Cowboy Heaven

by Cheryl L. Brooks

  “You’re right, I did say that, but that wouldn’t have necessarily eliminated you.”

  As the dance continued, I couldn’t help wishing Dusty had been the one in my arms rather than Troy. He was handsome and a terrific dancer, but…

  “It wasn’t a question of who had the best equipment or technique, Troy. It was a matter of who I loved the most. I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for Dusty for a long time. I’ve only just met you. Joe’s been around for a few years, but he never said much, so I had no idea what he was really like. It’s hard to say you love someone when you don’t really know them. Oh, you might think you do, but in the end, most of what you love is either in the way a person looks or what you imagine they might be like inside. You might fall in love at first sight, but to really be in love takes time.”

  His smile disappeared, replaced by a far more serious expression than I’d ever associated with Troy. “That’s fine for you, Angie, but what about me? Did you ever consider that I might be in love with you?”

  I studied his face for a long moment, trying to decide whether he was teasing me. I didn’t think he was. “I pretty much caught you on the rebound—and you seem to rebound pretty quickly. Besides, you haven’t known me any longer than I’ve known you. Do you usually fall in love that easily?”

  He didn’t respond right away. “Maybe. I have a tendency to go wherever my dick points. And right now, it’s still aimed squarely at you.”

  “That’s because I’ve been your only target. There are three available women at our table, alone. Surely one of them can get a rise out of you. All you have to do is give them the chance. I’ve always thought Jenny was one of the prettiest women around these parts, but her taste in men is pretty lousy. I don’t know Caroline at all, but she’s very pretty too, and Rachel… Well, what can I say about Rachel? Men have overlooked her for most of her life, but she’s got a heart of gold just like her sister. She’s probably got enough love stored up to overwhelm any man with sense enough to tap into it. She strikes me as the female equivalent of Joe—a really good woman who’s been waiting around for someone to realize her worth.”

  Troy seemed unimpressed by this, which made me long to smack him. I’d known several women I could’ve wrapped my arms around and loved to pieces if I’d been a man. Too bad they weren’t the sort men typically found attractive. Men must see women differently, because when a man goes looking for a lover, the woman he chooses isn’t necessarily the type who would also be a good friend.

  Perhaps that was why friends seldom become lovers. A woman once told me that while she loved her husband, she didn’t really like him. I couldn’t see that as making for a very lasting and joyous relationship. Needless to say, hers wasn’t.

  Cody used to complain that women tended to choose the pricks over the nicer guys. Of course, pricks were nearly always handsome devils who made women cream their jeans rather than warm the cockles of their hearts.

  I was incredibly lucky to have Dusty, who affected me both ways. I liked Troy, and he was a lot of fun, but I didn’t love him. Given the choice between him and Joe—one strikingly handsome and the other with a face only a mother could love—I probably would’ve taken Joe. Perhaps age had altered my perspective, because in my youth, Troy would have won that decision, hands down.

  Apparently, Jenny thought he was pretty hot too.

  “Where on earth did you find him?” she whispered in my ear when I finally pleaded exhaustion and returned to the table.

  “Shh… Not so loud. That’s Troy, the one you supposedly sent me, remember? But I’ve sort of changed my mind about him.”

  Her silent “Oh” and the lift of her brow told me she understood that Troy was now available.

  Apparently, I was wrong about that because less than a heartbeat later, she shifted her attention to Bull, flirting like a cheerleader in the men’s locker room.

  The handlebar mustache strikes again.

  I wanted to strangle her.

  Judging from the empties sitting in front of him, Bull had already downed two bottles of Coors in the time it took for Troy to dance me to death. Bull drunk would undoubtedly be even more obnoxious than Bull sober, and if that were the case, this was going to be a very long night. I had half a mind to haul Dusty off to another table so we wouldn’t have to listen to all the crap. Dusty was sure to start ragging on him, which would probably wind up as an all-out brawl. I was beginning to wish I’d never come up with this idea.

