One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas) (21 page)

Rhett grinned. “There’s lots of O’Donnell cousins who’ll jump at the chance to move up here and work for Sawyer.”

Polly stuck out her hand. “Deal! I’ll tell the lawyer to draw up the papers tomorrow when me and Gladys go to town. Now, this business with Leah—I told her this morning what I was offering you. If you got a problem with havin’ her for a roommate, she can either live in one room of the house, or Jill can give her your old room until she can find a place to live.”

“I don’t have a problem, but if she does, then she can talk to Jill,” Rhett said.

What if after today, she doesn’t want to live in the same house with you?
the voice in his head said.

Then I guess she’ll have to find another place to live.

“Oh, and one more thing goes with that deal,” Polly was saying when his mind stopped arguing with his heart. “I’m not able to clean out the house, so that’s up to you three to do for me. You can store it all in the barn down at the back of my ranch until I feel like going through it and having an auction.”

“That’s only what’s in the house, right?” Rhett asked. “The equipment does come with the sale?”

“Lock, stock, and barrel. Just not the household things. Most of them are pretty sentimental,” Polly answered.

“Then I’ll be more than happy to move it all out.”

“Good. All except whatever is in that guest room. That belongs to Leah now, and it never meant much to me anyway,” Polly said. “You can have the house with all the appliances plus the freezer that’s in the utility room and whatever is left in it. The rest goes to storage.”

* * *

Leah threw herself onto her bed. There was work to do and lots of it. Her personal things had to be boxed up to move to the new house. Clothing could be taken downstairs on the hangers and piled in the backseat of her truck. Not a single person had stepped up to help her, so the job was all hers.

That plus what Tanner had said about ending the feud had put her into a terrible turmoil. All she wanted to do was run away, maybe back to the beach, alone this time, to think about this emotional roller coaster.

She sat up and reached for her purse and the letter she’d written to Rhett fell out on the floor.

“Dammit!” she exclaimed. “He doesn’t have any idea that I didn’t have access to a phone or a vehicle. I wonder what went on over at Betsy’s. Dammit! I bet she tried to wow him with all that Wild Horse could offer him, right along with her body. I’d like to cover her with honey and stake her out on a fire ant bed.”

“Hey, Sis.” Declan knocked on the door and poked his head inside. “I hear you’re leaving us tomorrow after your first day of school.”

“I am.”

He crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “You realize that means no one to clean your room, make your bed every day, and cook for you. It means taking care of yourself.”

“Just like college, right?”

His dark blue eyes darted around the room. “This place is all either of us has ever known except for those four years at college, and then we came home every weekend.”

She sat down and threw an arm around him. “I’ll miss seeing you every day but, hey, I’m only a few miles away. Polly’s house sits a quarter of a mile back behind the bar, as you well know, and you can come visit anytime you want.”

“How was it today with Tanner?”

“I don’t know, Declan. He says that the two of us could end this feud if we got together.”

“He’s lying. He’ll leave you with a broken heart if you trust him. And, honey, it’ll take more than you and Tanner to end this crap. It will take the deaths of our granny and Naomi.”

Leah’s eyes misted. “But if he’s right, I could end it, and we’d all be free of this damned curse we were born into.”

Declan wiped her tears away with his palm. “Would you be happy with him?”

More tears flowed down her cheeks. “Wouldn’t we all be happier to get away from this constant war? One person’s happiness seems so small compared to everyone being happy after more than a hundred years of fighting.”

He pulled his sister over, so her head was on his shoulder. “Not if it’s your happiness, Leah. You deserve your soul mate. Don’t cry. If you’re determined to move, I’ll help you pack things up.”

“You’ll be in big trouble if you do.” She managed a weak smile.

“You’ve got a house and I can always crash on your sofa.”

Kinsey, bless her heart, took Granny Mavis to Dallas on Monday to shop and kept her out until Leah’s dad and brother loaded everything into her truck. The backseat was full of her clothing still on hangers and the bed of the truck was stacked from back to front with boxes.

