True-Blue Cowboy--Includes a bonus novella

by Sara Richardson

  Right. That’s exactly what she should’ve done. Except then she wouldn’t be able to make her case for the farm. “I figured it would be a good chance for him to get familiar with the land since it’s his now.” And yes, she also felt bad about being the reason his trailer had flooded.

  Inviting him to stay had made so much sense in her head. But that was before she’d stood with Mateo in her hallway and realized there would only be about twenty feet separating them every night. Which might not have mattered if it hadn’t been for that stupid, sensual, intoxicating mistake of a kiss they’d shared. Her memory of that kiss always seemed to flare and retract like the flames of a tantalizing fire between them.

  “What’s going on over here?” Kate asked, butting back into the conversation. There must’ve been a lull in new customers. “I heard you guys squealing about something all the way from the back.”

  “Oh, haven’t you heard? Everly invited Mateo to move in with her.” Darla thrived on making shocking announcements.

  “He’s using her shower,” Charity added with a grossed-out look.

  “Really?” Kate pulled over a stool, too. “So you and Mateo, huh?”

  “No, no. There’s no me and Mateo,” she assured them all.

  “That’s good,” Kate said, her eyes wide with relief. “Because I just saw him walk by outside with a woman.”

  “A woman?” Darla shot to her feet.

  “Yeah. And she was gorgeous.” As if she realized how that sounded, Kate patted Everly’s knee. “Not nearly as gorgeous as you or anything, but pretty. Sort of.”

  “It’s fine,” Everly said quickly. “And thanks for the compliment. I’m well aware that I’m not exactly Mateo’s type.”

  “Thank God for that. Who was he with, though?” Charity demanded like an overprotective sister. “Did you recognize her? Is she a local?”

  “I didn’t get a good enough look.” Kate almost seemed sorry she’d brought it up. “But I think he had his arm around her.”

  “Of course he did.” Charity rolled her eyes. “That’s how he works, Everly. You mark my words. He’ll be trying his damnedest to get into your bed before you even know what’s happening.”

  He hadn’t yet, and he’d already lived there for a week. She sat up straighter to keep the subtle disappointment closeted where it belonged. “I’m not interested.” That classified more as a fib than an outright lie.

  “Well, I am,” Darla said. “In fact…” She tugged Everly to her feet. “Let’s follow him. See where he’s taking this mystery woman.”

  “No thanks.” Everly pulled away. She’d learned enough to steer clear of Darla and her wild schemes. “I don’t care who he’s with.” At least she shouldn’t. Mateo’s Don Juan ways only gave her one more reason to stay away from him. As illustrated the night he’d almost had her naked in a hotel room.

  “Aren’t you a little curious?” Charity’s sly grin taunted. “Don’t you want to know who might be showing up in your guest room tonight? Or who you might see at the breakfast table tomorrow morning?”

  “He wouldn’t bring her back to my house…would he?” She’d told him to make himself at home at the farm, but surely he wouldn’t go that far.

  Charity’s deadpan expression answered the question. “If he thinks he has a shot at getting laid?” Her face scrunched with disgust. “He’d pretty much do anything.”

  Everly pictured herself lying in bed tonight listening to the extracurricular activities going on in the room across the hall. Ew. She really should’ve thought this through before she’d insisted he move in.

  “I saw them go into that Italian restaurant across the street,” Kate said helpfully. “I wish I could join you, but I have wine and truffles to serve.”

  “The Italian restaurant?” Darla gagged. “Why would he bring a date there?”

  “Maybe because he knew we’d all be here,” Charity reminded her. “I can guaran-fucking-tee he’s not gonna bring a potential girlfriend anywhere near me. I have too much dirt on him.”

  “So what do you say?” Darla asked, her eyes sparkling with telltale excitement.

  Everly hesitated. Darla’s escapades rarely ended well. “I guess we can take a peek.” That would at least give her the chance to see if he looked serious enough about this woman to bring her home tonight. “But no making a scene. He can’t know we’re spying on him.”

