Handsome Cowboy (Handsome Devils Book 4)

by Lori Wilde

  Why would she hesitate? Gavin had to know she wanted a fulltime job at the school. Of course, she’d said yes. Why did they find that so unbelievable?

  Uh oh. Suspicion slowly crept through her. Something wasn’t right. There was no reason for them to be surprised. Was there?

  She studied them. Their smiling faces. Their happy looks. Oh, yeah, something wasn’t right. Quickly running through the conversation with Gavin in her mind, she bit back a groan when she realized she’d interrupted him. He hadn’t completely finished speaking when she’d said yes.

  But what other job could he mean? Naturally he was talking about a fulltime teaching job.

  Wasn’t he?

  But if it was, then why was Jared here?

  Shoving aside the feeling of impending doom, she said to the principal, “I’d like to know a little bit more about this job.”

  “Certainly.” Gavin folded his hands on his desk. “Homecoming this year is being called Wild Westival. Don’t you think that’s cute? The student council has arranged for the halftime show, the student dance and the alumni dance, but that still leaves the parade. No one has time to take it on. Then Jared stepped up, solving our problem.”

  Leigh felt her stomach drop to the floor. Rats. This wasn’t about a fulltime job. Not at all. It was about a homecoming parade.

  How could she have been so stupid?

  Acutely aware of Jared sitting next to her, she refused to let her disappointment show. Sure, she wasn’t getting the teaching job. At least, not yet. But if she helped on this Westival thingee, then she’d be a shoo-in. Gavin always rewarded employees who pitched in on extra curriculum activities.

  “Why Wild Westival?” she asked Jared.

  He was looking at her oddly, almost as if he’d figured out that she’d been thinking along different lines when Gavin had offered the job. Well, that was her own business, and she wasn’t telling him about it.

  “What did you have in mind?” she prompted when he didn’t answer.

  He leaned toward her. “Are you okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” she countered, hating the fact that he’d sensed she was upset while her boss was sitting there completely oblivious to the fact that he’d rained on her happiness by asking her to work on the homecoming parade.

  Jared refused to let the subject drop. “Did you mean to agree to help with homecoming parade or did you think Gav was talking about something else when you said yes?”

  There was no way she was going to tell Jared what she’d thought. Turning the tables, she asked, “What I want to know is why you agreed to help with the parade? You don’t work for the high school, so why get involved?”

  “Why are both of you asking questions and neither of you is answering?” Gavin interjected.

  Jared chuckled. “Sorry about that. Okay, I’ll answer first. I was talking to Gav, and he mentioned there might not be a parade this year because they were short on resources. I figured I might as well help. I know how much homecoming weekend means to this town. This is Texas, and we’re talking football.” He grinned that famous sexy grin of his, and Leigh felt her heart rate pick up. Talk about being seriously pathetic.

  He leaned toward her. “Rumor has it that there are a couple of folks who have less than stellar memories of me.”

  Leigh laughed. “Ya think? Maybe it has something to do with you painting the water tower an ugly shade of lime green with neon pink stripes?”

  “I had to paint over it,” Jared reminded her. “Took me most of the summer. That pink was hard to cover up. I had to paint that water tower three times before you couldn’t see it anymore.”

  Leigh remembered those days well. Jared, painting on the water tower. Often without a shirt. On any given day, you could find most of the female population of Honey hanging out at that end of town, enjoying the magnificent view.

  Of course, she hadn’t joined the groupies at the bottom of the water tower stairs. Nope. Not her. Instead, she’d been busy that summer acting as the receptionist for Danny Hoover, the local lawyer. She’d greeted his clients, answered his phones.

  The fact that his office afforded whoever was seated at the receptionist’s desk a stellar view of the water tower had just been a coincidence.

  “See, Jared made up for his little prank,” Gavin said. “He had to pay the price, and he did. That’s all a person can do. We all make mistakes.”

  Gavin had to be kidding. Jared hadn’t made mistakes; he’d run around like a wild man.

