Cowboys Last All Night

by Jennifer Ashley

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “He won’t move his stuff. He expects me to sleep on the couch.” Sunshine warmed to her theme. “He’s a carnivore, too. And I think he might have been in the military.”

  “That’s nice.”

  Sunshine frowned. Nice? Was Kate even listening to her?

  “I don’t think—”

  Kate interrupted her. “Hold on a minute.” Her voice suddenly muffled, as if she’d covered the phone with her hand. “Just a friend,” Sunshine heard her say. “Major drama, as usual.”

  Kate came back. “I’m working on that contract of yours, so just sit tight. I’ll figure out how to get you out of this mess.”

  But Sunshine hardly heard her. Her cheeks felt hot, but the rest of her felt cold. She stood frozen in place. Was that how Kate thought of her—as a drama queen? She forced herself to say, “Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll let you go.”

  “Let’s talk tomorrow.” Kate rang off and Sunshine stared at her phone, still reeling. It was true she used Kate as a sounding board, but Kate used her for the same purpose, didn’t she? Sunshine thought back over their conversations. Maybe not. Kate was the one who listened and gave advice. She rarely had any problems to sort out. Maybe this new boyfriend of hers would dump her. Then she could be the drama queen.

  When she let herself into the apartment a few minutes later, however, Sunshine was still numb with shock. She’d never thought of herself as overdramatic, but maybe she’d been fooling herself. She’s always leaned on Kate to be the practical one—a balance to her more creative, free-spirited ways. Maybe there was no balance, however. Maybe she was a fuck-up, and Kate the good friend that saved her from herself over and over again.

  She was grateful for the darkness that greeted her when she opened the door. Maybe she wouldn’t have to say anything at all to Cole tonight. It looked like he’d already gone to bed. If she was quiet enough not to wake him, she could put off an encounter until morning. By then she’d be able to pull herself together.

  She cleaned up in the bathroom, taking a quick shower and filching one of Cole’s towels to dry off with. She’d left her toothbrush in here earlier, so at least she could clean her teeth. Once prepped for bed, she prepared to tip-toe to the couch, but as she put her hand on the bathroom doorknob to open it, a muffled blast of music split the quiet of the apartment and she winced when she realized its source—her cell-phone.

  She dashed out of the bathroom for her purse, unclasped it and fished around until she found her phone.

  “Kate?”

  “Could that be any louder?” Cole called from his bedroom.

  Sunshine cringed, all too aware she was still wrapped in his towel. “Sorry!” She held the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  “It’s about time.”

  Greg. Shit. “I can’t talk right now.”

  “Why not? Why are you whispering?” It was clear he’d been drinking and Sunshine braced herself for an unpleasant conversation. All of Greg’s irritating qualities grew particularly irritating when he drank.

  “Because someone’s sleeping in the next room.”

  “I’m not sleeping,” Cole said, much closer this time. She turned around to find him leaning against the doorframe wearing nothing but boxer briefs. Her gaze dipped then snapped back up to his face.

  “Who’s sleeping in the next room? Where the fuck are you, Sunshine? I hired a new manager and I need the extra set of keys. How many times do I have to tell you to give them back?”

  “Stop yelling at me!” Sunshine bit her lip. “Look, it’s the middle of the night. I don’t have them, so leave me alone.”

  “Bullshit. I’m not paying for a locksmith to come and change the locks just because you’re too lazy to return them.”

  “Everything all right?” Cole straightened, and she had to force herself to look at his face rather than ogle the broad expanse of his chest or his impressive biceps. His hair was mussed and standing on end, but he looked concerned rather than angry.

  “Who’s that? Found yourself a new sugar daddy already? You’ll spread your legs to any rising star who’ll let you come along for the ride, won’t you?”

  “Fuck off, Greg.”

  “I want my keys!”

  “I don’t have your...”

  Cole stepped forward and took the phone from her hand.