Russell hugged her and pointed toward the southeast. “You’d best get going if you’re going to get all this into your new place before that storm hits. It’s going to be a toad strangler from what the weatherman says.”

“We need the rain, so we’re not complainin’.” Declan opened the door for her. “You sure you don’t want me to go with you and get all this inside?”

“No, Rhett promised he’d be there. Y’all come on over and see me regular. I’m going to miss seeing you every day,” she said.

“Go, before you make me change my mind and chain you to the porch post,” Russell teased.

She got into the truck and rolled down the window. “Thanks for making this…” Her voice cracked.

Declan popped the fender and said, “Move ’em out. Wagons, ho!”

She wiped away the single tear that had escaped and drove away. She thought she might have a panic moment when she pulled out onto the highway and turned north, leaving River Bend behind her. She inhaled deeply and got ready for her chest to tighten. After all, she’d left what she knew behind and was going forward to a shaky future. But all she felt was a sudden burst of pure joy.

Rhett was sitting on the porch with Dammit beside him when she parked in the driveway. He waved and stretched when he stood up, and he had a smile on his face. She hopped out of the truck and opened up the back doors to take out a load of clothing.

“You really did it.” He smiled as he lowered the tailgate.

“And it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be,” she answered.

Suddenly his arms were around her waist and her back was against his chest. He buried his face in the hollow of her neck and held her for several seconds before he loosened his hold enough to turn her around. His eyelids fluttered shut and she stood on tiptoe at the same time he leaned toward her. His lips found hers in a scorching-hot kiss that left her knees weak. She tangled her hands in his dark hair that fell free that evening and pressed her body against his.

“I was afraid you’d change your mind,” he whispered.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t be here,” she said.

He took a step back and took her hand in his. “Don’t unload anything until you walk through the house. It could change your mind about living here.”

“I don’t think anything could change my mind,” she said.

He led her onto the porch and swung open the door. Light poured in from the bare windows. Two lawn chairs sat beside a wooden crate with a mason jar full of wild flowers in the middle. The kitchen was bare except for a folding card table with four metal folding chairs around it.

She stopped in the middle of the hallway, almost afraid to open the guest bedroom door for fear she’d find it swept clean of everything too. But when Rhett swung the door open, the bed and dresser were still there. No sheets, pillows, or throw rugs, but at least she had a bed to sleep on that night.

“And now…” He swung open the door to the room across the hallway. She recognized the bed they’d shared in the bunkhouse and the dresser. Again, no sheets but the closet doors revealed his clothing and there were a few things on top of the dresser. “I bought this ranch and I’ve moved into this room. If that’s going to be a problem, then Jill says you can live at the bunkhouse. And I will understand. No questions asked. I’ll even go with you and help you move in. I officially take over duties on September first, but I wanted to get moved in now so the man who’s been taking care of the place could show me around.”

He sucked up a lungful of air like he was going to keep talking, but Leah put her fingers over his mouth. “I have no problem with you living across the hall from me, Rhett. And I love what you’ve done with the place. Thank you for the flowers in the living room. Anything else we should talk about?”

“Lots, but right now we have to get your things in the house before it rains. Then we have to go to Gainesville to buy groceries. We’ll make a list on the way.” He tipped her chin up for another kiss that glued her feet to the floor.

No, she didn’t mind him living across the hall or sharing the one bathroom in the house with him, but were they roommates, lovers, or had she moved in with him on a much higher plane?

He stacked the boxes against the wall in the living room and helped her hang all her clothing in the closet in her new room. She’d organize the closet later and unpack the boxes when she had time. Today, they had to concentrate on basics because tomorrow, Rhett would be still working at Fiddle Creek while learning what he could about his new ranch. She would be at school all day. They needed to be able to eat and go to bed in that order. While he drove, she took a pad and pen from her purse and started a list.

“I’ve written down sheets and pillows for two beds,” she said.

“Bath soap, towels, and a shower curtain, and maybe a rug to go in front of the tub,” he said.