  In the meantime, Troy had traded me in for Caroline and was off dancing with her while I sat between Joe and Dusty drinking a Coke, hoping no one would notice there wasn’t any rum in it. Rachel, a taller and slightly older version of her sister, sat at the far end of the table. Notoriously shy with men, Rachel had never married and rarely dated. She was nowhere near as open and lively as her sister, but I’d known her for years and liked her very much. What I’d told Troy was no more than the truth because she really did have a heart of gold. A good sense of humor too, if you hung around long enough to realize it.

  Dusty draped his arm over the back of my chair, leaning close enough to whisper in my ear. “Sorry I can’t dance, Angel. I’d really like to get you out there so I could have a good excuse to get my arms around you. That way you could feel how hard my dick is.”

  “My goodness, how romantic,” I said with a giggle. “You sure know how to make a girl feel loved.”

  He grinned. “I hope so, ’cause I really do love you.”

  “Hmm… Let’s see how you feel after a few beers. If you still love me when you’re good and drunk, we’ll know it’s true love.”

  “I always thought it was the other way around.”

  “Yes, but that’s only true if you fall in love with someone when you’re already drunk. It’s different when you fall in love sober. Then again, the real test is whether I still love you when you’ve been drinking. For all I know, you might turn out to be as big a prick as Bull.”

  “Damn.” Dusty stared at his half-empty bottle of Coors like it was full of rattlesnake venom. “If that’s the case, I’ll never touch another drop.” Giving the bottle a tiny shove, he added, “I think I’d rather die than be anything like Bull.”

  Apparently having overheard the tail end of our conversation, if not our confessions of love, Joe laughed and took a swig from his own beer. “What did you do for entertainment before you had Bull to pick on? Pull the wings off flies?”

  “Aw, I wouldn’t pick on something as innocent as that,” Dusty protested. “I only pick on things like Bull and…” He paused, apparently searching his memory for any creature unfortunate enough to be included in the same category as Bull. “Rattlesnakes.”

  “Hold on now,” Joe said. “The way I heard it, Angela was the one who saved you from that snake.”

  “Yes, but I had my foot on it,” Dusty said. “Trust me, it was feeling picked on.” With a shudder, he reached for his beer.

  “I thought you weren’t going to drink anymore,” I teased.

  “Sorry,” he said after a long pull from the bottle. “The thought of having to deal with that snake and Bull at the same time is driving me to drink.”

  Troy and Caroline returned and grabbed a quick drink before heading back out to the dance floor. She must’ve had more stamina than I did. I might be able to keep up with Troy in bed, but on the dance floor, he was a bit much for me. I was kind of annoyed that he hadn’t asked Jenny to dance, but the night was young. Caroline would wear out eventually.

  Not long after that, Bull asked Jenny to dance. I reminded myself that it was her nature to be cheerful and agreeable, but she seemed way too delighted at the prospect. Hopefully, she was only being polite.

  Dusty finished his beer and began getting downright amorous. He was in the process of polishing my earring and my earlobe with the tip of his tongue when he whispered, “Troy said I haven’t lived until you’ve sucked
my balls. I know my dick isn’t as big as Joe’s, but my balls are cuter. Why haven’t you done it to me, yet, Angel?”

  I arched a brow. “It’s a damn good thing you’re still adorable after one beer. Keep drinking and you might find yourself getting downright homely.”

  He chuckled with fiendish delight. “If you keep drinking, Joe might get better-looking.”

  “I’m not drinking anything but straight Coke, and he looks fine to me,” I declared. “Don’t start picking on him now that Bull isn’t around.”

  “I’m not picking on him,” Dusty insisted. “He’ll tell you himself how ugly he is. Won’t you, Joe?”

  “That’s me, Big Ugly Joe,” Joe concurred, taking a swig of his beer. “Horses love me, women fear me—or something like that. I forget how it goes.”

