One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas) (23 page)

“Daddy, I’m so sorry. This is my fault for not playing along with Tanner.” She turned to tell Rhett what her father said about the cats and the barn.

Rhett kissed her on the cheek and said, “You don’t get to blame yourself for what they did.”

“Think Dammit will have trouble with cats?”

“You can bring whatever you want to the ranch and however many kittens you want into the house,” he answered. “And Dammit loves cats. He thinks they’re his toys.”

* * *

Rhett finally got into bed at three o’clock in the morning, but he was still too wound up to sleep. The adrenaline rush hadn’t settled down nearly enough for him to shut his eyes, so he laced his hands behind his head and tried to figure out exactly when he’d fallen in love with Leah.

It must’ve been the day he rode into town and met her in the store.
But
, he argued,
I do not believe in that love at first sight like my cousin did when he went all crazy in love with his wife.

The door eased open, and he figured Dammit had pushed his way inside his bedroom so he kept his eyes on the ceiling. Then Leah slipped beneath the covers, and his arm went out to draw her close to his side.

“I can’t sleep alone in that bed tonight. It might not be right to come in here like this, but right now I don’t care. I want to feel you next to me,” she said softly.

“I couldn’t sleep either. I should’ve gone over to River Bend and helped your dad tonight, but I couldn’t leave you alone, and I didn’t want you to be around a fire that big.” He pushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear so he could see her face better. The moonlight filtering through the window lit up her light green eyes.

“You fit pretty good right here in my arms,” he said.

She covered a yawn with her hand. “I like being here.”

“Sleepy now?” he asked.

She nodded.

His own eyelids drew heavier and heavier until finally he couldn’t hold them open anymore. When he kissed Leah’s lips, she didn’t even stir, but one of her legs was suddenly over his and she snuggled down closer.

It was full daylight when he awakened and his first impulse was to jump out of bed, call Sawyer and apologize for not being at Fiddle Creek in time for morning chores, and rush around to get dressed. Then he realized it was Sunday morning. Not only was Sunday his day off but the day before had been his last day to work at Fiddle Creek or at the bar. From now on, he’d be responsible for his ranch seven days a week.

“And those damn Gallaghers best never step one foot on it or they’ll find themselves in a war like they’ve never seen before,” he mumbled.

“What?” One of Leah’s eyes slid open. “Oh, I remember.”

“Good mornin’, gorgeous. How did you sleep? I slept like a baby with you by my side,” he said.

“Best in a long time,” she said. “Let’s go back to sleep until noon.”

“Oh no,” Rhett said. “It’s eight o’clock. We’re making breakfast and then we’re going to church.”

“No!” she said.

“Yes, ma’am. Best way in the world to thwart any future crap from either the Gallaghers or from your grandmother is for us to walk right into that church and sit together in the middle section. Maybe we’ll put a roast in the oven and invite your dad to have dinner with us when he brings your mama cat to the ranch.”

She sat up in bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’d like that, Rhett.”

Rhett pulled her back down beside him. “Are you ready for a real kiss?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Last night you said you felt as if you’d been violated. I don’t want to pressure you until you are ready,” he said.

She pulled his face down to hers and their lips met in a kiss so full of passion that his heart raced. Her hands slipped beneath the covers and circled his semi-erection, and in minutes he felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

“I want you to make love to me. Sweet love without a lot of foreplay,” she whispered.

“I believe I can do that,” he said.

She rolled over on her back, pulled him on top of her, and guided him inside. They rocked together until they were both panting, and then she dug her fingernails into his back and gasped.

“Oh, oh,” she said.

“Yes?” he asked as they reached the peak together.

“Let’s skip church and do that all over again.”

He smiled and shifted his weight to his elbows as he leaned in to look deeply into her eyes. “We might miss church a few times a year, but this is not one of them. This is the day we declare to the whole town that we are a couple and no one can mess with what we’ve got.”

Guilt and freedom mixed together produced an antsy feeling in the pit of Leah’s insides when she and Rhett walked into the church hand in hand. He tapped Sawyer on the shoulder and the whole bunch of folks on the pew scooted down to make room for them. Jill leaned around Sawyer and smiled at her; Gladys winked and Polly gave her a thumbs-up.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Rhett whispered.

