True-Blue Cowboy--Includes a bonus novella

by Sara Richardson

  Yeah, the food didn’t look so appetizing, but that was fine with Everly. She wasn’t hungry. “Let’s just drop this whole thing. Please.” What if Mateo caught them stalking him? He’d probably assume she was one of his groupies, and it was already awkward enough between them at home.

  “Oh!” Charity gasped. “There he is! I see him!” Even the people sitting at the next table looked in the direction she pointed.

  “Will you take it down a few notches?” Everly hid her face behind a menu.

  “That’s definitely him,” Darla confirmed. “But I can’t see the woman he’s with.”

  Using the menu as a shield, Everly peered around the side to where they were pointing. Sure enough, Mateo sat in a booth that was tucked into the opposite corner of the restaurant.

  “We’re too far away.” Charity craned her neck and nearly fell out of her chair. “We won’t be able to hear anything from here.”

  Everly set down her menu. “We don’t need to hear anything.” If they could hear something, that would mean Mateo would hear them. She was surprised he hadn’t recognized Charity’s voice already.

  “I just saw her,” Darla whispered. “She leaned forward for a second. She’s definitely pretty.”

  “Damn,” Charity grumbled. “I can’t get a good look at her.”

  The two of them openly stared while they squirmed around trying to get a better view. Everly, on the other hand, sat with her back edged up against the chair. “Let’s just go—”

  “Good evening, ladies.” A waiter swooped in. “I’m Jeffery and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”

  “We’ll start with the garlic bread,” Darla informed him dismissively. “Oh, and three beers. Any IPA will do.” As soon as the waiter left to put in their order, she glanced at the wine list. “My God, their house merlot is made in Indiana.”

  “Did you have to order food?” Everly wanted to lay her head down on the table and cover her eyes until this whole thing was over.

  “Come on.” Darla squeezed her hand. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Don’t you want to know who the man you saw naked is on a date with?”

  “She saw him naked?” Once again, Charity managed to draw the attention of a crowd.

  Everly slumped lower in her seat. “Accidentally. And only for a second.”

  “That makes me want to throw up,” Charity said, but it must’ve only been an expression because when a food server dropped their drinks and a bowl of garlic bread on the table a minute later, she dove right in.

  “Oh, I just caught another glimpse of her.” Darla leaned halfway over the table. “Only for a second. She looks young.”

  “He’s dated a lot of young girls.” While Charity recited a list of the women Mateo had “dated,” Everly nibbled on a piece of garlic bread and planned the rest of her evenings for the week: tomorrow, go to bed early and read. Actually, she’d pencil that in for the rest of the month.

  “Uh-oh.” Darla suddenly grabbed her shoulder. “He’s coming this way!”

  What? Everly stopped chewing and jerked her head, her eyes searching.

  “Shit.” Charity gathered up her purse. “He’s gonna see us. Abort mission! Abort mission! Meet in the bathroom.” Since they were on the outside of the table, Charity and Darla managed to scamper away, but Everly clumsily knocked her knee into the table on her way out of the chair. The half-chewed piece of garlic bread lodged into her throat. She tried to clear it, but—

  “Everly?”

  The sound of Mateo’s voice behind her brought a full-on gasp, securing that bread into her windpipe. Her entire chest suspended in a painful convulsion. Oh, God, she couldn’t breathe… Hands grasping at her throat, she looked wide-eyed at Mateo.

  “Are you okay?”

  Gagging sounds came from her throat as she fought to get air…

  “You’re choking!” He positioned his body behind hers, locking his arms beneath her ribs. One hard jab ejected the bread out of her mouth like a soggy projectile missile that landed in the center of the table.

  All around them applause broke out while Everly wheezed and desperately refilled her lungs with air.

  “Are you okay?” Mateo asked again, his arms still around her. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No,” she rasped. “I’m fine.” All she could feel at the moment was the familiar burn of humiliation.

  “Great. Now he’s a celebrity and a hero.” The woman who had walked over with Mateo was the only person in the room who wasn’t crowding him.