  “Listen, asshole—Sunshine doesn’t want to talk to you. Call here again and I’ll track you down, tear you limb from limb and bury your body parts in nine separate states. Got it?” He cut the call and turned the phone’s sound off before handing it back to her.

  “That was my ex-fiancé,” she said.

  Cole snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

  After Cole disappeared back into his room, Sunshine slipped into the bathroom, changed into a short nighty, and climbed gratefully into her makeshift bed. This had been one of the worst days of her life and Greg’s obnoxious behavior was just the icing on the cake. Thank God Cole had been here to deal with him, because if she’d had to talk to him for one more minute she would have dissolved into a screaming mess. She shivered with distaste.

  She settled on the couch and pulled a light sheet up around her shoulders, needing the comfort of covers even though the night was warm. She had once been so in love with Greg and he’d been in love with her. When had that changed?

  When her savings had begun to run out.

  Greg assumed because her family was rich she had access to a never-ending supply of money, and she supposed in a way he was right. If she needed something and asked her parents for it, most likely they would help her out. What Greg didn’t understand, however, was that she’d been raised not to ask except in the case of the direst emergency. She was proud she’d managed to save enough money from her jobs in high school and college to have a sizeable bank account by the time she’d met Greg. She’d applied for a sous chef position at his newly opened restaurant and soon she’d proven her worth in every aspect of the business. When they began to date, and he confessed he was short on funds for some upgrades, she’d been pleased to become his partner. They’d run the restaurant together for over a year.

  Of course, now she saw the truth. She was young, cute and rich, and he’d used all those attributes to his advantage. When she ceased being an asset, in the most monetary sense of the word, he’d discarded her.

  Well, screw him. She didn’t need Greg or his stupid restaurant. She had everything she needed right here.

  Doubt assailed her when she thought of the ramshackle, empty space that would soon house her café. Was she kidding herself? What if Greg was right? What if she screwed this up, too?

  She threw back the covers and tip-toed into the kitchen. It was obvious she wouldn’t sleep tonight, so she might as well start making plans. She needed to open her café sooner rather than later—before her dwindling supply of cash ran out. She made herself a cup of tea and then sat at the scrubbed wooden table with a tablet of paper and a pen in front of her. As the minutes ticked by, however, she found herself doodling Cole’s name instead of a list of supplies she needed to buy.

  Cole was handsome, not in a movie-star kind of way, but in a manly, I-know-what-I’m-doing kind of way. Big and strong and masculine; just the way she liked them. Greg had been cute enough, but Cole filled out his jeans and t-shirt in a way Greg never could. He was easy in his skin and she had the feeling he could change a tire, or fix a dishwasher—things Greg would have to hire someone else to do. She’d noticed Cole’s hands, earlier—large, strong, hands capable of doing all sorts of things.

  Sunshine groaned. This was getting her nowhere except hot and bothered with no relief in sight. She tore off the top sheet of paper, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash, then crossed the room to the back door and let herself out onto the deck. There was little traffic at this late hour in the small town, but enough light shone from streetlights to illuminate the meadow that sloped away from her. She shivered a little in the cool air, suddenly lonelier than she cou
ld ever remember being. Greg was gone. Not the asshole who called a short time ago to yell at her, but the ideal Greg she’d created in her mind and fallen in love with. Would she ever believe in love again?

  Could someone else ease the ache in her heart? And the ache between her legs?

  Truth be told she missed sex almost as much as she missed the fantasy relationship she thought she had with Greg. He might be an asshole, but at least he’d touched her, held her and had enough basic chivalry to make sure she’d shared his pleasure in making love.

  The six weeks since they’d broken up seemed to stretch into months. She knew she was pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way. She knew she’d have other boyfriends in the future. Knew it in her head, anyway.

  Her bruised, broken, stomped-on heart said something different. After all, Kate and Greg, the two people who knew her the best, didn’t find her all that compelling. Maybe they were right. Maybe she was a drama queen. Maybe she was unlovable.

  Maybe she’d be alone forever.

