Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas #2) - Alison Bliss Page 0,54

lazed in a nearby lawn chair, looking quite proud of himself, his long legs stretched out in front of him with one booted ankle kicked over the other. As I handed Momma Belle her purse, he eyed my shaky hands and smiled, obviously pleased that he’d had an effect on me.

She reached into the tote and pulled out the container of moonshine, then glanced up at Cowboy. “Lovely young lady you got here, whistle britches. Yes, indeed.” She opened the jar, took a large swig, then sat back as she peered directly at my breasts. “Just ripe for the pickin’, as my Earl would always say.”

Cowboy grinned, but said nothing.

“Is Earl your husband?” I asked, sitting down beside her and hoping to take the focus off my boobs. Jesus.

“Oh, yes, deary. He was. Up until the big C hooked its claws into him and sank him six feet into the ground. I’m tellin’ ya, folks can’t always afford no high-falutin’ doctor these days.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“No need to be sorry, girl. My Earl kept himself in good spirits and didn’t go down without a fight.”

“Yes, I hear having a positive outlook can be quite healing.”

“No, dear. Spirits.” Momma Belle tapped her nubby finger on the mason jar she was holding. “He took to making moonshine before he died. Said the white lightning was the only thing that helped keep the pain at bay.”

“Oh.” I smiled sympathetically. “Well, I’m sure you miss him a great deal.”

“Sure do. My Earl was a hoot, even if he did sag in places I didn’t want to look.” She cackled at that and gigged me hard in the ribs with her wrinkled elbow before leaning closer. “He had two bald eggs down below and a thingamajig that wasn’t much bigger than our billy goat’s, but that horny toad was always trying to get in my britches.”

My eyes widened, along with Cowboy’s grin. The woman was clearly having one of those senior moments. “He…uh, sounds like a nice man,” I told her uncomfortably.

“Hey, Anna, I saved your plate over here and your food’s getting cold,” Emily said, winking at me.

“Oh. Right. I’m coming.”

Momma Belle gave me a cold-eyed stare. “Listen here, girl. We don’t waste perfectly good food around these parts. Especially when you’re nothing but skin and bones. Those arms of yours are like twigs, I tell ya. In fact, when I first laid eyes on you, I nearly poked you with a stick just to see if you were still alive. Now you go get that plate and eat every last bite, ya hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Darn females nowadays,” she mumbled to herself. “They just don’t know nothing.”

I practically skipped to Emily, hoping Momma Belle wouldn’t follow. “Thanks,” I whispered, accepting my plate from her.

“No problem. Come on, you can sit over here at our table. Just do yourself a favor and steer clear of Momma Belle from now on. The woman’s bat-shit crazy.”

“Tell me about it. She thinks I’m Cowboy’s girlfriend.”

Emily chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Cowboy has lots of girlfriends.”

Yeah, so I’d heard.

I followed Emily to a nearby table where Jake, Judd, Ox, and Bobbie Jo sat with their plates of food. I sat beside Judd, hoping his hulking figure would hide me from Momma Belle, and possibly Cowboy.

Judd lugged his meaty arm over my shoulders. “So, Anna, if you need anyone to show you around, I—”

“You’re taken, jackass.” Cowboy plopped down on the other side of me and scowled at Judd. “Or did you forget about Gina already?”

“Whoa,” Judd told him, holding up his hands in surrender. “Chill out, buddy. All I was going to say is that I have a single buddy who would be happy to show Anna around.”

“I’m sure the last thing the new girl in town needs is some bastard trying to get his hands up her skirt.” Cowboy smirked, then raised a cocky eyebrow to me. “Isn’t that right, darlin’?”

My eyes narrowed at the challenge in his voice and I couldn’t resist the urge to respond. “Thanks for the offer, Judd. Sure, why not? I’d love to meet one of your single friends.”

Cowboy’s jaw tightened as he gritted his teeth, but he said nothing in return.

“So who’s Gina, anyway?” I asked Judd sweetly, ignoring the warmth of Cowboy’s hard thigh against mine.

Across from me, Emily smiled. “Gina is my friend from Chicago. She and Judd have been carrying on a long-distance relationship since last summer. Same as Ox. He hit it off with my friend