One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas)

by Carolyn Brown

  He pulled a phone out of somewhere in the truck and she heard him say, “Do it right now.”

  Tanner sped away and Rhett parked in the place he’d been. Dammit whined and ran to greet him, tail wagging the whole way.

  “What the hell happened? I saw Tanner kissing you and then Dammit chasing him to the truck.” Rhett talked as he crossed the yard.

  Leah put her head in her hands, dropped to her knees, and let all the frustrations out in a long weeping wail. “I’m so sorry you saw that, Rhett,” she sobbed.

  He gathered her up in his arms like a baby and carried her to the porch, where he sat down with her, tears wetting the front of his shirt. Poor old Dammit whined and licked her hands and cheek as Rhett rocked from side to side with her in his lap.

  “His truck looks the same as your new one, so I thought you’d come home a little early and…” She hiccuped. “I made Dammit wait on the porch because I thought I could take care of it.”

  He hugged her tighter to his chest with one arm and rubbed her back with the other. “From what I saw, it looked like you gave him something to think about. How’re your knuckles?”

  She raised her hand and showed him. “If they bruise, it was worth it. I feel violated. I think he planned to kidnap me, but when I hollered at Dammit, he changed his mind.”

  “From now on, I’ll be home in the evenings.”

  “I think it’s over,” she said.

  He continued to rub her back. “Why?”

  “Because he called someone on the phone and said something to them about doing it. He was so mad, and I think whatever is about to happen was the Gallaghers backup plan,” she said.

  “Think you should call your father?” he asked.

  “In a minute. I want to sit right here until I get control of my voice. If Daddy finds out what Tanner did, there’ll be blood and the feud will never stop,” she answered.

  Dammit whined and whipped his head around to the south. His nose shot up and he sniffed several times before he let out a lonesome howl. Leah stuck an arm out from the cocoon that Rhett had her wrapped up in and looped it around his neck.

  “It’s okay, boy. He’s gone and he won’t be back. You did good,” she said.

  “He is not getting away with this,” Rhett said.

  “Promise me you won’t do anything. If we leave it alone and live our own lives right here on Double Shot, it’ll quiet down.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  Dammit sniffed the air again, whimpered, and shook free of Leah’s hold. He ambled around to the end of the house, let out a howl, and took off like he was chasing down a coyote or a jackrabbit.

  “What’s gotten into him?” Leah asked at the same time the smell of smoke hit her nose. “Oh. My. God. They’ve set fire to our ranch.”

  Sirens sounded before she could unwind herself from Rhett’s embrace and get to her feet. He grabbed her hand and followed Dammit’s baying, taking them out to the road, where smoke billowed. The fire trucks were already there, putting out a long line of grass fires running parallel to the ranch fence line when Leah and Rhett arrived.

  One of the firemen shouted from the road. “Y’all call this in?”

  “No, we had no idea it was on fire. What caused it?” Rhett asked.

  “Dry as it’s been, could have been a lit cigarette thrown from a car window. Crazy thing is, it’s running up and down the road, and the way the wind is blowing, if it had been from a cigarette, it would have traveled right onto your property. You’re a lucky man tonight.”

  “Lucky, my ass,” Rhett mumbled. “It was set and…hell’s bells, Leah, this is a diversion. Call your dad right now.”

  “It’s after midnight,” she said.

  “Call him and tell him the Gallaghers are about to do something tonight. Probably a fire since the fire trucks are out of water,” he said.

  “We got it all wet down. Call us if any hot spots fire back up. Took every drop of our water to put this one out because it was so long,” the fireman said.

  Leah yelled across the blackened earth. “Thank y’all for getting out here so fast.”

  “We got the call forty minutes ago.”

  “Here.” Rhett handed Leah his phone. “Call your dad now. I haven’t been home forty minutes. They made the call before the fire was even set.”

  Leah punched in her dad’s cell phone, and it went to voice mail after the fifth ring. She didn’t bother with a message but hit the numbers again. He picked up on the fourth ring that time.