  Unable to let this go so easily, Leigh asked, “And didn’t you also switch the hubcaps on all the teachers’ cars during a pep rally? It seems to me it took almost two weeks for everyone to sort out that little mistake.”

  Jared shrugged. “Maybe I switched a few hubcaps.”

  Leigh snorted, and Jared laughed.

  “Hey, it’s true. I couldn’t get all the hubcaps off. Some of them were locked on.”

  Leigh knew she should drop the subject, but the truth was, she didn’t want to work with Jared on a committee. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him. Too much could go wrong, and she might end up making a fool of herself again. That was more than she could take.

  Hoping to change Gavin’s mind, she threw down her trump card. “And let’s not forget you ruined the homecoming parade your senior year when you freed all the dogs from the pound and let them loose on the town.”

  “I guess next time I pick a friend, I’ll find one with a shorter memory,” Jared said, his brown eyes twinkling with humor.

  Leigh knew he wasn’t thrilled she was bringing up all his past indiscretions, and realistically, she couldn’t blame him. Even though she hadn’t signed on board with that whole friend thing, she had agreed to try to get along with him. So far, she was doing a crummy job.

  “But I guess you’ve reformed,” she relented.

  “When a man gets older, he starts to realize what’s important in life,” Gavin said in his most pompous voice. “Young people make mistakes, Leigh. If memory serves, your brothers made more than a few when they were young. And you may have made a couple yourself along the way. You should congratulate Jared for turning over a new leaf.”

  Personally, she wasn’t completely convinced there weren’t all sorts of creepy things under that leaf, but she kept her opinion to herself.

  “How long do we have to organize the parade?” she asked, hoping she could find a way to do this without actually having to see Jared.

  “Not quite four weeks. The plans are already underway for the dances and the homecoming show, so you may find it a challenge getting student volunteers. Maybe a few of the freshmen and sophomores will be willing to help. The juniors and seniors are already running the other committees.”

  That’s right. They’d have student volunteers. Bodies that could help Leigh maintain her distance from Jared.

  Whew. That was a relief.

  Gavin leaned back in his chair. “The school really appreciates this. The parade always sets the tone for homecoming weekend and helps draw in a lot of out-of-town visitors. I know all the local merchants were disappointed when we told them there might not be a parade this year. In fact, my parents were thrilled when I told them Jared had stepped up to the plate and would make sure it happened after all. You two should have a lot of fun.”

  Oh, yeah, she’d bet they’d have a spiffy doodle time. She gave Gavin a wan smile. “Should be swell.”

  Jared chuckled. “See, Leigh’s already so excited about this she’s about to burst. Gavin, why don’t Leigh and I go do some planning and stop back by in a few days to tell you what we’ve figured out?”

  “Sounds good,” Gavin said, then he stood and showed them to the door. Right before they walked out, he shook their hands. “Thanks again, Jared. Leigh. I really appreciate this, and I know everyone in Honey does, too. Homecoming wouldn’t be the same without the parade.”

  Leigh barely managed to keep her mouth shut until they were out of earshot of Gavin’s office. Then she stoppe
d and looked at Jared.

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  He tipped his head, pretending to be confused, but Leigh didn’t buy it for a second.

  “I told you. I want to help the town,” he eventually said.

  “Why with me? You can’t tell me Gavin chose me to do this. You must have suggested I help. Why me?”

  “I thought we’d agreed we were friends. Who else would I ask to help me?”

  That blasted friend thing again. “For the record, all I agreed to was to try to get along. That’s completely different from being friends.”

  Jared nodded. “Okay. Good enough. We’ll be people who are trying to get along working together on the parade. I’ll get some good publicity out of it, and you’ll convince Gav to give you a fulltime teaching position. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

  “How do you know that’s what I want?”

  “You are one suspicious woman.” Taking a couple of steps toward her, he explained, “Chase mentioned it at the wedding.”

