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I shopped, I ate, I walked until the late afternoon. Then I went back to the hotel and called Mom. She was having treatment this morning and I wouldn’t be able to talk to her until this afternoon. She liked to take a nap after treatment.
Last night, I told her all about Mr. Moonie’s email he had sent me after I got back from exploring the town. He said he would be in Denver for a few more days and that I should keep him updated.
Mom said he was persistent. I told her he was just greedy.
This morning, I got up and dressed quickly before going down to the diner I found yesterday. They had good coffee. It wasn’t Starbucks or my favorite spot in Dallas, but it was better than the hotel coffee. This diner though, had the best waffles on the planet.
My stomach was full, caffeine searing through my blood, and I was ready to take on the world.Or at least a grumpy, stubborn cowboy.
I was perched on my usual spot, the hood of the rental, reading through the latest email Mr. Moonie sent me at five this morning.
Geez, did the man ever sleep?
I heard a horse neighing and my head snapped up just in time to see a man step out of the barn. He was leading a horse to the pile of hay in by the fence. I watched as he tied the horse’s reigns to the metal bar, patted its neck and then turned to me.
The man who approached me wasnotDenver Langston, in any way, shape, or form. That should have thrilled me because of Mr. Langston’s harsh behavior, but it didn’t. Instead, a sour feeling settled in my chest.
Where was my grumpy cowboy?
“Good morning, darlin’,” the man drawled. His presence was powerful, but it wasn’t like Mr. Langston.
That man’s presence sucks the air out of your lungs and fills them with his smoke.
“Good morning, sir,” I said with a smile, hopping off the hood and stepping up to him. This cowboy was brighter than Denver Langston, with his bright blue eyes, kind smile, and blonde hair peeking out from underneath his cream cowboy hat. I held out my hand to him.
“I’m Valerie Cross. I represent Moonie Pipelines.”
The man grinned at me, which was surprising.
Then again, it was surprising that I was standing on Hallow Ranch and even got to introduce myself. Denver Langston didn’t even know my name yet.
The man’s grin grew wider as his bright blue eyes assessed me, looking me up and down slowly. “You sure are pretty, ma’am, but I don’t shake hands with my enemies.”
My smile didn’t falter.ThisI could deal with. This was the type of cowboy I was trained to negotiate with. Nothing could have prepared me for Denver Langston, but I was prepared for this man, that’s for damn sure.
“Is Mr. Langston around? I would like to speak with him.”
“He’s eating breakfast,” the blonde cowboy answered, jerking his head to the gorgeous house I wanted to pick up and move back to Texas with me. I would have dreams about that house until the day I died, and I hadn’t even been inside it. My eyes lingered—not on the house, but on the silver Mercedes parked next to the beat up, red, Chevy.
Hm.
I shook it off and returned my attention back to the man in front of me. “He’ll be down soon, right?”
The man grinned again, like a cat who had gotten his cream, giving me another view of his perfect teeth, just like Mr. Langston’s. “Persistent, aren’t you?”
“That’s the job,” I said. “You never gave me your name…”
“I know,” he returned, shutting that window firmly closed.
“Don’t give your name to your enemies either, I take it?”
“Smart girl,” he murmured, his eyes dropping down the length of me once more.
A loud bang had both of our heads turning up to the house. A short haired, skinny, blonde woman, in a red dress, stomped down the porch steps.
“Looks like Denver is done with breakfast,” the cowboy said with a chuckle. I flinched, something foreign sparking inside me, something that felt a lot like jealousy.
I ignored it.
