hold her liquor any better than she can a boyfriend.” Waylon muted the commercial.
“She’s clingy and thinks if you buy her a drink, you’re in love with her and about to propose.” Cooper nodded. “I told you not to ever get involved with her, Rusty.”
“I didn’t, but I can’t convince her of that,” he groaned.
Waylon hit the red button on the remote to turn the sound back on. “Damn, I wish I was still doin’ the rodeo rounds. I liked the sounds of the crowd, the thrill of the rides, all of it.”
“Marriage changes a cowboy,” Cooper said.
“Yep, it does,” Waylon agreed. “And when it comes down to the line, I’d rather be married as out there bustin’ up bones and spendin’ time in emergency rooms. Since I got that concussion a few weeks ago in the wreck, I’d be afraid to ride anyway. I don’t ever want to get to where I wouldn’t know Shiloh.”
“Wait until you’ve got a baby comin’ along.” Cooper combed back his dark hair with his fingertips. “That really changes everything. I sure enough feel my responsibility to keep healthy. I’m not even running for sheriff next election. I’m just going to ranch.”
The commercial ended and the bronc riding event started. All three guys yelled for their favorite contestant, who was trying to make it all the way to the National Professional Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.
Rusty slumped down on the sofa and watched one event after another, but his thoughts wandered back to the Malloy Ranch. Cooper had inherited the Lucky Seven from his grandparents. Waylon had started off with a small spread and renamed it the Wildflower Ranch. Then the elderly lady next door to his place died and left him her small acreage. When he and Shiloh got married, she doubled the size of their acreage by buying the adjoining ranch to the south.
Rusty loved living in the canyon. He’d put down roots at the Malloy Ranch. He finally belonged somewhere. About all he could do at this point was hope that when Bonnie sold the place, he was the high bidder and that a bank would back him.
Chapter Five
The next morning the window served as a picture frame for the most beautiful sunrise Bonnie had ever seen. She threw off the covers and stared out at the gorgeous sight for a long time before she finally got dressed and headed toward the kitchen. She was halfway down the hall when she got a whiff of cinnamon blended with the aroma of coffee.
“Good mornin’,” Rusty said. “I made cinnamon toast for breakfast. Looks like we’re goin’ to have a good day to get the hay raked and baled.”
Was this his new trick to get rid of her—be nice so she’d feel sorry for him and give him the ranch for a fraction of its price? Well, he was dead wrong, if that’s what he thought.
“So this is how we’re going to play it, is it?” She poured a cup of coffee and carried it to the table.
“Play what?” he asked. “I was hungry for cinnamon toast and we usually have breakfast together if we’re not fighting.”
“I was afraid things would be awkward between us after the bombs on Saturday night,” she answered.
“Why would things be weird?” Rusty set a whole cookie sheet full of cinnamon toast on the table and then poured himself a cup of coffee and took a seat.
His long legs brushed against hers under the table and heat spread through her body like she was standing next to a raging bonfire. He bowed his head to say grace. Lord have mercy! How was she supposed to keep a divine thought in her head while he said a short prayer with his leg touching hers?
“Amen,” he said, “and now let’s eat and talk about why you think we should act any different than we did before. We’re consenting adults and we both had a bit to drink. Now we’re ranchers and we’ve got work to do.”
No wonder Mama never remarried, Bonnie thought. Vivien’s words came back to her in a flash. Men are impossible to live with for any length of time. You just have a good time with ’em and then shove ’em out the door and go find another one. The thrill and excitement don’t last long. Ezra Malloy proved that to me, and I ain’t never forgot that lesson.
Bonnie had heard that speech so many times when she and her mother were together that it was