  For a second, Leigh studied him, trying to judge his sincerity. He seemed to be telling the truth as far as she could tell. Then, without meaning to, she blurted, “I hate it when you’re nice.”

  He looked surprised at first. Then he laughed. “Darn annoying, isn’t it?”

  This time, she laughed as well. “Yes. It is. I don’t want to like you.”

  “And here I go, being so incredibly likable.” He pretended to think, then said, “I know. From now on, whenever we see each other, I’ll be mean and surly. How about that? Will that make it easier on you?”

  “I’d take it as a personal favor,” she said. She knew he thought she was teasing, but she really would appreciate it if he at least tried not to be so darn appealing.

  But how did you ask a man not to turn you on?

  His gaze locked with hers, and Leigh felt her pulse rate pick up. Oh, no. Not again.

  Maybe she’d given up on that potion idea too soon.

  Turning, she headed toward the exit. She needed to get away from him, away from his sexy smile and seductive laugh. When she reached the door, good manners and a strong sense of fair play forced her to say to him, “This is a good thing you’re doing for the town. It’s nice of you to help.”

  “Homecoming seemed like the best way to get everyone in town to realize I’ve changed. After all, I don’t think our mutual striptease at the wedding reception swayed anyone over to my side, do you?”

  He had a point. Although only the couples closest to them on the dance floor actually noticed that she and Jared had to redress themselves once the music ended, this was Honey. Gossip that juicy spread quicker than a lame joke on the Internet.

  Frankly, Leigh was surprised Gavin hadn’t mentioned it today, since that seemed to be all anyone talked about these days. But no doubt the principal had kept his mouth shut because he didn’t want to run the risk of chasing off two volunteers.

  “No, I guess it didn’t help your reputation,” she said. “Didn’t help mine, either.” She shoved open the door but before she walked out, Jared stopped her.

  “Do you think what happened on the dance floor might hurt your chance of getting a fulltime job here?” he asked as they headed down the steps outside the school.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Want me to talk to Gav? I don’t know if it would help, but I can try.”

  She glanced at him as they walked across the parking lot. “There you go, being nice again.”

  “Oops. Sorry,” he said. “So do you want me to talk to Gav?”

  Why did he care? Why was he so willing to help? And most importantly, since when did Gavin listen to Jared Kendrick?

  “Is this the same Gav whose locker you filled with french fries?” she asked sweetly. “Oh, yes, and then you thoughtfully added ketchup, didn’t you?”

  He laughed. “There you go again with that terrible long-term memory thing. You know, most people in this town don’t remember every little infraction I did. Like the water tower thing. I’d be surprised if very many people in town still remembered that.”

  Well, maybe the men had forgotten about it, but she’d bet most of the women remembered. Jared Kendrick without a shirt was not a sight a lady forgot.

  But she wasn’t going to admit that to him. All she said was, “I guess.”

  They’d reached her car, so she unlocked the driver’s side door. Jared stopped her before she got in.

  “I think we can really help each other. If we do a good job with the homecoming parade, we’ll both have a better shot at getting what we want.”

  She studied him, her gaze slowly drifting down to his full lips. When she thought about things she wanted, one of them was to kiss Jared. She’d always wanted to kiss him, but despite her many attempts, she’d had no luck.

  But she knew that wasn’t what he meant, so she answered, “I guess you’re right. It could show them that I’m mature and responsible, that is if I actually manage to act mature and responsible.”

  He bumped her with his arm. “Is it really that difficult?”

  “Seems to be when I’m around you,” she admitted. “You don’t bring out the mature side in me.”

  “I’ll work on that, too.” He patted the pockets of his jeans. “You got a piece of paper I can use? This list is getting long. Maybe I should write it down. Let’s see, I need to stop being nice. And I have to stop bringing out the immature side of you. Anything else you’d like me to do?”

  Oh, now there was a loaded question. Leigh yanked open her car door and climbed inside. “I’ll let you know if I think of anything,” she said dryly.

  He grinned, and she knew he knew what she’d been thinking. “You do that.”

