Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas #2) - Alison Bliss Page 0,50

her, still giggling.

“Serves him right,” Emily said, shrugging it off. “We’re never going to have other females to hang out with if he keeps sleeping with all of them and running them off.” She smiled at me. “And I like this one.”

All of them? Blushing, I somehow managed to smile back, though I couldn’t look either of them directly in the eyes. “I, um… Thanks, I like you, too.”

Both girls just stared at me, blinking, until Emily said, “Oh God! Not you, too? Holy hell. Can’t that man keep his dick in his pants for more than two minutes?”

I shook my head, denying the charges. “No, he didn’t… I mean, we didn’t… Oh God.” Embarrassed, I pressed my fist to my lips to stop them from flapping.

Emily huddled closer. “Okay, missy, we want the goods on you and Cowboy.”

“No, we don’t,” Bobbie Jo quickly clarified.

“Okay, she doesn’t. But I do. All the juicy, luscious details about you and the hunky fireman.”

I dropped my hand and shook my head. “There’s nothing to tell, really. He came by my house last Sunday and he sort of…kissed me.” I quickly followed with, “But I haven’t seen him since. Not until today, that is.”

“What? That’s such a jerk move,” Bobbie Jo said. “I should give him a piece of my mind for acting like Jeremy.”

“Oh, no. Please don’t say anything.” My eyes pleaded with her. “I just want to forget the whole thing.”

“Why?”

“Because it was a mistake,” I told her. “One that I won’t be repeating.”

“I’m sorry, Anna. He’s acting like an ass. And I hate to say I told you so, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you. He’s a great guy most of the time, but men like Cowboy and Jeremy are womanizers. Too hot-blooded to commit to a real relationship. It’s that stupid love ’em and leave ’em attitude of theirs.”

“It’s okay,” I said with a shrug. I felt stupid that I even thought for one second Cowboy had been serious about being interested in me. “It’s not like I was expecting anything from him. And to be honest, I’m sure he looks at it the same way I do. We don’t have a thing in common. He’s probably forgotten all about it already,” I said, though Cowboy’s words in the barn still ran through my mind.

Bobbie Jo turned to Emily. “How did you know something happened between them, anyway? You have ESP or something?”

“Beats the shit out of me,” she said with a shrug. “Anna looked guilty so I took a wild guess. After all, it is Cowboy we’re talking about.”

Chapter Nine

Just as we were lining up to fill our plates, a beat-up red Pontiac pulled into the driveway, parking on the concrete slab in front of the main house. The wrinkled old woman behind the wheel had fluffy white hair that made her round head resemble the end of a Q-tip.

But as she wrenched herself from the sedan, I mentally corrected myself. Actually, more like a cotton ball. There was nothing stick-like about the elderly woman’s body. The white cotton sundress clung to her thick waist and the short sleeves showed all the slack, loose skin on the underside of her flabby arms.

No one, except for Floss, made any attempt to greet her. In fact, everyone was suddenly occupied or quiet and facing the opposite direction with stiff spines and breath-held lungs. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I thought I’d better follow suit and busy myself, as well.

I wasn’t paying attention when I reached for a foam plate and accidentally bumped fingers with Cowboy. As our eyes met, I pulled my hand back quickly. “I’m sorry. Go ahead.”

“No, ma’am,” he said, offering me the plate in his hand. “Ladies first.” Then he stood there, staring at me in silence as he waited for me to take it.

I accepted the plate and nodded a thank you, then moved over to the food table, where I added a small piece of brisket and topped it with some red-eye gravy that I’d helped Floss make earlier.

When I turned, Cowboy was back at my side, standing so close that his arm bumped mine. “I didn’t mean to touch you,” he said in a low voice.

“That’s okay. I’ll just move over a little.”

“No,” he said, frowning. “That’s not what I meant.” He set his empty plate down on the table and turned to face me as I reached for a yeast roll. “I’m talking about last weekend. I didn’t