  “Daddy, listen to me. The Gallaghers are about to set fire to something. I don’t know what but…” She went on to tell him what had happened.

  “It’s probably a threat, but I’ll get Declan up, and we’ll check things out on this end. Why would they set fire to Rhett’s ranch?”

  “Because…” She told him what Tanner had done in the restaurant the previous Monday and about him showing up at the ranch that night.

  “I’ll kill the bastard with my bare hands,” Russell said.

  “Daddy, please forget that and go check out the ranch. The fire trucks are empty and on their way back to Gainesville,” she said.

  “I’m up and on my way. I’ll call you later if anything is wrong. If I don’t call, then you’ll know it’s okay. And, Leah, honey, thanks for the call.”

  “It’s Rhett’s idea. He thinks this fire was a diversion,” she said.

  “Then tell Rhett thank you.”

  Rhett took Leah’s hand in his and headed back toward the house with Dammit right behind them. They made it to the porch before his phone rang. Leah knew before he even answered it that it was her father and something was burning on River Bend. It was one of those gut feelings that was never wrong, and her insides clinched up into pretzels as she waited to hear what was on fire.

  “It’s probably Sawyer wanting to know what’s going on over here or Polly if she and Gladys are up late watching television,” he said.

  Rhett sat down on the porch step and pulled her into his lap before he handed the phone off to her. “It’s your father,” he said.

  “Daddy?” she said.

  “It’s the hay barn at the back of the property. We’ve called the fire department, and they said they’d come back to town but their trucks are empty and it’s too far from a pond to pump water from it. It’s already too far gone for them to do much good. We’ll have to stand watch for a couple of days to make sure the hot spots don’t fire back up and get carried to another part of the ranch with this wind. They will pay for this,” Russell said.

  “So Rhett was right. It was a diversion and a means to make sure the fire trucks were empty,” Leah said flatly.

  “Looks that way. And before you figure it out and go into hysterics, your old barn cat, Ella, put all five of her kittens in the back of my truck. The place was on fire when we got here, so I guess she’d moved them out before that. Want me to bring them over to you after church in the morning? She won’t like it, but I can put her and the kittens in the carrier you used to take her to the vet,” Russell asked.

  “Daddy, I’m so sorry. This is my fault for not playing along with Tanner.” She turned to tell Rhett what her father said about the cats and the barn.

  Rhett kissed her on the cheek and said, “You don’t get to blame yourself for what they did.”

  “Think Dammit will have trouble with cats?”

  “You can bring whatever you want to the ranch and however many kittens you want into the house,” he answered. “And Dammit loves cats. He thinks they’re his toys.”

  * * *

  Rhett finally got into bed at three o’clock in the morning, but he was still too wound up to sleep. The adrenaline rush hadn’t settled down nearly enough for him to shut his eyes, so he laced his hands behind his head and tried to figure out exactly when he’d fallen in love with Leah.

  It must’ve been the day he rode into town and met her in the store. But, he argued, I do not believe in that love at first sight like my cousin did when he
went all crazy in love with his wife.

  The door eased open, and he figured Dammit had pushed his way inside his bedroom so he kept his eyes on the ceiling. Then Leah slipped beneath the covers, and his arm went out to draw her close to his side.

  “I can’t sleep alone in that bed tonight. It might not be right to come in here like this, but right now I don’t care. I want to feel you next to me,” she said softly.

  “I couldn’t sleep either. I should’ve gone over to River Bend and helped your dad tonight, but I couldn’t leave you alone, and I didn’t want you to be around a fire that big.” He pushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear so he could see her face better. The moonlight filtering through the window lit up her light green eyes.

  “You fit pretty good right here in my arms,” he said.

  She covered a yawn with her hand. “I like being here.”

  “Sleepy now?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  His own eyelids drew heavier and heavier until finally he couldn’t hold them open anymore. When he kissed Leah’s lips, she didn’t even stir, but one of her legs was suddenly over his and she snuggled down closer.

