Playing With Fire

by Alison Bliss

  “Hey!” Emily and Bobbie Jo yelled in unison.

  “That’s because y’all are dumbasses,” Ox said as he winked at the girls. He was rewarded with their smiles and laughter before turning his attention back to Jake and Cowboy. “I’m not about to get on that deranged-ass horse and have him throw me off into the pond. I sure as hell don’t need to spend any quality time with Charlie after what happened to the last guy who hung out with him.”

  My eyes cut to Cowboy. “Charlie?”

  Cowboy grinned. “The alligator in Hank’s pond. Eats one little mob guy and suddenly Charlie’s on everyone’s shitlist.”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “Come on, Ox. This is bound to be one of the things on your bucket list. Might as well get it over with.”

  “You kidding?” Ox said, cackling. “The only item on my list of things to do before I die is to yell for help. I think I’ll leave the horse-wrangling up to the expert. Right, Cowboy?”

  Cowboy nodded and turned to Hank. “All these klutzes are about as worthless as tits on a bull. Guess I’ll have to show ’em how it’s done.”

  “At least one of you possesses a little know-how and are up for a challenge,” Hank said before walking out to retrieve the uneasy colt that was still nibbling at the tall weeds near the back fence.

  When he returned with the horse, Hank offered to hold him steady as Cowboy climbed on, but he declined and took hold of the reins himself. Cowboy walked Ruckus around in circles for a minute, then ran his hands along the colt’s neck and body, as if acquainting the horse to his basic touch.

  After circling the horse and rubbing almost every square inch of him, he stopped at the colt’s head and stared straight into his eyes as he allowed the palomino to nibble lightly at his fingers.

  “All right, enough already,” Jake said. “You going to stand around fondling him all day or are you going to mount up?”

  Cowboy just shook his head and continued running his hands gently but firmly over the horse’s head, scratching him between the ears.

  He whispered something to Ruckus that was inaudible to the rest of us, then moved to the horse’s side where he put his foot in the stirrup and swung onto the colt’s back. Straight-legged, he stood up in the stirrups and held tight to the reins, though the palomino made no attempt to move.

  After a few bounces in the saddle, he gave the horse a little nudge in the flanks and steered the colt in a couple of figure eights. The content horse bobbed his head and swished his tail, but never bucked or tried to throw him.

  Hank grinned and happily stuffed the wad of money in his hand into his shirt pocket. “Leave it to a real cowboy to get the job done.”

  Judd shook his bandaged head and winced. “That’s because when we were kids, Ox and I tied him on top of a goat and made a fast learner out of him.”

  Ox chuckled at the memory. “Hey, Cowboy. What’d you say to that horse to get him to do that?”

  A smile split Cowboy’s face in two as he gave me a sly wink. “I told him not to be a jackass, or I’d kick his head smooth off.”

  The men chuckled, but Bobbie Jo shook her head as she turned and walked toward me, rolling her eyes playfully with a smile on her face.

  “Guess he’s a lot better with horses than he is with women,” I told her.

  “Not from what I hear.” She grinned, and kept walking.

  Cowboy dismounted and handed the reins to Hank, but turned to scratch the horse between the ears. Ruckus bowed his head, enjoying the attention, which gave me pause. I’d always thought Cowboy lacked depth, but the idiosyncrasies I’d seen in him lately, especially while watching him with the horse, had me wondering about something. If the horse trusted Cowboy, then maybe I could possibly do the same. Animals and children usually had a sixth sense about those things.

  Cowboy strutted in my direction, displaying a dazzling mega-watt smile. “See? I didn’t even get hurt.”

  I smiled at him, but lifted a brow. “How’d you really do that? What’s the trick?”

  “No trick. I just didn’t bother mentioning that I’ve been working with that colt for months now.” He stared deep into my eyes and his mouth twisted with a smirk. “In case you haven’t noticed, I can be a very patient man when I need to be.”

  The next evening, I squirmed in the chair, feeling a little like I’d been raked over the coals as Emily finished up my makeup. It reminded me of all my fears and struggles in high school. If I’d known they’d hatched a subversive plan to give me a makeover, I would’ve forfeited the whole night.

