Taming a Texas Rascal (Bad Boy Ranch #6) - Katie Lane Page 0,15
golden boy. The one who was supposed to fulfill all their doctor, lawyer, billionaire dreams. Instead, I fulfilled all their worst nightmares. Which is why I ended up at a boy’s ranch.”
She’d heard stories about why the bad boys had been sent to the Double Diamond ranch. Cru Cassidy got sent here for raising hell at his orphanage. Logan McCord for stealing cars. Holden Lancaster for getting kicked out of his private school. Val Sterling for flooding his school library. And Lincoln Hayes for getting into fights. But she hadn’t heard what Sawyer had done.
“What did you do to get sent here?”
“The better question is what didn’t I do? I was a pretty rowdy teenager.” He took the cup of coffee from her and took a sip. He grimaced. “Damn, Chester still makes the worst coffee ever.” He handed her back the cup, then hesitated as his gaze lowered to the front of her shirt. She glanced down to see if she’d spilled coffee on it, but the shirt was clean. When she looked back up, Sawyer was staring out at the ranch.
“You’re not getting off that easy,” she said. “I want details. What kind of rowdy things?”
He shrugged. “I drank my dad’s whiskey and then filled the bottle up with water. I took my mom’s car for a joyride without a license and ran into the neighbor’s mailbox on the way home. I caught a bunch of grasshoppers and put them in my dad’s shed so they all jumped out when he opened the door and almost gave him a heart attack. Mattie laughed so hard he peed his pants.” A smile tipped the corners of his perfect lips.
“Mattie?” she asked.
Sawyer’s smile faded. “My twin brother.”
“You have a twin brother? I don’t remember hearing about him coming to the ranch.”
“He didn’t come here. He was the good kid.”
His wording took her by surprise. Obviously, Sawyer believed his brother was the good kid and he was the bad one. She didn’t know why that bothered her so much. Maybe because she had fought against labels all her life.
“Sorry, but the things you did don’t sound all that bad to me,” she said. “It sounds like you were a typical teenager, not a troubled teen who needed to be shipped off to a boys’ ranch.”
“It wasn’t punishment. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Once again, his gaze lowered to her chest. Since she didn’t have great boobs, she figured he was trying to read the front of her t-shirt. Which was impossible with her sling covering half of it.
“Have a Willie Nice Day,” she said.
He lifted his gaze. “What?”
“My t-shirt. It’s a picture of Willie Nelson and says “Have a Willie Nice Day.’”
“Ahh.” He got up from the chair. “I think I’ll go get dressed and help Chester in the barn.” He started to head for the door, but then stopped and turned back to her. “About what happened the other night . . . it was a big mistake. We’re friends, Maze. Right?”
The guilt she felt for lying to him evaporated at the words “big mistake.” A whole lot of hurt took its place and made her temper flare. “Sure. Although friends don’t usually sleep together . . . unless they’re friends with benefits.”
His smile faded, and he opened his mouth to say something and then snapped it closed again. Finally he just laughed awkwardly like it was a huge joke. “Yeah . . . uhh . . . well . . . sorry.”
As she watched him disappear into the house, Maisy felt pretty darn sorry herself.
Sorry she hadn’t gotten a taste of Sawyer when she’d had the chance.
Chapter Five
“It looks like you’re feeling as ornery as ever this morning,” Chester said as soon as Sawyer stepped into the barn.
“Yes, sir,” Sawyer replied with a smile.
While his head still hurt like hell, a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He wasn’t going to be a daddy. He felt like he could breathe again. Although he’d still broken his word to Lincoln. He couldn’t forget that. Nor could he seem to forget the feel of Maisy’s firm butt cheeks in his hands. Or her sweet, hot center pressed against his stomach as she’d straddled him. And he wished like hell his concussion had lost those particular memories.
“You looked a little like a whupped pup when you got here last night.” Chester picked up a hay bale and hefted it into a nearby wheel barrel.