Of course.
Why the hell not?
“You all right there, ma’am? Are you hurt?” The cowboy moved forward a step, one hand palm up as he approached me, as if he thought I might turn tail and run.
Not likely, considering I was trapped between an eight-hundred pound animal and a solid wall of muscled man. “You’ve gone and banged your head good there,” he drawled, gesturing to my head.
I’d forgotten about the cut on my brow. I imagined I looked like a busted can of biscuits. Sobering up quickly, I straightened, putting my hand up to stop his rather intimidating approach.
“I’m fine really, but your stupid animal was in the middle of the damn road and I swerved so as not to hit the ginormous thing and crashed my car.” I took a second to assess the man in front of me. I didn’t know if I should be worried or not. A female out on a deserted road with a stranger. I mean, he could be some sort of weird-ass serial killer for all I knew. He didn’t act or look like one, but then again, what did I know about criminal profiling?
I rolled my eyes at myself, and the excessive rambling I was doing inside my head. “Have you got a cell phone so I can call for a tow truck please?” I asked as politely as possible. If I could get my car towed back to the closest town, I could find a hotel for the night and figure out what to do from there.
I was answered by a short husky laugh that had my stomach fluttering. “Darlin’, you ain’t gonna get a tow out here at this time of night. Damn, you ain’t gonna get one out here for another three days, at the least. Tommy’s visitin’ family.”
Oh, hell no. What was I supposed to do now?
“I really don’t care who this Tommy guy is, but I’m sure there has to be a tow truck somewhere in town. Can you help me or not?” I snapped.
The day’s festivities had finally caught up with me. I was fed up, tired and had just suffered through the worst day ever. I also didn’t appreciate the condescending tone his voice carried.
Another cocky cowboy. No surprises there. I’d met a few of them over the years and they were always the same. Arrogant assholes.
“You ain’t from round here, are ya?” he asked.
“No, I’m not. I’ve had a horrible day. I’ve driven for hours and your shit-for-brains animal made me crash my damn car. I’m tired, sore and not at all in the mood to sleep on the side of the road. So can you or can you not call me a tow truck?”
Nice Amelia had left the building.
His voice turned hard as he instructed, “Get in the truck. You can stay at the ranch tonight and call somebody to come get you in the mornin’.”
Get in his truck?
I had no idea who he was. Why the hell would I get in his truck? I stood there, rooted to the spot, contemplating my choices. Get in the car with an annoying stranger or wait out on the side of the road?
Damn it!
I didn’t like my options, but it was becoming clear I would have to get in his truck and pray to God he wasn’t an ax murderer because a woman waiting on the side of the road, all alone…that was just asking for trouble.
“If you need anything outta the car, you best be gettin' it. I won’t be long. Gotta take care of this ‘shit-for-brains animal’, and then we’ll get going.”
I didn’t like the snark in his voice and I was done being told what to do; rude or not, I wasn’t about to let him boss me around. I stood my ground, arms crossed over my chest, chin up, playing the defiant girl I had never been allowed to be.
Lord only knows why I chose that moment to practice being stubborn, but to hell with men and their stupid cowboy hats.
“You fixin’ to be stubborn? Knock ya socks off, darlin’,” Cocky cowboy called me out on my stunt.
I watched as he walked up to the cow and pulled out his cell. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but not five minutes later, another truck pulled up; its lights shone directly onto the cowboy.
My God, he’s gorgeous.
I felt the heat rising in my face as I took him in for the first time. Brown, scuffed cowboy boots paired with washed-out Wranglers, were held tight with a huge metal belt buckle and topped with a well-worn white cotton t-shirt. His shirt strained against his defined body. I was too far away to get a good look at his face, but what I could see under his big black cowboy hat was a hard chin that screamed nibble me.
“Howdy, ma’am. Sorry ‘bout the hold up.” Rumbled another husky voice.
I spun around, taking in the two cowboys staring at me. The sight alone made my knees turn to jelly. The second cowboy moved forward, his hand out. I reached mine forward and he took it in both of his and shook it gently. I could feel the hard callouses on them.
They were large, rough and hard, definitely working hands. The gentleness in them surprised me.
Dear Lord, what was I? Some type of hand tramp?
“Austin’s the name. I’m sure my brother, Destry, didn’t think to introduce himself so please excuse his manners. Dropped on his head a few times, he was. And you are?”
“Amelia, my name is Amelia,” I answered.
He smiled down at me, a glint in his eye. “A pretty name for a pretty lil’ lady. Would you mind holdin’ on a little longer while we move this here cow outta the way? We’ll be back in a lil’ bit.”
He was smooth. I’d give him that. He had more charm than you could poke a stick at. “That’s all right, I have to get my things from my car anyway,” I told Austin while trying to ignore the foul look Destry was giving me, along with the grunt he threw out.
If Destry had asked nicely like Austin did, I would have done it! Okay, that was total bull, but something about Destry just rubbed me the wrong way. His unique name caught my attention. It was an old name I thought, one that I hadn’t come across more than once of twice in old western novels.
I quickly shoved everything into my enormous purse, and barefoot in a field on the side of the highway, I picked my way over rocks, glass, trash, and cow shit to the truck Austin had pulled up in. Destry and Austin came over, the cow now back on the right side of the fence. “C’mon, I’ll give ya a hand up,” Destry mumbled and walked to the passenger’s side of his truck.
I looked to Austin who was smirking at me. “I’m stayin’ back to fix this here fence up. You should go on back to the ranch with Destry. Was a pleasure meetin’ ya, ‘Melia.” Austin tipped his hat and walked off, slapping his brother on the back as he passed.
With a huff, I made for the other truck. “I can get in just fine, thank you very much,” I snapped at him. With one hand clutching my purse, I tried to climb up into the truck. My skirt making it a little more difficult than I imagined. A gasp tore from my throat as a large, warm hand planted itself on my backside and pushed. Hard.
Clearly befuddled, I cleared my throat, and without looking his way, thanked him while buckling my seatbelt. Destry walked around the front of the truck. His face once again became visible as he passed the lights.
Sweet baby Jesus.
He was hot! Not just hot, but mess-your-panties devastatingly hot.
2
Destry
Pissed off and bone-ass tired weren’t a good combination.
Add in the uppity city girl sitting in my truck, and it was a recipe fixing to go bad. My brother’s flirting with her didn’t help either. He couldn’t help himself. He’d put the moves on any girl who walked in his line of sight. I didn’t know why it bothered me so much. She was smart-mouthed and stubborn.
I got a call at two am telling me there was a break in the fence and one of the cattle was out. When I pulled up to fix it, the cow hadn’t gone far, but the mad woman in my passenger’s seat had been tenderizing the hell out of its rib meat.