  “Stop touching your face,” Emily chastised. “You’re going to mess it up.”

  I’d vowed to stick it out, but I felt self-conscious and started to waver on that decision. “Do I really have to do this?”

  After finding another threatening note in my mailbox earlier in the day, I didn’t have the patience to take any more abuse…no matter the form.

  Bobbie Jo sipped her wine. “I told you she wasn’t going to go along with this willingly.”

  Emily frowned. “Don’t be such a stick in the mud, Anna. You’re ruining all our fun.”

  Ruining their fun? I’d just spent the last hour being poked and prodded. Where was the fun in that?

  Bobbie Jo started to say something else, but her cell phone rang. She held up one finger as she answered it. “Hey, what’s up?” She listened for a few seconds, then said, “How late are you going to be, Cowboy?”

  Hearing his name, I looked over at her. He’d mentioned dropping by my house last night, but he never showed. That’s what I got for getting my hopes up.

  “We’re at Anna’s getting ready. Do you just want to meet us there?” Bobbie Jo paused a beat, then raised one eyebrow. “Okay, hold on.” She passed her cell phone to me. “He wants to talk to you.”

  Emily smirked at me. “Nothing going on, huh?”

  All eyes in the room were on me as I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

  “Howdy, darlin’. Whatcha wearin’?”

  “Um, well, I’m wearing a dark blue tunic top with a pair of black leggings and—”

  Emily quickly covered the phone with her hand and gawked at me. “Are you telling him what you’re actually wearing?” She removed her hand and keeled over with laughter.

  “Oh…” I cringed. Damn it. That was obviously not what he had meant. God, I was such an idiot. “And nothing underneath,” I said hastily into the phone while blushing at Emily’s nod of approval and watching Bobbie Jo shake her head.

  Cowboy chuckled. “Works for me.” There was a slight pause on his end of the line. “Sorry I didn’t make it to your place last night. Huge structure fire in a nearby county kept me busy the rest of the evening. I didn’t get back to the station until late last night.”

  I didn’t respond, afraid the disappointment I’d felt over him not showing up would register in my voice. Then he would know that he was getting to me.

  “I’m running late tonight because I had a fire call. Gas leak on the other side of town. Still have to go home and shower, but I’ll be there later. Save me a dance?”

  “Um, sure.”

  “Sounds good. See you then.”

  I clicked off the phone and handed it back to Bobbie Jo. Both women in the room were gawking at me. “What?”

  “Girl, you have it bad for that man,” Emily said, smiling.

  “No, I don’t,” I protested. “We’re just friends, that’s all. He asked me to save him a dance.”

  “Well, I didn’t see him asking to dance with me,” she said.

  Bobbie Jo laughed. “That’s because the last time you danced with him, Jake threatened to lop off a certain part of Cowboy’s anatomy.”

  “He did not,” Emily replied, rolling her eyes. “Besides, that was my fault. I was trying to make Jake jealous.”

  “Worked, too.” Bobbie Jo grinned. “Only, it wasn’t you dancing with Cowboy that had Jake so pissed off. That was all Jeremy’s doing.”

  Emily shrugged. “Speaking of that jerk
, what’s the deal with you two, Bobbie Jo? I know he’s Austin’s dad, but you aren’t seeing him again, are you?”

  “Hell, no!” She shook her head. “Jeremy may be Austin’s biological father, but he’s not exactly what I’d call daddy material. After dealing with him for the past year, I’m pretty sure I’m through with men altogether. The only guy I’m interested in is this little fella right here.” She dangled her keys from her fingertips, displaying a photo of Austin.

  “But don’t you want more kids someday?” I asked.

  Bobbie Jo shrugged. “You know, I always saw myself with at least two kids, a boy and a girl. But every time I even think about having another baby, my uterus cringes.”

  I laughed at the mental image she left me with, and Emily joined in. “I’m sure you’ll change your mind when the right guy comes along. Besides, Austin would probably like to have a daddy one day…a real one.”

  “He already has four of the best father figures I could ever ask for. I’m not worried about filling that role in his life. I doubt anyone could, anyway.”

