Hot Cowboy Nights (23 page)

Today was the last Thursday in June. The festival was Saturday. She could hold out against Allie that long. It would break her record for keeping secrets from her sister because she’d only managed to hang on to something for three days in the past.

Oh, no!
That voice in her head that sounded so much like Fiona’s came through loud and clear.
You’ve had a real dating thing going on with Toby for longer than three days and she still thinks it’s a fake relationship. So you are getting stronger. It’s Toby who’s giving you so much strength. You’d better hang on to him.

Lizzy stole a glance across the room at Toby, only to find him staring at her again. If they didn’t get control of the sparks dancing around the room, Allie and Blake would realize that they’d gone from fake to real. She winked and turned around, but the heat of his gaze on her back only made the sparks even more brilliant.

“If I guess who bought the ranch will you at least nod?” Allie asked.

That much she could do because there was no way Lizzy would ever think to say her name. “I guess I wouldn’t be tellin’ then, would I?”

“It’s not Truman for sure?”

Lizzy nodded. “It is definitely not Truman. Deke said that he would never sell to any member of that family because it wouldn’t be right to put them next to the Lucky Penny.”

“Is it Herman Hudson or any of his family?” Allie put the last of the bacon on a platter with the eggs and carried them to the table.

Lizzy lined a bowl with a cloth napkin and filled it with hot biscuits straight from the oven. “That is more than one name.”

Blake picked up the plate of hash brown potatoes and carried them to the table. “Okay, then is it Herman?”

Lizzy shook her head.

“Sweet Jesus! He’s got half a dozen kids. Do we have to guess each one by name? I might have forgotten a couple of the ones that’s older than we are,” Allie said.

“Then is the game over?” Lizzy asked.

“You are wicked. I shouldn’t even let you eat breakfast with us since you won’t tell,” Allie said with a pout.

“Suck in that lower lip. It won’t work with me anymore.” Lizzy picked up a biscuit and filled it with eggs and bacon. “And if you don’t say the exact name, then I don’t have to nod.”

“That’s not fair, Lizzy Logan!” Allie said.

Lizzy came close to dropping her biscuit, but then she remembered that she’d said her sister had to come up with the exact name. It might be splitting hairs but the name on the deed would be Elizabeth Jane Logan, so she rationalized that she did not have to nod.

“Maybe not, but you made up the rules.” She slid a hash brown onto her plate and reached for another biscuit.

“Okay, Deke will have to know who the buyer is, so I’ll get him to either tell me when we go over there to help him pack,” Allie said. “And if he doesn’t I’m not helping.”

“And I’ll tell Deke he doesn’t need you to help when he’s got me to pack for him. Besides, you’ve got that big old baby bump and it’ll get in the way,” Lizzy countered with a smile.

Toby squeezed her knee under the table and sparks danced across the table like gypsies around a bonfire. She placed her hand on his and squeezed, but that did not mean she was spilling the news to him, either, not even in the midst of a night of scorching sex.

L
izzy leaned on the broom and looked around at the house she’d bought that Thursday evening. The hardwood floors had a few scuff marks but nothing that would have to be dealt with right away. The bathroom fixtures were that pink used back in the seventies, but they were in good shape. Built like so many ranch homes in those days, the house had a front door that opened right up into the living room with the big square country kitchen through an archway straight ahead. A hallway led to three bedrooms, a couple of closets, and ended with a door into the bathroom. It was basically the same layout that Allie and Blake had except that the living room was smaller and the kitchen bigger.

“Deke, I have to tell you something but I don’t want my family to know until after the festival,” Lizzy said.

He crossed his heart with his finger and held up his palm. “I can keep a secret.”

“I’m the buyer. I’m the one buying your ranch. You won’t back out will you?” she blurted out.

Deke threw an arm around her shoulders. “I already figured that out and I’d never back out on you, Lizzy. I couldn’t be happier. Just knowin’ who’s going to be takin’ care of this makes me happy.”

“How did you know?” Lizzy asked.

“I know you,” Deke chuckled. “This means you aren’t going to let Mitch talk you into a second chance, doesn’t it?”

Lizzy stepped out of his embrace and thought about smacking him with the broom. “What in the devil made you say that?”