  She didn’t hear the door open behind her, so when Cole touched her back, Sunshine jumped.

  “It’s just me,” he said in a low, husky voice. “You okay?”

  Sunshine bowed her head, tears pricking her eyes at this unlooked for kindness. Had Greg ever asked her if she was okay?

  “I’m fine. It’s just...” To her horror, tears spilled down her cheeks and the pain in her throat grew to an enormous lump that threatened to choke her until she let out a great gasp of sadness.

  Cole pulled her into his arms, one hand at the small of her back, the other cradling her head, and she leaned against him, sobbing all the tears she’d held in for so long. She wanted to push away, run inside, dive under her covers, and hide from him for the remainder of her days, but she couldn’t have moved for the world. As long as he held her she could push back the chasm of loneliness that threatened to pull her in for all eternity. Just for a minute she didn’t have to face the future alone.

  Chapter Four

  If the guys could see him now.

  Cole was too stunned to think anything more coherent. When he’d heard Sunshine get up from the couch again, he’d assumed she’d needed to use the washroom, but then the back door had opened, and he’d decided he needed to investigate. When he’d spotted her out on the deck in that flimsy shortie nightgown, all rational thought had flown from his head and instinct kicked in. As soon as he’d taken her into his arms he’d been lost.

  Now her breasts pressed against his bare chest, her nipples, hard in the cool night air, all too evident through the thin material covering them. His right hand was an inch above her ass and only the strongest effort kept it from straying southward. Her tears wet his shoulder and her breath was hot against his throat.

  And he was getting hard.

  There was no stopping it, and Cole was sure any second Sunshine would fling herself away from him in disgust and make a beeline for her couch, but she didn’t. Instead, she let out a soft moan that was nearly his undoing and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Cole’s surprise stopped him momentarily, but within the space of seconds his decidedly male instincts kicked in with a vengeance. He tightened his arms around her small, curvy body, and bent down to cover her mouth with his own.

  She met him kiss for kiss, her lips parting to allow his tongue entrance, and when he pulled her closer, she didn’t resist. In fact, she leaned into him. Cole stifled a groan, slid a hand down to caress her bottom.

  Sunshine gasped and pulled away. “What are you doing?”

  “Enjoying what you’re offering me.”

  “I’m not… offering you anything!”

  Back to square one. Cole sighed, but didn’t argue. “I’m heading back to bed. You can join me if you like. Or not. It’s your call.”

  “You won’t win by seducing me. I’m not that easy.” She was furious and he’d bet she was blushing too, but he couldn’t see that kind of detail in the dim light.

  “See you in the morning, Sunshine.”

  He escaped to his bedroom, glad he at least had enough common sense to know this couldn’t end well.

  But it was a long time before he fell asleep.

  Sunshine tossed and turned for hours, finally falling asleep just as dawn broke and fingers of light slipped under the curtains. When Cole came through the room at seven-thirty, she groaned and covered her head with her pillow.

  “Rise and shine. Don’t you have a restaurant to run?”

  “Go away.” She didn’t want to see the man—definitely not like this. Unshowered, her eyes swollen from lack of sleep. Plus she couldn’t help remembering their embrace last night.

  Their kiss.

  She buried her head deeper under the pillow. What was she going to do now? Why had she let him see her weakness—her sorrow over losing Greg? Now he’d make fun of her for it. He’d probably tell all his friends about kissing her.

  Although if she was honest, it had been nice. More than nice. Cole was muscular and handsome, and his attentions had made her feel beautiful… for a minute, until he’d tried to grab her ass and she’d realized just what he was after—a quick roll in the hay he could use to torment and humiliate her until she left town and he got the building.

  No way.

  She’d never kiss or touch him again. She sure as hell wouldn’t sleep with him, even if the idea was tempting as hell.

  She shrieked when Cole suddenly ripped her covers away from her body. Scrambling to her knees, she tried to grab them back but he held them out of reach. He laughed down at her and she realized the disadvantage he had her in. He was fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. She wore practically nothing at all.