  “All right,” Emily said, taking a step back from me. “I’m done. Take a look and tell me what you think. But no making faces.”

  If she had to warn me not to make a face, I could only imagine how bad I must look. Bobbie Jo was smiling, though, so maybe Emily had used clown makeup. I stood and walked over to the full-length mirror in my bedroom and gazed at… Oh!

  I didn’t recognize the woman in the mirror. Stunned, I turned to face Emily. “Holy crap! You’re a magician.”

  Bobbie wore a huge grin. “Look at how your blue eyes pop. And I love all the sexy red curls framing your face. Anna, you look beautiful.”

  Emily smiled proudly. “See? You’re a total hottie! Now I’m going to have to dare you to do something crazy. Prepare to get wild tonight,” she said with a saucy grin.

  Bobbie Jo rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to her. Ever. And for God’s sake, don’t take her up on any dares. The last time Emily accepted a dare, she ended up in Witness Protection.” Bobbie Jo wrinkled her nose playfully. “And we’re all still paying for that one.”

  Emily laughed. “Hey! Don’t make me go back to calling you Bobbie Jugs again.” She glanced over at me. “Did Bobbie Jo tell you that she and I haven’t always gotten along?”

  No, but I could imagine why. “Not exactly.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Emily said, nodding. “As far as I was concerned, Miss Cheerleader could’ve taken her pom-poms and shoved them.”

  I looked at Bobbie Jo for confirmation. “Really? That bad?”

  Bobbie Jo smiled. “True story. But I didn’t take it personally. I knew it was only because Emily was jealous that I had dated Jake before her.”

  “Well, I knew that much,” I said, remembering our days at camp. “I always thought Bobbie Jo and Jake were the perfect couple.” Bobbie Jo laughed before I even realized what I said. “Oh my God. Emily, I’m so sorry. Forget I said that. I don’t always think before I speak.”

  Emily grinned, as if she wasn’t the least bit concerned with my verbal blunder. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. I do it all the time.”

  “That’s no lie,” Bobbie said.

  As I turned to smile at her, my gaze touched on the mirror. In the reflection, I caught a glimpse of the window…and a shadowed face staring back at me. I gasped and spun around so quickly that both women jolted from their seats.

  “What’s wrong?” Bobbie Jo asked.

  I glared at the window, but there was nothing there. “I, um…sorry. For a second, I thought I saw something outside.”

  Emily picked up her cell phone. “Do you want me to call Jake? He could come over and take a look around.”

  “No, it’s okay. I think my nerves are just getting to me.” Which I’m sure is exactly what the Barlow boys were hoping for. Those bastards.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was sometime after midnight when Cowboy entered The Backwoods. I would’ve known the exact time, but I had stopped checking my watch every five minutes, figuring he wasn’t going to show up after all. Leave it to him to prove me wrong.

  His gaze swept over the crowd until finally landing on our group hanging out near the end of the bar. The girls sat at the small round table while the men leaned on the nearby bar. Cowboy’s eyes met mine and he smiled as he headed in my direction. But just as he reached me, a fresh drink slid in front of me and a large hand suddenly rested on my shoulder, snaring both of our attention.

  Bubba Ray stood next to me, grinning sinfully at Cowboy. At first, I was puzzled by the odd behavior of the guy Judd had tried to set me up with, but then quickly realized that the methodically placed, proprietary hand on my shoulder and the shit-eating grin was done in an eat-your-heart-out manner. Bubba Ray was claiming me as “his.”

  As if.

  Bubba Ray stood next to me, closer than I was comfortable with¸ but not violating any personal space treaties…as of yet. Though the way he’d been flirting relentlessly with me, I had already figured that by the end of the night I’d have to explain my hands-off policy to him.

  With a scowl, Cowboy veered toward Jake and leaned on the bar next to him, motioning to the bartender.

  Jake glanced up at him. “You’re late,” he said, loud enough that I could hear him over the lively country tune blaring from the overhead speakers.

  “And you’re funny-looking. So what?”

  Jake smirked. “Need a dancing partner?”

  “You’re my boy and all, Jake, but I’m not dancing with you.” Cowboy picked up the bottle of beer placed in front of him by the bartender and took a swig.