“I heard it through the gossip vine that he’s not happy in Mexico after all and that his woman is having second thoughts,” Deke answered.

“It’s a little late for that,” Lizzy said.

“Who knows about that? They might be but there’s been so many stories that it could go either way. You didn’t answer my question though. If he’s not married and wants a second shot, what does that do about this ranch? Will you sell it and go with him and turn into that Lizzy that I don’t like?”

She slowly shook her head. “That ship sailed.”

“Are you sure?” Deke pressed.

Allie peeked around the corner of the hallway at the other end. “Sure about what? The person buying this place better not back out at this late date. I’ve got your kitchen cabinets all packed up and cleaned out. Whoever moves in here will have a spotless kitchen. And what ship sailed?”

“The one with Mitch at the helm. Deke heard that he’s not real happy with his new woman now and she’s got cold feet,” Lizzy answered.

Allie’s big brown eyes widened. “Promise me you won’t give him the time of day.”

Lizzy held up two fingers and then crossed her heart. “Too much water has run under the bridge at this time to go back to that pain.”

“Give me a match and I’ll set the bridge on fire for you,” Deke said. “Thanks for all y’all’s help. We’ll load it and take it over to the new place. Y’all are the best friends ever.” He slid a sly wink toward Lizzy.

Blake hollered at Allie and she disappeared into the kitchen. Deke followed her, leaving Lizzy alone with her broom and the trash left in one of the spare bedrooms. She took a swipe at it and leaned on the broom again.

Lizzy would own this place for less than twenty-four hours when Mitch came to town. She played out two scenarios in her mind. One involved Mitch apologizing and admitting he’d made a mistake when he broke their engagement back in February. In the other he would be aloof and more than a little self-righteous with that look that was so very familiar. The one that said the man ruled the roost and the woman was only there to scrape the shit off his boots in the evening.

Neither one weighed down her heart or made it leap around in her chest. If he apologized, she would accept it. If he was high and mighty, that was okay, too. He’d ceased to matter in her world.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Toby broke into her thoughts but it didn’t startle her.

She set the broom in the corner and walked into his open arms. They belonged in this house. It might take a while to convince him, but she wasn’t in a hurry.

“I’ve got a blanket, a six-pack of cold beer, and a paper sack with sandwiches and cookies. Want to see what’s going on at the willow tree when we get done here?” he whispered as he buried his face in her hair.

“You sure know how to woo a woman,” she said, and laughed. “I’ll meet you there.”

He tipped her chin up with his fist and their lips met in a blaze of heat like always. She leaned into the kiss, hands splayed on his broad chest, fire building from a spark into a raging wildfire in seconds.

He wrapped her tighter into his arms. “I could get used to coming home to kisses like that.”

“How about leaving in the morning?” she mumbled.

“Are you asking me to run away with you, Lizzy Logan?”

“No, I’m asking how would you like to have a kiss like that in the morning and have to walk out the door and work all day?” she answered.

“In my line of work I can always sneak away for a break any time of the day.”

“Hey, Toby, it’s wagons-ho time. Got the last pickup loaded and we’re ready,” Blake yelled.

Toby stayed long enough to brush another sweet, brief kiss across Lizzy’s lips and then she heard the back door slam and the sound of Allie’s boots coming her way. She quickly began to sweep again, shoving the dust, stray bits of paper, and other things that accumulate in a guest room toward the door.

“My job is done. I’m going home. Need a ride?” Allie asked.

“No, I want to get this room and the one across the hall completely swept and clean so I’ll catch a ride with Toby or Blake,” Lizzy answered.

“Be careful,” Allie said softly.

“About dust bunnies?” Lizzy giggled.

“No, about a hot cowboy named Toby. I’m not blind. I see the way he looks at you,” Allie answered. “And be careful about Mitch, too. He’s real good at manipulation. Oh, and one more thing, who bought this place?”

Lizzy pointed at Allie and shook her head. “You are pretty slick, but I’m still not telling.”

“Good night then. You sure have gotten sassy since Mitch broke it off with you.”

“It was either that or curl up and die, and there’s a lot of livin’ in me yet.” Lizzy hugged Allie. “Good night to you.”

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to name the baby if you will tell me who bought the ranch.”

“Not unless you are going to name her after me,” Lizzy teased.