  “Breakfast in five minutes. Want the shower?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He dumped her covers in the easy chair across the room and headed back to the kitchen. A minute later she heard the clatter of dishes and silverware and Cole’s low, warm voice singing snatches of country and western songs.

  Damn him. Why did he have to be a morning person? She never had been, despite her name. Too late now to try to get more sleep, though. She stood up wearily and trudged to the bathroom. A shower revived her some, and once she’d located her hair products in her bag and gotten dressed in a slightly wrinkled set of clothes, she felt more like herself. The dining room table was set for two people with a vase of flowers in the middle when she came back out of the bathroom. Cole approached it with two full plates in his hand. “Take a seat.” He deposited one plate in front of her and set the other on the opposite side of the table.

  “Are you always this chipper?” She sat down, eyeing the flowers suspiciously.

  “Pretty much. Especially when a beautiful woman’s eating breakfast with me.” He flashed her a grin she figured got him a lot of female attention. “Plus today is the start of my annual Six Shooters and Six Packs competition.”

  “Do I even want to know what that is?”

  “Probably not,” Cole said cheerfully. “But I’ll tell you anyway. It’s a month-long competition. I have ten kinds of targets available at the range. To make things more interesting,” he added when he saw her confused expression. “Any time one of my regulars comes in he can choose one to shoot at and try to improve his score. At the end of the month I add up each shooter’s top scores for all ten kinds of targets. The best one overall wins a six pack of beer every week for the next year. The guys love it. Really gets their competitive spirit flowing.” He looked very satisfied at that thought.

  Sunshine thought it sounded barbaric. “So you’re mixing booze and shooting? Are you nuts?”

  “The booze comes after the shooting.” Cole wasn’t fazed. “So be prepared for lots of foot traffic this month.”

  “Your customers better be prepared to keep out of my way while I renovate,” she countered.

  “Renovate?” Cole frowned. “Who said anything about renovating?”

  “I did. I want my restaurant running by the end of the month.”

  Chapter Fi
ve

  Cole grimaced. He didn’t want a restaurant running at all—not in his gun club. Even the most dedicated shooter could be distracted by a decent hamburger or steak. If Sunshine set out a good feed, he might lose half his clientele. If she got a liquor license, he’d lose the rest.

  “How much money do you plan to spend on the renovation?”

  “That’s my business.” But she looked uncomfortable and Cole’s spirits picked up. If she didn’t have much money to spruce up the place, she’d have trouble attracting customers. It wasn’t like the range was on a thoroughfare, after all.

  “Are you planning to—”

  “Like I said, it’s my business. Which I’ll go attend to right now.” She threw down her fork and stood up. Cole noticed she’d barely eaten a single pancake.

  “Aren’t you hungry?”

  “You used milk in those pancakes. That’s cruel to the cows.”

  Cruel to the cows? Cole figured it would be a lot crueler not to milk them. Had she ever seen a full udder? He stabbed her pancakes and transferred them to his own plate. No sense wasting them.

  A half-hour later he stood in the doorway of the waiting room. Or what used to be his waiting room. The chairs were now stacked on the sidewalk. All the paperwork that had been piled on the counter was gone. So were the rest of his belongings.

  “Hey!” He strode inside and spotted a lopsided stack of his things. “You can’t just—”

  “You should be ashamed of yourself.” Sunshine popped up behind the counter and waved a rag in his direction that was covered with a greasy smudge of dirt and grime. “Have you ever wiped down this counter? Or anything in this place? By the way, the bathroom needs to be stripped down to the studs. I’ve never seen anything so disgusting.”

  Cole frowned. “This ain’t my grandmother’s parlor.”

  “No. It’s a cess pool. Worse than a cess pool. Has your mother ever been in here?”

  “No, she hasn’t.” His temper flared. “My mother is dead.”

  Sunshine stood up. She let the rag fall. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”