  Chapter Nine

  Good evening, Mr. Torres.” The hostess at Cibo per Favore batted long, fake eyelashes in Mateo’s direction, which immediately drew a dramatic eye roll from his sister.

  “Seriously? They greet you by name around here?”

  “It’s not my fault.” Could he help it that he was something of a local celebrity? Not like it was hard to achieve star status in a town the size of Topaz Falls.

  “Can we get a table in the corner?” Ana asked the hostess, still giving him an irritated glare. “Preferably something out of the way so I don’t have to watch women flirt with him all night?”

  “Oh yes, of course. It must be hard dating someone famous.” The young woman snatched two menus from the hostess stand and beckoned Mateo to follow her.

  This time, Ana uttered an audible groan. “We’re not dating,” she announced loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. “He’s my brother.”

  “Oh.” Perky Hostess stopped and glanced back at him with a little quirk of the lips likely reserved for eligible bachelors. “Are you dating anyone?” she asked, using those eyelashes again.

  Mateo opened his mouth, but Ana stepped between them. “Yes. As a matter of fact, Mateo is in a relationship with someone. His name is Amigo and he weighs about fifteen hundred pounds. Now, if you’ll show us to our table…”

  Perky Hostess didn’t seem to know what to do with Ana. Most of the time, Mateo didn’t, either. After an awkward silence, she turned back around. “Right this way.”

  Grinning at his sister, Mateo followed the hostess like a good little celebrity. The woman had a certain appeal—long dark hair, a seductive smile, and some tempting curves—but she was way too young for him. Probably only a few years past eighteen. He’d already been down that road, and he’d learned real quick that he liked his women more experienced.

  “Here we are.” Perky Hostess stopped at a booth that was literally stuck in the very corner of the restaurant. “I hope this will work.”

  “Looks good to me.” Ana sat down.

  “Wonderful. Your waiter will be with you in a moment,” the woman purred, casting a long, sultry look at Mateo before she drifted away.

  “If she could’ve seen you fifteen years ago, she wouldn’t be interested.” His sister opened her menu.

  Mateo couldn’t help but laugh as he slid into the booth across from Ana. “You got that right.”

  Fifteen years ago, he was a scrawny kid who’d been too afraid to talk to girls. Ana, on the other hand, had inherited most of the looks in the family. He’d always had to watch out for her with the boys in grade school. Of course, before he’d taken up bull riding, he’d gotten his ass kicked by kids two years younger than him, and Ana Sofia would never let him forget it.

  But she hadn’t driven all the way out to Topaz Falls to reminisce. “What’re you doing here, sis?” he asked, not bothering to peruse the menu. He wasn’t hungry. His imagination had spent a whole hour designing several worst-case scenarios. Maybe she was pregnant, which meant he’d soon be arrested for murder. Or maybe she’d gotten kicked out of school for something she hadn’t done. Because Ana was brilliant and determined and careful. She didn’t screw up.

  Ana seemed to ignore his obvious worry. “We’ll both take the spaghetti and a glass of the house merlot,” his sister called to a passing waiter.

  The kid stopped. “Actually, I’m not your waiter, but—”

  “Oh, sorry.” She offered up her most charming smile. “It’s just that I’ve been driving all day and I’m so hungry. Do you happen to know our waiter?” she asked sweetly. Mateo wouldn’t b
e surprised if she started to bat her eyelashes like the hostess had. “I mean, if you see him, you could surely put in the order for us, right?”

  “Sure. I can let him know.” The kid hurried away under Ana’s spell.

  Mateo shook his head. “And you got mad at the hostess for flirting.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she mumbled. “I’m temperamental. I’ve been driving all day. And you know how angry I get when I’m hungry.”

  Or tired, or stressed, or hormonal. He kept his mouth shut since she was in the perfect position to kick him in the shin. “Which brings us back to my original question. What are you doing here?”

  Ana inhaled deeply and raised her shoulders, somehow looking older than he liked to think she was. “I’m going home.”

  “Home,” he repeated. “As in back to Chihuahua?” She was driving all the way back to Mexico?

