Page 28 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

“Okay…” I say carefully.

Red drags a hand across the back of his neck before shaking his head. “Get home safe.”

Before I can ask another question, he’s already stepping away.

I watch him head back toward the house, irritation replacing confusion with surprising speed.

Because what exactly was that? Twenty-four hours ago we were tearing each other’s clothes off in his truck. Tonight he’s acting like standing too close to me is a bad idea.

Men are strange.

Cowboys are stranger.

And Red Bronson might be operating under an entirely different set of laws than the rest of the human population.

Daisy answers before the second ring finishes. “You met a man.”

I pull the truck door shut and stare at my phone. “Hello to you too.”

“I’m serious. You only call this late when you’ve either met a man or acquired a stray animal you weren’t planning to keep.”

“That’s a weirdly specific system.”

“It’s never been wrong.”

I laugh despite myself and toss my guitar onto the passenger seat. “Fine. It’s a man.”

“I knew it.”

The satisfaction in her voice is immediate.

Daisy loves being right almost as much as she loves making fun of me, which is unfortunate because she inherited both talents naturally.

I start the truck and pull onto the ranch road while she waits for me to continue. “You gonna tell me about him or am I supposed to use my psychic powers?”

“Please don’t,” I groan.

“So he’s hot.”

I sigh. “That’s your first conclusion?”

“You called me at ten o’clock at night.”

“Fair.”

“He’s hot.”

“Unfortunately.”

The road stretches ahead beneath the headlights while pine trees blur past on either side. Behind me, Dusty Spur Ranch disappears into the darkness.

“So?” Daisy asks. “What happened?”

I tell her. Most of it, anyway.

I leave out the details that would permanently destroy my ability to make eye contact with my younger sister ever again.

The second I finish explaining, she lets out a dramatic gasp. “Wow…”