Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas #2) - Alison Bliss Page 0,49

having a quiet fireside chat. But I couldn’t bear the thought of being that close. Especially after Cowboy accused me of starting the pallet fire at the chili cook-off. I preferred to stay right where I was, watching them all from a distance.

Hank stood and headed over to the nearby barrel smoker. Ox and Judd joined him, holding out large steel pans, while Hank filled one with barbecue ribs and the other with a huge chunk of brisket.

Jake lounged in the shade of a tree, holding his sleeping daughter on his chest, while patting her back lightly with his large hands. They looked so comfortable and peaceful.

Actually, everyone did.

Cowboy was the only one making any real noise. He sat on a plastic chair bouncing Austin on his knee in time to the Bonanza theme song, providing all the sounds with his mouth. I couldn’t help but grin as he used the baby’s tiny hand to crack an invisible whip.

When Bobbie Jo took Austin from him—probably to keep him from getting whiplash from the way his head was lolling around—Cowboy stood and walked away from the fire. He passed by Jake and paused long enough to rub the back of his finger lightly against Lily’s cheek. It was sweet, the way he showed so much attention to the babies.

A clinking noise interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see Emily putting some beer and ice into a cooler. “Hey, Anna. Do me a favor?” She handed me the empty beer box. “Throw this into the burn pit for me, will you?”

My mouth opened, but I froze in place, unable to answer her.

Cowboy stepped in front of me and looked straight into my eyes. He read my expression and gave me a little wink as if to calm my nerves. “I’ve got it,” he said, then took the box from me before moving back toward the burn pit.

Relief washed over me, but it was only a temporary fix, since Emily stepped up beside me a second later and asked, “What was that all about?”

“Well, I…” I closed my eyes, not knowing how to tell her what Cowboy already knew. And it didn’t help that it mortified me.

“Are you okay, Anna?”

“I…um, have this thing…about fire.” I lowered my gaze and cringed. “It scares me.”

“No shit?” Emily said, pausing to contemplate what I told her. “Did Bobbie Jo tell you about last summer when Jake hid me here to keep the mob from finding me?”

I nodded, hoping she wouldn’t be upset with Bobbie Jo for sharing that bit of personal information with me.

“Well, even though Hank taught me to shoot a gun, I still hate the sound of gunfire. It makes me nervous.”

“That’s understandable after what you went through.”

“Well, you must’ve had a bad experience yourself,” Emily said.

I nodded, but didn’t bother to elaborate.

“Don’t worry about it. I know how hard it is to get over something like that. It takes time.”

Bobbie Jo walked over, having left Austin in Ox’s capable hands. “Lord have mercy. Did you see what Cowboy was doing to my child’s head a minute ago?”

“If he does that to Lily, I’m going to sic Jake on him,” Emily said, shaking her head with blatant disapproval. “She can’t even hold her head up on her own yet like Austin can.”

Maybe it was because he’d helped me only moments before, but I felt the need to defend Cowboy, even if I did agree that he was bouncing the baby around a little too much. “I think it’s sweet the way Cowboy is with both of the children.”

“Did I hear my name?” Cowboy hollered from across the yard. I glanced in his direction and he smiled wickedly at me. “Hey there, beautiful. Long time, no see.”

Heat flashed through my entire body, but settled in my cheeks. No one had ever called me that before. Not that it meant much, though, since he called Bobbie Jo the same thing that first night I’d seen him in the library. And probably every other girl he ever crossed paths with.

“God, Cowboy. Do you always have to hit on all of our friends?” Bobbie Jo rolled her eyes. “Ignore him, Anna. He’ll eventually give up.”

“What are you ladies talking about over there?” Cowboy asked.

Emily grinned. “Menstruation.”

A horrified expression crossed his face, then he turned his attention back to the other men, making the three of us laugh.

“Works every time,” Emily said.

“Poor guy’s going to get a complex if you keep doing that to him,” Bobbie Jo told