  “Of course Chihuahua, dumbass. Things are not good there, Mateo. Which you would know if you paid attention.”

  The jab got him underneath the ribs. “I call Mamá every week.” He sent money every month just like he had since he was sixteen years old.

  “I know, I know.” His sister’s shoulders slouched. “I’m not supposed to say anything, but she’s spent all of the money on private detectives. Trying to find Andres.”

  Anger ignited in the hollow of his stomach. “All of it?”

  “He sent her a letter a while ago. And now she’s obsessed with finding him.”

  Mateo rested his head against the back of the booth. He closed his eyes. Of course Andres wrote their mom a letter. He should’ve known his brother would come back to haunt his family eventually. “Why hasn’t she told me?” He raised his head. If his mother had told him right away, he would’ve taken care of it. He could’ve found his brother and told him to go to hell.

  “Because she knew you took it the hardest when he disappeared,” Ana murmured. “And she didn’t want to get your hopes up until she knew more.”

  His mother didn’t want to know more. “What did the letter say?”

  “That he missed her.” She rolled her eyes like she didn’t believe it. “And that he was sorry he had been gone for so long, but that’s the way it had to be.”

  Damn right that was the way it had to be. Especially considering Andres had walked away from the family to join a cartel. Mateo was the only one who knew. He’d woken up early the morning his older brother had packed up his stuff. He’d only been eight at the time, but he’d seen Andres make some runs. He’d seen him sell drugs.

  That morning, Andres had told him to go back to bed, but Mateo had followed him outside. He’d begged his brother not to leave. He’d heard what happened to people who joined the cartels. They disappeared. Never came back.

  “You can’t tell Mamá,” Andres had said. “It would kill her.”

  “Then stay,” Mateo had begged. He feared his brother’s disappearance would kill their mother anyway, especially after they’d already lost Papá.

  “I can’t. This is my only chance to get out of here.” His brother had hugged him one last time.

  That had been eighteen years ago, and Mateo had never told anyone. Not Mamá, not Ana Sofia, not his older sisters. He couldn’t tell them the truth. He couldn’t destroy their love for him. So he’d kept it a secret. Even at eight, he’d known it was better for his mother to think Andres had disappeared than to know her son had left her behind to work for a drug lord.

  Mateo had never seen Andres again, but he would come home to find envelopes of money stashed under his pillow, and he knew where it had come from. Andres must’ve meant for him to give it to Mamá or use it for the family, but Mateo couldn’t stomach the thought of using drug money. He’d always taken it down to the local parish to donate it instead.

  Ana folded her hands on the table. “I thought you should know what’s going on. I’m going to stay down with Mamá for a while. To help her get her finances in order and to convince her to let this go. He’s been gone too long. He shouldn’t be allowed to come back now.” Based on the sudden coldness in her eyes, she must’ve suspected Andres hadn’t up and joined the Peace Corps.

  It had been so many years, but Mateo still couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t admit that he’d kept a secret from her all this time. What good would it do his sister to find out the truth now? It would only hurt her. It would only hurt their mom. “You can’t go home right now.” Not until he took care of this. Not until he made sure Andres would stay away. “What about school? It’s the middle of the semester. You can’t leave.” She only had a year left until she’d graduate.

  “I already have left.” She glowered the same way she always did when someone told her she couldn’t do something. “I’ve made arrangements to finish the semester through their remote program. I’ll go back to Seattle in the spring, but Mamá needs me down there, Mateo.”

  And what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t go. He had a competition coming up, though he hadn’t won any cash on his last couple of rides. “I don’t want her to worry about money. I’ve got plenty.” Enough to keep things afloat for a while, anyway. “And I just bought a huge acreage, too. I’m planning to partner with the ski resort to build a new condo development.” Guilt clawed at his throat. And there was Everly again, haunting the dark corners of his mind. He pushed the image away. He didn’t have a choice. He needed the money to take care of his family now more than ever.

  “I know Mom appreciates all you do,” Ana said, almost smiling. “You’re good to her. You’re good to all of us.”