  Yeah, right She’d rather eat worms than hit on Jared Kendrick again.

  “You have such masculine handwriting,” Janet Defries cooed as Jared finished signing her up for his rodeo school. “It’s so strong and forceful.”

  He looked at his handwriting on the registration form. It looked like chicken scratch. The woman was crazy.

  “It’s awful, but thanks anyway.” He looked at Janet and her two friends, Tammy Holbrook and Caitlin Estes. The three of them had come racing up the driveway first thing this morning in Janet’s red convertible claiming they were dying to learn about roping and riding and “horse stuff like that.” He didn’t buy it for a second. Sure, these ladies were looking to rope something, but it sure as hell wasn’t a calf. They were after what Leigh had been after—a good time with a bad boy.

  But a student was a student, and money was money, so he’d signed them up and taken their checks. He’d teach the basics of roping and riding. But that was all. Just as Leigh had discovered, he wasn’t looking to be a belt buckle prize in anyone’s personal rodeo.

  “So, Jared, when do you want us to start?” Janet asked, putting her hands on her hips and calling attention to the fact that there was about three inches between the bottom of her top and the top of her bottom. Her belly button and belly button earring were on full display, but rather than finding it erotic, all Jared could think about was how it must have hurt like the devil when she’d had it pierced like that. The little hoop she wore near her navel made him think of tagged cows.

  He pulled his attention back to her face. “The first class starts next Saturday morning. Be sure to wear old clothes.” He glanced again at her naked belly. “And, Janet, you have to be completely covered. I mean wear jeans that come to your waist, boots and long-sleeved shirts. We’re going to be busy.”

  Janet pouted, but Tammy and Caitlin, who weren’t dressed any more appropriately than Janet, laughed.

  “Guess we’ll all have to buy some boring clothes,” Tammy said. “Or maybe Leigh has something we can borrow. She has a closet full of them.”

  Jared froze. “What do you mean by that?”

  His tone must have conveyed that he wasn’t too thrilled with the conversation because Tammy had the
good sense to look embarrassed. “You know. Since she’s been teaching, she’s wearing old-lady stuff. I can’t imagine why Billy Joe Tate asked her out.”

  That bit of information distracted Jared from the comment about Leigh’s clothes. “Leigh’s going out with Billy Tate?”

  Janet must have noticed the undercurrent in his voice, because she came over to stand next to him. “Billy told me he was taking her to dinner tonight at Roy’s Cafe. And then after that, he’s going to let nature take its course.”

  “Why in the blazes would he say that?” Jared asked, then felt like kicking himself for saying anything. Janet arched one well-plucked eyebrow.

  “Jared, honey, you sound almost like you care,” she practically purred. She placed one hand on his right arm and squeezed, “But that can’t be true since you dumped Leigh last summer. I heard she undid your vest at the wedding because she was mad at you for breaking up with her, and you unzipped her dress to get her back.”

  Yeah, that was pretty much what had happened. When he’d first felt her undoing the buttons on his vest, he’d thought her motive was desire. Then he’d quickly realized that her actions had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with revenge.

  Typical sneaky Leigh. Oddly enough, that was one of the things he liked about her. The woman was never without a plan.

  “I don’t care who she goes out with. I just think Billy Joe’s a jerk for saying something like that,” he maintained.

  Caitlin Estes, the owner of the local ice cream shop and a notorious flirt, said, “The heck with Leigh and Billy Joe. I want it on the record that you can feel free to unzip my dress whenever you want.”

  All three of the ladies giggled at that one, but Jared was too preoccupied to care. Leigh was going to dinner with Billy Joe Tate? Was she crazy? Billy was a nice enough guy, but not exactly the sharpest spur in the county.

  Janet leaned toward him, her stance deliberately provocative. “You want to go to dinner with me tonight to take your mind off Leigh?”

  “I’m not interested in Leigh,” he told her, knowing if he said anything different Janet would go out of her way to sabotage his plans.