“Depends on whether the looks from Tanner and my grandmother burn me into nothing but a pile of ashes right here in the church. We should have brought Dammit with us,” she answered.

“I’ll protect you. If I didn’t, Dammit would bite me. That dog loves you.” He grinned.

He laid his arm on the back of the pew and patted her upper arm. That simple gesture gave her enough courage to glance over toward the Gallagher side. Tanner was sitting beside a tall brunette that looked at him like she’d already had him for breakfast and was contemplating a second serving of the same for dinner. Leah wondered if the new woman would get the big diamond ring or if he really would return it to the jeweler. Maybe it wasn’t even real. Fake diamonds, like fake love, were hard to tell from the real thing.

She turned her head slightly and looked over toward the Brennan side of the church. Honey smiled and made a sign with her thumb and little finger that said to call her. Leah nodded slightly and noticed Kinsey tapping a message into her phone.

“Your phone is vibrating against my hip,” Rhett whispered.

Leah dug it out of her purse and scrolled down to read what Kinsey had written:
Insurance will take care of the barn burning but it’s your fault.

She quickly wrote back:
Did she want me to marry Tanner Gallagher?

She glanced toward Kinsey and got a wink as an answer.

The preacher took his place behind the podium, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m sorry to hear about the Brennans’ hay barn burning to the ground last night. I understand there was also a grass fire over at Polly’s ranch. Speaking of that, Rhett O’Donnell has bought Double Shot Ranch. He’ll be putting permanent roots down here, and we want to welcome him to the town with open arms. My sermon this morning is on love. We’re all familiar with the love chapter in Corinthians, but today I want to talk about another love affair. The one between Adam and Eve,” he said.

Rhett leaned over and whispered, “Got an apple in your purse?”

Leah bit back a giggle and squeezed his thigh, letting her hand rest there afterward. If lightning bolts didn’t come through the ceiling and zap her on the spot for sitting in the neutral section of the church, then touching a hippie cowboy’s leg probably wouldn’t get her fried into a pile of ashes.

The preacher talked about how that love didn’t seek revenge, but neither the Gallaghers nor the Brennans looked like they were in the forgiving mood that morning. Forgiveness?

Love?

No, sir! The Brennans were figuring out what they could do in retaliation for the barn burning, which was payback for the shit storm on Wild Horse, which was… And the list went backwards for a hundred years. And then the Gallaghers would huddle up and plan their next move.

But you are free from all that
, Eve’s voice said in her head.

I’ll always be a Brennan. DNA and blood are permanent
, she argued.

Well, at least you aren’t living in the middle of it.

Leah nodded.

“Fighting or agreeing with Eve?” Rhett whispered.

“A little of both,” she answered.

The sermon ended with a plea that everyone in Burnt Boot show love toward their neighbors, their friends, their spouses, and even their enemies. Leah figured most of it fell on deaf ears. Quaid gave the benediction, which was short and to the point, then everyone was on their feet and the noise level went from stone-cold quietness to whispered conversations.

“Fire hurt anything on your place last night?” Sawyer asked.

“Didn’t get past the fence in most cases,” Rhett answered. “Fire trucks got there before it got out of hand. They thought it was caused by a cigarette, but I reckon it was a diversion. One cigarette wouldn’t have burned a quarter mile long and twenty feet deep.”

“You’re probably right.” Sawyer nodded. “It had to be long enough to use up all the water in the trucks, right? More feudin’.”

“That’s what I thought from the beginning.”

“You and Leah want to go to dinner with us? We’re taking Polly and Gladys out for Italian and a matinee,” Sawyer said.

“Thanks, but we’ve got a roast in the oven, and we’re going to invite her dad and maybe Declan over to our place,” Rhett said.

“Whew!” Sawyer wiped a hand across his brow dramatically. “You really are diving right into the deep water. Mavis will pitch a bitchin’ hissy if he accepts.”

“That’s her problem.”

Honey Brennan wasted no time getting to Leah and giving her a hug. “I might get disowned for this, but I understand you’ve got a big empty living room where I can throw down my sleeping bag. Do you realize you are the very first from either family to ever sit in the middle section? You’ve broken the ice for the rest of us.”