  “Oh my God!” The hostess ran over, and Mateo finally released Everly.

  She slumped into her chair.

  “That was amazing!” the hostess gushed, not even glancing in Everly’s direction. “You just saved her life!”

  More people crowded around, moving in to congratulate Mateo on such an impressive display of heroism.

  “Oh for the love of God.” Mateo’s companion grabbed the seat across from Everly and propped her chin on her fist. “We’ll never get out of here now,” she said sullenly.

  Well, she sure as hell would get out of there. Everly had finally started to breathe normally again. She quickly collected her purse. Hot coals burned in her throat, stinging all the way to her eyes, and her ribs ached like she’d done too many sit-ups. But, as Mateo accepted all of the accolades from his many admirers, she managed to slip out of the chair and escape unnoticed.

  Chapter Ten

  Where’d she go?” The crowd around Mateo had finally thinned, giving him a clear view of the table where Everly had been sitting. Now Ana sat there alone.

  “Where’d who go?” she asked, studying her phone.

  “Everly.” He turned in a circle searching for her, his heart still rattling in his chest. “Where’d she go? She was just here.” Choking. Jesus, she hadn’t been able to breathe. The terror in her eyes had about done him in.

  “I think she left.” Ana stood and slipped her phone back into her purse. “I should go, too. I have to get on the road again.”

  Mateo blew out a breath, trying to think past the pulse of adrenaline. If Everly left, she must be okay. “You could stay here tonight,” he said to Ana. Maybe not with him, but he could try to find her a room somewhere.

  “No thanks.” As usual, his sister charged past, already five steps ahead of him. “I’ll stay somewhere in New Mexico. I want to get across the border tomorrow.”

  Mateo held open the door for her, returning the hostess’s fluttering wave.

  “Hope to see you here again soon,” she called. He made no promises. That hadn’t exactly been a stellar dining experience.

  Out on the sidewalk, he and Ana walked side by side. “It’s not safe to drive late at night,” he told her. He didn’t know why he bothered. She would drive down to New Mexico tonight no matter what he said.

  She eyed him with disbelief. “Sheesh. You really do have some kind of hero complex, don’t you?”

  “Apparently.” Maybe it came from taking care of four women his whole life. Just a guess. Maybe that was also why he couldn’t wrangle his pulse back into a normal rhythm. When he’d put his arms around Everly and squeezed, he’d felt her ribs give. Had he hurt her? He’d never physically hurt a woman before. He scanned the deserted streets looking for her truck, but there was no sign of her anywhere. “Did Everly seem okay when she left?” He should’ve been paying attention, but the whole thing had happened so fast, and all those people swarmed him…

  “Well, she bolted pretty quick, so I’m guessing she’s fine.” They crossed Main Street and headed for the parking lot a block down. “She was probably just embarrassed,” Ana said. Then she stopped abruptly. “You seem awfully concerned about her. Who is she anyway?”

  “She’s my…” Tenant? Roommate? Fantasy? “It’s complicated.”

  “Ah, one of those.” Ana stopped at her car. At least she had reliable transportation for the drive. He’d helped her purchase the sedan when she’d first moved to the States.

  “She leases the
property I just bought,” he clarified, for Ana and for himself. That’s why he felt some responsibility for her. That was all he felt for her. Responsibility. Not intrigue, or desire, or deeper things he couldn’t seem to name.

  His little sister peered up at him with the same skepticism that made her such a good student. “She didn’t look like your type.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know exactly what it means.” Her lips pinched into a smirk. “She has a wholesome look. Almost innocent. The jeans, the T-shirt, the lack of makeup. She definitely doesn’t try as hard as the women you usually date.”

  “That’s because she doesn’t have to.” He could say that to Ana. She was leaving town. It would never get back to Everly.

  “Wow, hermano mayor.” Her eyes did their twinkling thing. “I’ve never heard you offer such a big compliment. And I’ve never seen you this worked up about a woman. She must be special.”

  “No, it’s not that.” He couldn’t let it be that. It didn’t matter how special Everly was. In seven weeks, he had to send her packing. “I’m worked up because she could’ve died.” Right there in his arms. His stomach heaved, and he immediately shot down the thought.