  It was full daylight when he awakened and his first impulse was to jump out of bed, call Sawyer and apologize for not being at Fiddle Creek in time for morning chores, and rush around to get dressed. Then he realized it was Sunday morning. Not only was Sunday his day off but the day before had been his last day to work at Fiddle Creek or at the bar. From now on, he’d be responsible for his ranch seven days a week.

  “And those damn Gallaghers best never step one foot on it or they’ll find themselves in a war like they’ve never seen before,” he mumbled.

  “What?” One of Leah’s eyes slid open. “Oh, I remember.”

  “Good mornin’, gorgeous. How did you sleep? I slept like a baby with you by my side,” he said.

  “Best in a long time,” she said. “Let’s go back to sleep until noon.”

  “Oh no,” Rhett said. “It’s eight o’clock. We’re making breakfast and then we’re going to church.”

  “No!” she said.

  “Yes, ma’am. Best way in the world to thwart any future crap from either the Gallaghers or from your grandmother is for us to walk right into that church and sit together in the middle section. Maybe we’ll put a roast in the oven and invite your dad to have dinner with us when he brings your mama cat to the ranch.”

  She sat up in bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I’d like that, Rhett.”

  Rhett pulled her back down beside him. “Are you ready for a real kiss?”

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Last night you said you felt as if you’d been violated. I don’t want to pressure you until you are ready,” he said.

  She pulled his face down to hers and their lips met in a kiss so full of passion that his heart raced. Her hands slipped beneath the covers and circled his semi-erection, and in minutes he felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

  “I want you to make love to me. Sweet love without a lot of foreplay,” she whispered.

  “I believe I can do that,” he said.

  She rolled over on her back, pulled him on top of her, and guided him inside. They rocked together until they were both panting, and then she dug her fingernails into his back and gasped.

  “Oh, oh,” she said.

  “Yes?” he asked as they reached the peak together.

  “Let’s skip church and do that all over again.”

  He smiled and shifted his weight to his elbows as he leaned in to look deeply into her eyes. “We might miss church a few times a year, but this is not one of them. This is the day we declare to the whole town that we are a couple and no one can mess with what we’ve got.”

  Chapter 26

  Guilt and freedom mixed together produced an antsy feeling in the pit of Leah’s insides when she and Rhett walked into the church hand in hand. He tapped Sawyer on the shoulder and the whole bunch of folks on the pew scooted down to make room for them. Jill leaned around Sawyer and smiled at her; Gladys winked and Polly gave her a thumbs-up.

  “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Rhett whispered.

  “Depends on whether the looks from Tanner and my grandmother burn me into nothing but a pile of ashes right here in the church. We should have brought Dammit with us,” she answered.

  “I’ll protect you. If I didn’t, Dammit would bite me. That dog loves you.” He grinned.

  He laid his arm on the back of the pew and patted her upper arm. That simple gesture gave her enough courage to glance over toward the Gallagher side. Tanner was sitting beside a tall brunette that looked at him like she’d already had him for breakfast and was contemplating a second serving of the same for dinner. Leah wondered if the new woman would get the big diamond ring or if he really would return it to the jeweler. Maybe it wasn’t even real. Fake diamonds, like fake love, were hard to tell from the real thing.

  She turned her head slightly and looked over toward the Brennan side of the church. Honey smiled and made a sign with her thumb and little finger that said to call her. Leah nodded slightly and noticed Kinsey tapping a message into her phone.

  “Your phone is vibrating against my hip,” Rhett whispered.

  Leah dug it out of her purse and scrolled down to read what Kinsey had written: Insurance will take care of the barn burning but it’s your fault.

  She quickly wrote back: Did she want me to marry Tanner Gallagher?

  She glanced toward Kinsey and got a wink as an answer.