  Our remarkably attentive waitress brought Dusty another beer along with a smile that had me grinding my teeth. Fortunately, she didn’t seem inclined to linger. I was already regretting my role as designated driver and would’ve killed for a Corona. Too bad none of my cowboys were in any condition to drive.

  “That’s a fisherman’s saying,” I told Joe. “‘Women love me, fish fear me.’ I’ve seen it on a T-shirt.”

  “Is that right?” Dusty seemed puzzled. “Do fish really fear you, Joe? Is it because you’re so big? No, wait… That’s why horses would love you—or maybe fear you, I dunno… I’ll have to think about that. Or maybe it’s women who might love you or fear you, depending on whether they were looking at your face or your dick. Some girls like those great big dicks—don’t they, Angel?”

  I shot him a menacing glare. “Dusty, do I have to punch you again? You leave Joe’s dick out of this.”

  “But it’s so fucking awesome.” With a plaintive sigh, he picked up his beer bottle and began peeling the label. “I wish mine was like that.”

  “It wouldn’t look right on you,” I said firmly. “In fact, it’s a little out of proportion on Joe. Can we talk about something else?”

  Joe leaned back in his chair. “I dunno. Talking about my dick might get some woman to want to dance with me.”

  Between the two of them, I felt like tearing my hair out. “Maybe, but they’d have to be close enough to hear our conversation. Besides, in case you’ve forgotten how this works, you’re supposed to ask them to dance—unless we’ve got some real liberated types here tonight.” A swift perusal of the crowd suggested there might be a few. However, none of them seemed to be flocking toward Joe.

  Troy and Caroline returned. This time, they actually sat down to rest. Bull and Jenny were nowhere in sight.

  “But it’s safer this way,” Joe insisted. “If I wait until one of them asks me, then I won’t feel rejected when they say no.”

  “Yes, but you might end up waiting forever,” I pointed out. “Wouldn’t you like to hurry things along a bit?”

  “I suppose so. Maybe I need to practice some more.” With a sigh, he stood and held out his hand. “Will you dance with me, Angela?”

  “Sure, Joe.” I made quite a show of batting my eyelashes. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  The other guys started whooping and clapping.

  “Way to go, Joe!” Troy shouted. “Go get her, buddy!”

  Chapter 23

  When we reached the dance floor, the band was playing a reasonably good rendition of George Strait’s “I Cross My Heart,” the romantic lyrics making me wish I’d been dancing with Dusty. Joe took me in his arms, which was a bit awkward seeing as how he was a good foot and a half taller than me.

  I had to crane my neck to see his face. “Having fun?”

  “I am now,” he replied. “I’ve always wanted to dance with you.”

  “Really?” The stuff I was hearing from my normally reticent cowboys continued to amaze me. “Too bad we’re so mismatched.” I rolled my head from side to side, trying to work the kinks out of my neck. “I should probably be on stilts for this.”

  “Feels great to me.” We danced several steps before he spoke again. “Any idea why Troy and Dusty are carrying on like a couple of idiots tonight?”

  “You mean they’re acting more idiotic than usual?” I was stalling. I had a pretty good idea what he meant, but it couldn’t hurt to be sure.

  “Yeah. Seems like every time they start teasing you, it’s something about me. Then you tell them to shut up or hit them or kiss them. Mind telling me why?”

  I should’ve come clean with all three of them, but it was kinda fun to keep them guessing, and I’ll admit I was enjoying the banter. Romance wasn’t the only thing my life had lacked since Cody’s death. Joe might even get a kick out of the story. That way he could play along and we could really drive Troy and Dusty nuts. “You know I’ve sort of switched from Troy to Dusty, right?”