  “Whatever you say.” Ana mocked him in the same sing-songy voice she’d had when they were little.

  He ignored her obvious doubt. Ignored it all—the way Everly’s face kept flashing in his mind, the way his fear still simmered. “I’ll wire more money,” he told Ana. “To your account.” That way their mother wouldn’t hire any more private detectives who saw an opportunity to take advantage of a woman who missed her son.

  “Thank you.” Ana planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

  The gesture made him feel even worse. He usually told Ana everything, but he couldn’t this time. Not until he knew more about what Andres was up to. “Text me every once in a while until you make it home. So I won’t worry.” They both knew he would anyway.

  “I will. Promise.” She got into the car.

  “And try to convince Mamá that she needs to move here. With us. We could work on getting her a visa.” He’d been trying to get her to move to the States for years.

  “You know she’ll never do that. She’ll stay there forever waiting for Andres to come home.”

  “I’m not so sure that’d be a good thing.” If Andres came home now, he’d bring a whole lot of trouble with him. Mateo had kept an eye on the news about the cartels back home. And things always seemed to be escalating. “I might do a little investigating of my own. See if I can track him down, figure out what he’s been up to.” And find a way to get him a message: Stay the hell away from the family.

  “I think that’s a good idea.” In another rare show of affection, Ana squeezed his hand. “I’ll let you know what I find out, too.”

  “Sounds good.” He backed away from the car. “Be safe,” he called as she started the engine. She simply shook her head at him and waved as she drove on past.

  Sure he might’ve been overreacting—overprotective—but could she blame him after what had happened in the restaurant? Damn, he still couldn’t get himself together. Wouldn’t be able to calm down until he made sure Everly was okay. He’d promised Levi he’d stop by the Tumble Inn after dinner, but instead, Mateo drove straight to the farm.

  When he pulled up in front of her house a soft yellowish light brightened the windows. He climbed out of the truck and jogged up the porch steps, then halted. Should he knock? Even though he happened to live here at the moment, she probably didn’t want him barging in with no warning.

  He settled for rapping his fist lightly against the door. A good two minutes passed before it opened.

  Everly stepped back as though he’d caught her off guard. “You don’t have to knock.” She moved aside, giving him room to walk in. “You’re free to come and go whenever you want. You have your key, right?”

  “Oh. Yeah.” To his relief, she looked fine. Her cheeks were rosier than normal, but she seemed to be breathing and moving around okay.

  “I was worried about you.” He walked past her and shed his jacket, hanging it on the coatrack next to hers.

  “I don’t need you to worry about me.” Everly hastily retreated into the kitchen, where she had some kind of baking project going on. The countertops were covered with bowls and measuring cups and ingredients like flour and sugar. That would explain the ruffled apron she wore.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted.

  Was she fine? He may have detected a rasp in her voice. Mateo walked over and pulled out a stool on the other side of the counter, positioning himself where he could get a good look at her. “You sure I didn’t hurt you? I didn’t break your ribs or anything, did I?”

  “No. I said I’m fine.” Everly turned her back to him and started to whisk something in a bowl. Something that would bake up fluffy and sweet. If you asked him, she seemed to move more stiffly than normal. He watched her carefully. “When I saw you choking, I panicked. I probably squeezed too hard.”

  “Well, it worked, didn’t it?” She still didn’t turn around. Whatever she was making must’ve required some thorough mixing because she kept right on whisking. “I didn’t mean to ruin your date, though.”

  “My date?”

  “Yes. Your date.” She turned back to him and set the bowl on the counter. Instead of looking in his direction, she focused on uncapping a bottle of vanilla extract. “The woman you were with didn’t seem too happy about the interruption.”

  Mateo laughed. Okay, that was just wrong. “Yeah, my little sister isn’t a very patient person.”

  Everly paused from pouring drops of vanilla into the bowl. “That was your sister?”

  “Yeah.” Couldn’t she tell? Ana was much better looking than him, but there was a definite family resemblance. “Ana Sofia. The one in the picture you saw.”