  The preacher took his place behind the podium, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m sorry to hear about the Brennans’ hay barn burning to the ground last night. I understand there was also a grass fire over at Polly’s ranch. Speaking of that, Rhett O’Donnell has bought Double Shot Ranch. He’ll be putting permanent roots down here, and we want to welcome him to the town with open arms. My sermon this morning is on love. We’re all familiar with the love chapter in Corinthians, but today I want to talk about another love affair. The one between Adam and Eve,” he said.

  Rhett leaned over and whispered, “Got an apple in your purse?”

  Leah bit back a giggle and squeezed his thigh, letting her hand rest there afterward. If lightning bolts didn’t come through the ceiling and zap her on the spot for sitting in the neutral section of the church, then touching a hippie cowboy’s leg probably wouldn’t get her fried into a pile of ashes.

  The preacher talked about how that love didn’t seek revenge, but neither the Gallaghers nor the Brennans looked like they were in the forgiving mood that morning. Forgiveness?

  Love?

  No, sir! The Brennans were figuring out what they could do in retaliation for the barn burning, which was payback for the shit storm on Wild Horse, which was… And the list went backwards for a hundred years. And then the Gallaghers would huddle up and plan their next move.

  But you are free from all that, Eve’s voice said in her head.

  I’ll always be a Brennan. DNA and blood are permanent, she argued.

  Well, at least you aren’t living in the middle of it.

  Leah nodded.

  “Fighting or agreeing with Eve?” Rhett whispered.

  “A little of both,” she answered.

  The sermon ended with a plea that everyone in Burnt Boot show love toward their neighbors, their friends, their spouses, and even their enemies. Leah figured most of it fell on deaf ears. Quaid gave the benediction, which was short and to the point, then everyone was on their feet and the noise level went from stone-cold quietness to whispered conversations.

  “Fire hurt anything on your place last night?” Sawyer asked.

  “Didn’t get past the fence in most cases,” Rhett answered. “Fire trucks got there before it got out of hand. They thought it was caused by a cigarette, but I reckon it was a diversion. One cigarette wouldn’t have burned a quarter mile long and twenty feet deep.”

  “You’re probably right.” Sawyer nodded. “It had t
o be long enough to use up all the water in the trucks, right? More feudin’.”

  “That’s what I thought from the beginning.”

  “You and Leah want to go to dinner with us? We’re taking Polly and Gladys out for Italian and a matinee,” Sawyer said.

  “Thanks, but we’ve got a roast in the oven, and we’re going to invite her dad and maybe Declan over to our place,” Rhett said.

  “Whew!” Sawyer wiped a hand across his brow dramatically. “You really are diving right into the deep water. Mavis will pitch a bitchin’ hissy if he accepts.”

  “That’s her problem.”

  Honey Brennan wasted no time getting to Leah and giving her a hug. “I might get disowned for this, but I understand you’ve got a big empty living room where I can throw down my sleeping bag. Do you realize you are the very first from either family to ever sit in the middle section? You’ve broken the ice for the rest of us.”

  “I guess I am. I didn’t think of that. To tell the truth, I was so nervous this morning that if Rhett hadn’t held my hand, I’m not sure I could have faced everyone. Does Granny really blame me for the fire last night?”

  Honey’s head bobbed up and down. “Oh, yes. It’s your rebellion that caused us to lose our school, and I’m not sure, but you might have caused everything for the past year.”

  “Hey, Honey,” Rhett said, “why don’t you come have dinner with us? You can lay claim to which corner of the living room you want if you get thrown off River Bend.”

  “I’m not that brave yet,” Honey said.

  Betsy looped her arm through Rhett’s and leaned against him. “The preacher said we should love our neighbor. I’d like to do that. You name the time and place.”

  “He also said you should love your enemy,” Rhett said.

  She backed away quickly. “That ain’t happenin’. Not in a million years.”

  “So do you love Tanner?” Leah asked Rhett.

  “Sure I do. I’d love to beat the shit out of him,” Rhett said.

  Leah slapped a hand over her mouth to keep the giggles from echoing off the church walls. Before she could get control, a little girl tapped her on the arm and she looked down at one of her students—Millie Gallagher.