  “Not with me, jackass. With Anna.”

  Cowboy glanced back at me and his mouth tightened into a firm, thin line. “So she decided to come watch the sinners eviscerate themselves, huh?” His tone was callous and he said it as if he hadn’t known I’d been there all along. Then he shook his head and told Jake, “Nah, I’m good.”

  Jake gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything.

  Cowboy hadn’t even said hello to me when he walked up and now he was shunning me, which only made me feel more awkward and uncomfortable. So when Bubba Ray asked me to dance with him, I jumped at the chance to get away from the group…and Cowboy.

  After a few laps on the dance floor, Bubba Ray and I took a break and passed by six of his buddies sitting at a table across the room. They invited us to have a drink with them, and since I was in no hurry to return to my own group, we sat down.

  For a moment, I worried about sitting at a table surrounded by seven hulking men. But they were sweet and made me laugh. Apparently not all men were cocky asshats. Nice to know. But just as Bubba Ray put his hand on my arm and leaned over to whisper into my ear, someone snared my hand and yanked me out of my chair.

  My eyes flickered up, meeting Cowboy’s direct, unwavering gaze. But the controlled intensity in his eyes had nothing on the contemptuous expression he wore on his face. “Come on. I need a partner.”

  He dragged me toward the dance floor as I stumbled behind him, unable to keep up. I tried to pull my hand free, but it had no effect on him as he charged through the crowd. It was like playing tug-of-war with a pissed off bull. “Hey! I was in the middle of a conversation back there.”

  Cowboy stopped on the wooden floor, turned, and pulled me into his hard chest, wrapping a strong hand around my waist. “That wasn’t a conversation. That was a full-on tactical assault by Bubba Ray. Women are sex toys to him.”

  I pulled back slightly and raised a brow. “Look who’s talking.”

  “Hey, at least I respect women afterward.”

  “Oh, really?” I rolled my eyes as he led me around the dance floor. “If you had any amount of respect for them, you wouldn’t sleep with them to begin with. At least not so soon. Maybe try spending a little time getting to know something about the woman, other than what kind of underwear she wears…or doesn’t wear.”

  His firm hand tightened on my waist, and
I could feel the aggravation in his fingertips. “Oh, that’s rich coming from a woman who was letting Bubba Ray feel her up two minutes ago.”

  My feet stopped moving. “Excuse me?”

  “I saw him touching you. You shy away from me every chance you get, but you’ll let that fucking idiot put his hands all over you?”

  “Put his…?” I shook my head, not believing what he was accusing me of, then the anger took over. “He touched my arm, you jerk!”

  Irritation tightened his jaw. “Yeah, and it wouldn’t be long before he was playing grab-ass with you and rolling you into his bed for a slumber party.”

  I dropped my hand from his as other patrons danced past us. “Bubba Ray’s been nothing but a perfect gentleman with me, which is more than I can say for you. If you think there was anything going on between him and me back there, then you’re more delusional than I gave you credit for.”

  “Yeah right,” he scoffed. “That’s why tonight you dressed up and put on all that heavy makeup—because there’s nothing going on?” His eyes filled with hostility, and his lip curled with revulsion. “You know, maybe you’re more of a liar than I gave you credit for.”

  Outraged, I barely had time to register what I was doing when my hand smacked across his face. I blinked, shocked by my own reaction. Actually, I wasn’t sure who was more surprised—him or me. No matter. I refused to apologize for my behavior after the way he spoke to me. I turned and walked quickly away. He didn’t even try to stop me.

  I squeezed through the crowd, fighting back tears of frustration, when I bumped a man’s arm and spilled his beer on both of us. “Oh, I’m sorr—”

  “You!” Joe Barlow stood there, looking none too happy and wiping his beer-soaked hand on his pants. “What the hell are you doing here? Now you’re following us?”

  “Of course not.”

  Clay peered around his brother. “Then what’s a stuffy girl like you doing in a place like this? I’ve never seen you in here before.”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m here with my friends.” I motioned to where Emily and Jake stood talking to Bobbie Jo across the room, though none of them looked in my direction.