  “Wow.” Everly added a few more drops of vanilla to the bowl. “She looks so different.”

  “She grew up.” Unfortunately. That meant she got to do things like drive down to Mexico all by herself. Which reminded him, he needed to track her cell phone later so he could monitor her progress. He’d keep an eye on her whether she liked it or not. “Ana was driving through town and wanted to have dinner. What made you think I was on a date?”

  “Nothing made me think anything,” Everly said quickly. “It was all Darla and Charity. Oh, and by the way…” Everly went to the kitchen table and held up a familiar silver stiletto. “I found my shoe on the floor in my closet. I’m assuming Dante had something to do with the teeth marks?”

  “Right.” His gaze bounced back and forth between her and the sexy heel. Damn, she would look good in those. “I was going to tell you about that.”

  She raised her eyebrows as though awaiting an explanation.

  “Uh…” He had to stop picturing her legs in a short skirt and those heels so he could actually form a coherent sentence. “I swear I didn’t realize Dante snuck into your closet until it was too late. Sorry. I took him over to Levi’s. He can stay there until the trailer is back.”

  “That’s not necessary.” She opened a cabinet and tossed the shoe into the trash can. “I never wear them anymore, anyway.”

  His gaze slowly moved down her body. That was a shame. She definitely had the legs for it. Though he couldn’t deny she also looked incredibly sexy in her tight jeans and that T-shirt. Then there was the John Deere shirt she wore to bed…

  And those were the exact thoughts he had to avoid. After talking with Ana about their mother’s situation, he was going to need this partnership with Blake more than ever. So he needed Everly out. Preferably by her choice and not his. Instead of helping her forget the past like he had at the party, he should be trying to remind her of the things she might’ve loved about San Francisco. Her ex-fiancé might’ve been a complete tool, but surely she missed her family and friends. “You probably wore shoes like that a lot back in your old life, huh?”

  Everly picked up the bowl and started
to whisk again. “I guess.”

  “Don’t you miss it?”

  She paused and glared at him. “What d’you mean?”

  He held her gaze. “It seems like you have a lot of connections back home. Isn’t your family there?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “I don’t know.” Obviously family wasn’t the right card to play. There had to be something else that would tempt her to go back. “It’s nice to have family around.” Yeah, right. He was one to talk. “And I bet you could get your law license reinstated. Sounds to me like you didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe you should fight it.”

  Everly slammed the bowl down onto the counter. “Don’t even start.”

  Whoa. That seemed to appeal to her even less than family. But it made no sense. Why not redeem herself if she didn’t deserve the punishment? “I’m just saying…becoming a lawyer is no easy task. How long were you in school? Eight years? That’s a huge invest—”

  “You sound exactly like my father,” she interrupted, beating the batter in the bowl so hard some of it splattered onto the floor. She didn’t seem to notice, though. She was too busy melting him with an incinerating glare. “He came for a visit earlier this evening. Told me all of the reasons I can’t stay in Topaz Falls and why I’m going to fail at whatever I try to do with the farm.” More batter went flying. “Well, you know what, Mateo? I’m sick of people telling me I can’t do this. That I can’t do what I love and still find a way to support myself.”

  “That’s not what I was saying.” She just couldn’t do it here. At the farm. Now might not be the best time to tell her that, however.

  “Do you know what he had the nerve to say to me?” Everly asked, pointing the whisk in Mateo’s direction. Another blob of batter fell to the floor.

  He shook his head. Seemed safer than talking.

  “He told me I was a mess. That I don’t have to live like this.” She marched closer, stirring again. “I mean, can you believe that? He was talking to me like I’ve been a complete failure here.”

  A fiery anger glowed on her face, but it was her eyes that filled him with sympathy. They were doubting and sad. Her dad had wounded her, and damn if it didn’t tempt him to wrap her up in his arms so he could make her smile again. “You’re not a mess.” Mateo stood and took the bowl from her hands. He set it on the counter out of her reach. “And you’re definitely not a failure.”