“I guess I am. I didn’t think of that. To tell the truth, I was so nervous this morning that if Rhett hadn’t held my hand, I’m not sure I could have faced everyone. Does Granny really blame me for the fire last night?”

Honey’s head bobbed up and down. “Oh, yes. It’s your rebellion that caused us to lose our school, and I’m not sure, but you might have caused everything for the past year.”

“Hey, Honey,” Rhett said, “why don’t you come have dinner with us? You can lay claim to which corner of the living room you want if you get thrown off River Bend.”

“I’m not that brave yet,” Honey said.

Betsy looped her arm through Rhett’s and leaned against him. “The preacher said we should love our neighbor. I’d like to do that. You name the time and place.”

“He also said you should love your enemy,” Rhett said.

She backed away quickly. “That ain’t happenin’. Not in a million years.”

“So do you love Tanner?” Leah asked Rhett.

“Sure I do. I’d love to beat the shit out of him,” Rhett said.

Leah slapped a hand over her mouth to keep the giggles from echoing off the church walls. Before she could get control, a little girl tapped her on the arm and she looked down at one of her students—Millie Gallagher.

“Hello. Are you having a good weekend?” Leah asked.

“No, I am not. I’m having a birthday party next weekend, and I want to invite my new friend, Carrie Brennan, and Mama says it ain’t happenin’. But the preacher said we should show love to everyone, and I really like Carrie, and she’s my new best friend at school.”

Leah hugged the child to her side. “I’m so sorry, Millie. But Mama’s rules are the law and teacher’s rules can’t override them.”

“Can we have a party in the classroom?” Millie’s eyes misted, and she sniffled.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Leah said. “No promises about a real party, but we will sing to you on your birthday.”

“Thank you, Miz Leah.” Millie waved at Carrie and skipped across the church to talk to her.

“And so it begins,” Rhett said.

“What begins?”

“The end of the feud. It’ll be baby steps, but we might see it done and finished in our lifetime,” he answered.

“I hope so. There’s my dad and Declan. Let’s invite them both to dinner,” she said. “Hey, Daddy,” she called out and waved.

He and Declan stopped and waited for her and Rhett to catch up.

“How much hay did you lose?” Rhett asked when they were closer.

“Whole barn full of hay. Insurance will take care of it at today’s market price, but we all know in the winter, when it gets scarce, the price goes up. I’m glad no one got hurt.” Russell shook hands with Rhett and then hugged Leah. “Your mama cat is out in my truck in the carrier. She don’t like to be penned up, so I reckon we’d best get on out there and transfer her over into your vehicle so you can take her to her new home.”

“We’d like for you and Declan to come to Sunday dinner at our place. You’ll be our first guests,” Leah said.

“Yes,” Declan said in a hurry.

“That didn’t take long,” Leah said.

“Granny is on the warpath. I’m the one who helped you pack and load up, so I’m in trouble too. I’d gladly eat a bologna sandwich in peace instead of listening to her bitch while I’m having turkey and dressing,” he explained.

“I’d love to have dinner with y’all. We’ll leave the cat and kittens in my truck and take them out when we get over to Rhett’s place—seems strange to call it that after all these years of it being Polly’s place,” Russell said.

“Or to call it Double Shot instead of Polly’s Place,” Rhett said. “I like the name, so I’m leaving it as is.”

“Glad to hear it. Some stuff needs to be changed, but that was the second ranch to get started here back when old man Cleary threw his boots in the fire. He built the general store and settled on Fiddle Creek. Then his brother relocated here and built the bar and named his ranch Double Shot. That was before they even had a post office,” Russell said. “I’m going to catch up with Kinsey and tell her what our plans are, so they won’t hold dinner for us on River Bend. Declan and I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“And thanks.” Declan smiled.

“This is a special day,” Leah said. “It’s the first time I can ever remember that my father, my brother, and I will sit down to the table together.”

“You don’t eat together every Sunday?”

“We eat together as a family every day, but I can’t ever remember a time when Granny wasn’t there or when it was only the three of us,” she said.

“I’ll be there, Leah. It won’t be just your immediate family.”

She smiled up at him. “Darlin’, you and Dammit are my family too.”