  “I can do more.” He could call in a few favors with Gutiérrez, an old friend from grade school who was now a cop back in Chihuahua. Maybe he could ask around and see if anyone had ever dealt with his brother. “I’ll find him,” he told Ana. “And I’ll make sure he doesn’t contact Mamá again.”

  This had been a terrible idea.

  Everly tried to put on the brakes, but Charity and Darla had positioned themselves on either side of her and they were now marching her past the storefront windows of Cibo per Favore.

  “I don’t see him.” Charity paused and peered through the tinted windows.

  “Kate said that’s where he went, so we’ll just have to go in and get something to eat.” Darla eyed the entrance as though it were the gates of hell. “Or maybe something to drink. Not that they’ll have any quality wines.”

  Spoken like a true wine snob. Everly weaseled her way out from between them. “We don’t have to go in.” This was exactly what she’d wanted to avoid—turning this into some big scene that would end with Mateo seeing them.

  “Yes we do.” Darla linked her arm through Everly’s. “I’m not going back until we get a good look at Mateo Torres on a date.”

  What if she didn’t want to see him on a date? It was probably with one of those women who’d come into her café looking for him last week. A buckle bunny who had no use for his loyalty or thoughtfulness or perseverance. Not that Everly had any use for them, either. Nope. Her attraction to him was purely physical. All because of that damn kiss. So what if he obviously took care of his family? Who cared that her heart had given a hard tug when she saw his face soften as he’d looked at the picture of his mom and sisters? Sure, he might’ve fixed up her chicken coop and put out the fire in her kitchen, but she would not fall for Mateo. Those flutters in her chest were driven by lust, not feelings. No way would she be stupid enough to let herself develop real feelings for someone like Mateo.

  “I can’t believe he’d take a woman to this dive,” Charity muttered as they ducked inside the restaurant.

  “I’m sure it’s a fine establishment.” Everly tried to smile at a couple who was leaving.

  She stepped into the small foyer, which was wallpapered with old Italian news clippings.

  “It’s not like there’s an overabundance of good date spots in Topaz Falls.” At least Darla had tried to whisper so the hostess wouldn’t hear.

  “Welcome to Cibo per Favore.” The hostess pronounced th
e name with a bad Italian accent.

  “Thank you.” Darla peered past the woman’s shoulder, already on the hunt for her mark. Everly elbowed her. Did she have to be so obvious?

  “We’ll take a table for three,” Charity said.

  “Of course. Right this way.” The hostess grabbed three menus and led the way into the dining room.

  Darla and Charity nudged Everly along, both of them squinting and panning their gazes all around the room like two not-so-secret spies.

  “I don’t see him,” Darla whispered as they passed the doorway to the kitchen.

  “Me neither.” Charity only had one volume. So much for being inconspicuous. People were already starting to stare at them, and they hadn’t even been in here five minutes. Luckily, Everly didn’t see anyone they knew. Most people in Topaz Falls avoided Cibo per Favore, but the tourists weren’t aware of its reputation.

  “How is this?” The hostess stopped at a table near the windows at the front of the restaurant.

  “Ummmm…” Darla wrinkled her nose with distaste. “Do you have anything a little quieter, maybe? More toward the back?”

  Everly shot her a look. Did they really have to case the whole restaurant?

  “Of course.” Everly recognized the hostess’s smile. It was the same one she gave to Hank Green when he complained about his eggs.

  “Right this way.” This time the woman led them to a table along the back wall. “Will this work?”

  “Actually—” Darla started, but Everly prodded her to sit.

  “This is perfect.” She wasn’t going to let Darla’s nosy curiosity drag them all over the restaurant.

  “I guess this works,” Charity muttered, scooting in across from them.

  “Wonderful.” The hostess handed out menus and briskly told them their waiter would be right with them.

  “We could’ve had her bring us to the other side so we could see if Mateo is over there.” Darla opened her menu and immediately frowned. “Oh my God. They spelled alfredo wrong.”