the sexiest damned display he’d
ever seen in his life. He’d never had two women, but the two
putting on the show on that bar could definitely talk him into it.
This wasn’t Twyla though. He didn’t even think she’d had sex
before. Zack watched her too closely. Unless she’d had it after she
left the rodeo. A lot could’ve happened in two weeks, a lot had
happened, that was obvious. The woman faking an orgasm as Heather
licked the trail up from her belly button to the shot glass was
definitely not a virgin.

Hell, for all he knew she and Heather could be
messing around. From the looks of it, that was entirely possible.
His cock got painfully hard, and anger shot through him, disgust at
himself, because that thought turned him on. The thought of
watching them suck each other, kiss each other would be the
ultimate fantasy to him. One he never realized he harbored. He
slapped himself mentally though. Every man in this damned bar was
having the same fantasy. Because these two women were creating that
fantasy. Encouraging it. For money. Disgusting. He had to get her
out of here. He needed to get out of here himself and
fast.

Heather wrapped her full red-painted lips
around the shot glass and tossed back her head, emptying the glass.
She moved to her knees to swipe her arm across her mouth. Applause
almost deafened him, as the bartender smiled and handed her the
fistful of bills. Heather pushed up to her feet then gave Twyla a
wink, as she reached a hand down to help her up.

Four other skimpily dressed dancers hopped up
onto the bar and converged on them clapping their hands too. A new
song started playing and they formed a chorus line of hot flesh,
almost naked booties and heaving bosoms. The song choice left him
with no doubt that this was about to get worse.
Save A Horse
Ride A Cowboy
blared through the speakers behind the bar, as
the dancers hopped, their bootheels clicked in tandem on the bar
and they spun showing the crowd a line of world-class
ass.