“On that note, I’m going home for real now. See you tomorrow.”

Allie was going toward the door when Lizzy’s phone buzzed in her hip pocket. The text was from Toby saying that five of Deke’s cows were on the road. He was helping get them back in the pasture and then they’d have to fix the fence before they could unload the packed boxes. They’d have to take a rain check on the willow tree date.

She threw the broom on the floor and raced out the door, caught Allie as she was settling into the seat of her old work van, and hitched a ride home with her.

Toby awoke on Friday morning before the alarm sounded. He rolled over to gather Lizzy into his arms but all he got was an armful of air and pillow.

“Dammit! I was dreaming again.”

Blue whimpered at the side of the bed and Toby rolled over to see two big dog eyes staring at him over the edge of the mattress. He scratched the dog’s ears and wished he could go back to sleep because in the dream he and Lizzy were together. They were sitting under the willow tree and watching a bunch of kids play in the shallow creek water. Whether those children belonged to him or to Blake and Allie or even to Deke, he didn’t know, but there was something peaceful in the dream.

Blue yipped once, wagged his tail, and meandered toward the kitchen.

The reflection in the small mirror above the sink said that it was still Toby Dawson staring back at him. The scar where the bull gored him was faint but still there. His hair was still dark and his eyes hadn’t changed from blue to brown. His dark whiskers said he needed to shave. Nothing had changed and yet his world had been turned upside down by a fireball of a woman with brown eyes and dishwater blond hair.

He ran a razor over his face, got dressed, fed Blue, and opened the trailer door to the sounds of cattle, crickets, and a soft breeze rattling the wind chimes out in his backyard.

Tomorrow night the festival would be over and he and Lizzy would have no reason to go on pretending they were having a relationship. He’d know where he really stood with her. He pushed open the kitchen door to the ranch house and found Blake making breakfast. Pure unadulterated disappointment shot through his veins.

“Where’s Allie?” he asked.

“She’s been working pretty hard so I told her to sleep this morning and I’d make breakfast for the two of us. I worry about her, Toby.”

Toby poured a cup of coffee and sipped at it while he set the table. “She is a force. Must be in the Logans’ genes.”

Deke stopped in the door and sniffed the air. “I don’t have a kitchen anymore, not even a coffeepot. I’m used to setting the timer on the pot the night before so the coffee is ready.”

Toby filled a cup and handed it to him. “Tomorrow you’ll be unpacked and have a coffeepot.”

“I plan to wake up over there tomorrow morning in my brand-new place.” He sipped the coffee and rolled his eyes. “Never miss something until it’s gone.”

“Amen to that,” Toby said.

“What are you missing? Hand me that platter so I can stack up the pancakes as they get done,” Blake asked.

“He’s missing his wild and woolly days. I swear, I’ve lived here my whole life and no one has lassoed me. Y’all come to town and Blake gets a rope around his neck within six weeks and I believe I see stars in Toby’s eyes these days.” Deke opened the pantry door and pulled out two bottles of syrup.

Blake whipped around, flapjack turner in one hand and platter in the other. “So that’s the way it is for real?”

“Don’t tell Allie. Let Lizzy tell her when she’s ready,” Toby said.

“Wouldn’t think of it. She’d just fret and worry,” Blake said. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Toby finished setting the table. “Today I’m going to eat a big stack of pancakes and a bunch of bacon, plow some land, check on some cattle.”

“And about Lizzy?”

“What can I do? Mitch is coming to town. If she’s not over him, then things could go sideways in a hurry. I’m learning patience but it’s not easy,” Toby answered.

“Okay, then. Let’s eat breakfast and get on with what we have to do. We don’t need to worry about what we have no control over,” Blake said.

“Spoken like three wise cowboys.” Deke laughed. “Ever think about how we just face things and go on and women talk every single thing to death?”

“Oh, yeah.” Blake grinned. “So who bought your ranch, Deke?”

Deke scooted five pancakes over onto his plate. “I will tell you one thing about that and then I’m not sayin’ another word. When the buyer gets ready to tell you, you are going to be two surprised brothers. You might want to be sitting down. I’m sworn to secrecy until after the weekend. If it hasn’t been discovered by Monday morning, then I will tell you, but right now all I’m going to talk about is how damn fine this breakfast is.”