She wrote that down and said, “Laundry soap, fabric softener, and spray starch.”

He nodded. “Ironing board and iron if you liked pressed clothes.”

She finally looked up and asked, “What else?”

“Food,” he said. “Do you know how to cook?”

“A little,” she said. “This reminds me of the list I made when I went to college.”

“Me too, only I like being thirty better than being eighteen. Besides, you’re prettier than my roommate was back then. He was a nerd who kept losing his glasses and accusing me of stealing them,” he said.

“Mine was a red-haired cheerleader who was seldom in our room. She liked to party and she liked the cowboys,” Leah said. “Paper plates for now?”

Rhett nodded. “But I want a real coffee mug.”

“Me too.” She made a note on the pad and turned the page.

“Leah,” he said seriously, “my eyes got opened really wide yesterday when I was on Wild Horse Ranch. I realized what you could have, what you deserve, and I don’t ever want to stand in your way if you and Tanner really have something in the past you have to settle. I’m not saying I’ll like it if the chips fall in his favor but hell, I’m not stupid. The Gallaghers are a force,” he said.

“And so are the Brennans, which is why I want to be away from them both before they swallow me up in their feuding and bigness.”

* * *

Rhett circled the parking lot in the small shopping plaza until he found a spot close to the barbecue place and snagged it. “I haven’t had supper. Have you?”

“No, I have not, and I’m starving. Is this a date?” If he said yes, it was a third date, and by damn, she was going to find out the story behind the horns and the tat.

“It can be. Why? Does magic happen on a third date?” He opened the door and rushed around to help her out.

“You have to tell me about the tat and the horns on your cycle, which reminds me—I didn’t see it or your new truck.”

“I can’t think of a better time for a third date than the night that we become roomies. The cycle is in the shed out back of our new place and the truck didn’t arrive today. It should be here by the end of the week, but Gladys is still letting me use the old work truck from Fiddle Creek as long as I’m working for them.” Rhett ushered her inside with his hand on the small of her back.

Since the dinner rush had already passed, they were seated quickly. Rhett ordered a pulled pork sandwich and Leah followed his lead, ordering the same thing only changing her drink to a diet cola rather than sweet tea.

“Now about those horns,” she said as they waited on their orders.

“I was going to be a bull rider. From the time I was too little to ride anything but an old tire hung from a tree on a rope, I was going to ride bulls. And I did, made a few dollars to sock away toward my ranch. Ever been to the Resistol Rodeo down near Dallas?”

She nodded. “Many times. Daddy and Declan love rodeos, and I got dragged along or tagged along, depending on my age and my mood.”

“I was twenty-two that summer and fresh out of college, full of piss and vinegar, and ready to get right into my rodeo career. I was practicing my bull riding on some of my cousin’s rodeo stock up at Ringgold. The bull I was on was a mean old devil, and I knew if I could stay on his back eight seconds, I was a shoo-in for the big tour that year. I climbed on his back, got the ropes right, and nodded for them to open the gate. He snorted and came out of the shoot like a bat out of hell. Three seconds in, he threw me into the dirt, came back around, caught me with those big horns, and threw me up in the air, then stomped me when I landed the second time,” he said.

“Good grief, Rhett! It’s a wonder you weren’t killed.”

“He busted me up pretty good, messed up my neck and several of my vertebrae, broke my wrist, and gave me a damn fine concussion. I was on the ground, unconscious, when he started at me again and my cousin Rye dropped him in his tracks.”

“How?” Leah asked.

“A bullet right between the eyes. His horns are on my cycle and when I got out of the neck brace and got the cast off my wrist, I got the tat on my arm. It’s to remind me every day to be thankful that I’m alive. To remember that when one door closes, another one opens, and not to take a damn thing that comes into my life for granted,” he said.

“That’s poetic and romantic,” she said. “Why is it a third-date story?”

“I don’t want a woman to go out with me a second time out of pity. I want to woo them with my charm.”

