have I got to do with anything? Like I told you, I never did like that girl.”
“Well, honey, she sure had a mind to marry you. She told us that she even learned to run a tractor to impress you,” Alana told him.
“She’d have to do more than that to make me take notice,” Pax said. “You ready for a drink? Name your poison, and I’ll have Bubba Joe mix it up for you.”
“Jack Daniel’s on the rocks, triple, please,” she answered. “And if you’ve got a couple of aspirin in the glove compartment, I’ll take those too.”
“Yes, ma’am, to both,” Pax said. “Guess she got her comeuppance when she went down with you.”
“I suppose she did.” Alana smiled. “Truth is that I grabbed her high heel and gave it a good solid twist. I was glad she didn’t fall right on top of me. Drunk as she is, she might have upchucked all over me, and I’d hate to have that in my hair.”
Pax chuckled, then laughed out loud. “And all this because she’s mad at us?”
“Yep, she thinks I tricked you into getting married by getting pregnant,” Alana confessed.
“People sure like to meddle in other folks’ business, don’t they?” He swung himself out over the side of the truck bed. “Two triple shots of Jack coming right up,” he said.
Of all the dumb luck, Billy Ray and Rachel were in line right in front of him. Rachel turned around and put both her hands on his chest.
“I can’t believe you asked Alana to marry you.” Rachel slurred her words. “We could’ve been good together, and we’d have made such pretty babies.”
“Billy Ray would make gorgeous babies with you. Just look at his big old blue eyes.” Pax grasped her hands in his and laid them on Billy Ray’s arms.
Mama would kill me graveyard dead, Billy Ray mouthed over the top of Rachel’s head.
“I don’t have any doubts about that,” Pax agreed. “But go for it anyway.”
“Oh, Billy Ray, darlin’, why didn’t you speak up sooner? We’ve lost so much time. I don’t care that you’re younger than me. Age is numbers on paper,” Rachel finally caught up.
Billy Ray narrowed his eyes at Pax. “Let’s talk about it when we’re both sober.”
“You got it.” Rachel pointed a finger at Pax. “Too bad. So sad. I’m over you now. You can go on and marry Alana Carey. I don’t give a damn. I’ve got Billy Ray now, and he’s goin’ to be so good to me.”
Billy Ray led her back to a line of folding chairs, helped get her seated, and then he returned to the line. “What in the hell is going on? I thought this would be a nice reunion, but it’s worse than all the other ones I’ve been to put together. We should’ve rented the Wild Cowboy for the evening like you said last year.”
“Yep,” Pax said. “Good luck with Rachel.”
“I hope to hell she doesn’t remember anything when she sobers up,” Billy Ray said. “Is Alana all right? Rachel told me that she tripped her on purpose.”
“She’ll be sore for a few days, but it’ll wear off, and take my advice, old friend.” Pax laid a hand on Billy Ray’s shoulder. “Get Rachel back inside, hand her off to her friends, and make yourself scarce, or you might find yourself walking down the aisle. She’s lookin’ for a husband, not a one-night stand.”
“I hear you,” Billy Ray said.
What are you lookin’ for? His grandmother’s voice popped into his head, and he remembered that Mam was coming to the ranch. She’d arrive sometime tomorrow for the wedding shower, and she planned to stay until after the wedding.
I’m lookin’ for what Bridget and Maverick have, he answered honestly.
He waited for a few minutes, but Mam didn’t offer any advice, one way or the other. No doubt, though, when she was at the ranch, and they were face-to-face, she’d give him plenty of sass about everything.
He finally reached the front of the line, got his drinks, and was carefully carrying them back to the truck when he realized that he hadn’t missed flirting. He’d always spent most of his time at the alumni reunions flirting with all the ladies—but he’d had eyes for only Alana that evening.
Chapter Thirteen
Thank god it isn’t raining, Alana thought as she waited for Pax to return with her whiskey. “Oh, no!” she muttered when she remembered that she’d been bargaining with God an hour before. Falling was her punishment for thinking that she