  “I figured that,” he said. “Especially since he’s been sucking your ear off all evening. I’m kinda surprised that didn’t happen a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I agreed. “Guess I was too blind to see it. Anyway, the night Goldie’s foal was born, I was out in the barn with Dusty. Troy came in later, fussing at me for being with him. Turned out Dusty had already told him how things were between us and he was putting on an act. They gave me a hard time about being fickle and all, but eventually, they wanted to know who was the best—Troy, Dusty, or Cody—and while I was teasing them, I sort of let it slip that you were.”

  “The best what?”

  Obviously, I wasn’t the only one being cautious. “Um…lover.”

  “Well now, how in tarnation would you know that?” I’d seen that pleased-as-punch smile of his at least once before. He seemed even more pleased this time.

  “You know what they say about bigger being better, don’t you?”

  “That’s not necessarily true,” he said. “But I get the idea. So you told them we’d…um…done it?”

  “I let them think we had,” I admitted. “I’ve been accused of a lot worse in my time.”

  “I never have,” he said with fervor. “Thank you, Angela.” He gave me a squeeze as a slow grin split his face from ear to ear. “I’m gonna play this for all it’s worth—just wish I’d actually done it.”

  “Hey, now. I’m in enough trouble as it is. Don’t you start too. We can always tell them we were kidding if things get out of hand, but for now…”

  He chuckled. “They’ll want to kill me.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Nope. It’ll be a blast. No one’s ever been jealous of me in my entire life.” He gave me a big kiss on the cheek and we danced on in silence for a few minutes. Joe was a surprisingly good dancer for someone who probably hadn’t had much practice.

  “Anything specific I should know about?” he asked.

  This time around, I saw no need to pretend I didn’t know what he meant. “Use your imagination. I didn’t tell them very much except—” I stopped there, hesitant to explain further. Telling Joe was harder than I would’ve thought, especially since I’d seen him with his pants down—and kissed him.

  “Except what?” he prompted, still with that same endearing smile.

  Taking a deep breath, I blurted out all of it. “I said your balls were too big to get them both in my mouth at the same time, and that you look awesome when you’re fucking.”

  His eyes grew round and he let out a low whistle. I’d seen that look before too. “So that’s what they were going on about. Oh, Angela,” he said with a chuckle. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

  I laughed right along with him. “Go ahead and enjoy yourself, but try not to make them too mad. They’re already kinda sore. I don’t want anyone putting a rattlesnake in your bunk.”

  He arched a suspicious brow. “You don’t think that was an accident, do you?”

  Relieved to have someone else to discuss it with besides Dusty, I needed no further encouragement. “Ho
w else would a snake get in the truck? That truck gets used nearly every day. It would be different if it had been sitting for a month. That snake had to get into it during the time you guys were unloading the supplies or it would have tried to bite Dusty on the way out there.” Simply voicing that possibility made me miss a step. Fortunately, I didn’t stomp on Joe’s foot.

  Regaining my composure, I kept dancing. “I can’t understand how a snake could get into a truck without help anyway. I know they can climb trees and things, but into a truck? It’s not like there were field mice in there for it to eat. Dusty still thinks his accidents were just that, but I’ll have to admit this has me pretty worried.”

  “That’s my fault for bringing up the idea,” he said with a grimace. “But it does seem kinda suspicious. No one is that unlucky.”

  “No shit.” On the other hand, Dusty had been very lucky to survive both of those incidents. The next time around, luck might not be enough to save him. Somehow or other, this “accident” business had to be stopped. “Any ideas on how we could find out who’s behind it short of accusing someone?”

  “Not really. Although, maybe if you moved Dusty out of the bunkhouse and into your bedroom, whoever’s responsible might realize you don’t intend to give him up without a fight—or stand quietly by and let anything else happen to him.”

  “Dad would throw such a fit,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for him having a stroke.”

  “Okay, so you break it to him gently. But do it soon, before our perpetrator comes up with any more ideas.”

  “Perpetrator?” I echoed. “Geez, Joe, you sound like a police detective.” Apparently all those reruns of Law and Order the guys watched had made an impression.