She covered his hand with hers. “I don’t think many women would pity you.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances,” he said.

“I have a question,” she said.

“About the horns.”

“No, about the visit you had on Wild Horse yesterday.”

“Ask away,” he said.

“What happened?”

“I had dinner and escaped.”

“Escaped?”

The waitress brought their food and drinks and asked, “Anything else?”

“Not right now,” Rhett said.

She went on to take orders from a couple sitting at a table on the other side of the room, and Leah repeated the question. “Escaped?”

“That’s what it felt like. I felt trapped at that place with Betsy on one side and Naomi on the other. Then there was the meeting with Polly and Gladys, and I didn’t know if they were going to toss me off Fiddle Creek or what,” he said.

Leah removed the top bun from her sandwich and poured barbecue sauce on the meat. “Is that when Polly offered to sell you her ranch? Are you going to change the name?”

“Yes and no. I like the name fine. Had no idea its real name was Double Shot Ranch, but I like it, and she’s even going to let me keep the brand. We have to do some paperwork, but as of the first day of September, the ranch is mine.”

“Did Betsy make a move on you?”

“No, she made several, and then she kissed me, and it did not create sparks like it does when you kiss me,” he said.

Leah could feel anger and jealousy mixing in her veins, and it wasn’t a pretty feeling. Just one time, fate could be kind enough to give her a chance to knock that redhead square on her ass. She was seething already when she looked up and there was Tanner Gallagher coming right at their table. He was dressed in his Sunday best. Starched and creased jeans, boots polished to a shine, belt buckle gleaming in the dim light, and a pale blue shirt with pearl snaps. Bad luck followed her around like a hungry puppy.

“Dammit! I swear he’s stalking me.”

“Who?” Rhett asked.

Tanner’s eyes were glued on Leah, and his smile was wide, and it looked sincere and genuine—but then a wolf in sheep’s clothing didn’t look too dangerous either, now did it? He laid a hand on Leah’s shoulder and said softly, “Leah, darlin’, I thought that was your truck out there in the parking lot. I went to the bar, hoping you would be there. I overheard Honey talking about you moving away from River Bend. I was heartbroken that you didn’t call me to help you. I drove out to Polly’s, but you weren’t there. Imagine my surprise to see your truck sitting right outside the very place I was coming in to have some supper.”

Leah shrugged his hand away.

“We’re having dinner here, Tanner,” Rhett said.

Tanner barely glanced his way before dropping down on one knee. The red velvet box appeared in his hand as if it came from thin air. He popped it open to reveal a diamond half the size of Rhett’s thumbnail that sparkled like a lit up crystal chandelier.

Lord, have mercy! That thing was the gaudiest damn ring she’d ever seen. Sure it was sparkly and glittered in the light, but a woman would be afraid of being mugged if she wore the thing. What was he trying to prove anyway, showing up with a ring like that?

“I’m tired of playing games, Leah. I want you to know how serious I am and how much I love you. Will you marry me? We can have a long engagement and get married next summer, after your school year is over. And I can help move you to Wild Horse tonight. You deserve so much more than that little house of Polly’s,” he said.

When she didn’t answer, he went on. “We’ll have a honeymoon on an island that caters to our style of life, since I know you like the beach. And I’ll build you a proper home between now and then, that we can come home to after our honeymoon. Until then, Granny says you can have a room at the main house.”

“Are you crazy?” Leah asked.

“Crazy in love with you, and I don’t want you to make the mistake of your life with this hippie cowboy.” Tanner continued to grin like he expected her to throw her arms around him and say that she would marry him. Well, it would snow a foot in hell when she did that, even if he proposed in a very private place with a ring the right size for a teacher.

“No. The answer is no,” she said. “Now get up and go away.”

Tanner snapped the box shut, the noise causing several people to look their way. When he stood up, he bent and kissed Leah on the forehead. “This is only the first proposal. I have lots more, and I will use them all. You’ve seen the ring, and you know I mean what I say. I will never give up.”

“Tanner, the answer will never be yes,” she said.