Cowboy Heartbreaker Page 5
Allie was right, and that put a huge knot in his stomach. Still, there was a bigger problem here. “If I quit seeing you, then I’ll resent it. I’m talking big-time resentment. That’s going to play into how I feel about Bree.”
Man, he had the idea of their friendships all going down the drain. They’d all been such a big part of each other’s lives, and now that might be over.
“Just how deep is deep?” Allie asked.
It took him a moment to realize she was responding to the comment he’d made about his feelings for her. “Deep,” he assured her. And to prove it, Ryder pulled her to him and kissed her. It wasn’t one of those scorchers that would lead to sex, but it was plenty hot enough to let her know just what she meant to him. Just in case, though, he spelled it out for her.
“I care for you. A lot. And I’d like for that lot to be a whole lot more.” He frowned a little, wishing he’d practiced that or used a thesaurus for a better variety of words, but she got the point because she gave a little smile and a larger kiss.
Allie’s mouth was still on his when the door flew open. Bree. His sister stood there, bearing some resemblance to a gunslinger in the Old West. Instead of guns, though, she had cans of Easy Cheesy in each hand.
“I keep spares in my car,” Bree mumbled when she followed his gaze to the cans. “You know, just in case of a crisis.”
After the weird kidnapping attempt, Ryder wasn’t sure what Bree intended to do with the cheese, but he considered she might throw them at him. She didn’t. Bree squirted some from the first can into her mouth and then did the same with the second one.
“It’s too early for tequila shots,” she added after she’d swallowed the stuff. “So, this will have to do.”
She came in, still moving a little like a gunslinger, but her appearance was somewhat diminished by the yellow goop on her lips.
“I’m not giving up Ryder,” Allie told her. “My feelings for him run deep.” Allie looked at him. “Sorry, I couldn’t come up with a different description without coffee or a hit of that cheese.”
He shrugged. Deep worked for him just fine because it meant this was just the start. And Ryder couldn’t wait.
“And I suppose you’re not giving up Allie,” Bree said, shifting her attention to Ryder.
“No.” Then he did some more waiting.
Bree had a squirt of cheese first, taking it the way she would a tequila shot. She still had on her tough expression, but it faded by degrees with each volleyed glance they gave her.
“Crap,” Bree finally said. “All right. Go ahead and fall in love. Just remember one very important thing.”
Ryder frowned. “Nothing can go wrong with that?”
Allie frowned, too. “Easy Cheesy cures all?” she tried.
Bree gave them a flat look. “Sheez. No originality from either of you. I was going to say have sex until your legs buckle, and when you come up for air, give me a call so we can get some nachos.”
That knot in Ryder’s stomach loosened a little. “You mean that?”
Bree huffed, and her flat look morphed into a shrug. Then a nod. “Just promise me that the Bra Posse will live on.”
Allie went to her, brushed a kiss on Bree’s cheek. “It will. Friends forever.”
Bree made an exaggerated roll of her eyes, but the smile was genuine. “Forever,” she said softly to Allie, but her gaze wavered a little when she looked at Ryder. “And what about you? Are you in on this friends-forever stuff?”
“Yeah.” When Allie stepped aside, Ryder went to his sister and pulled her into his arms. “I won’t even object to the Bra part of Bra Posse. Not much anyway,” he added in a mumble.
Bree stared at him. “I can’t lose you. Either of you.” Her voice cracked a little, and cursing no one in particular, she slung an arm around Allie, dragging them all into a group hug.
“You won’t lose me,” Allie assured her.
“You won’t lose me,” Ryder echoed. It was the truth, but because Bree was also his sister, he had to add the brotherly jab of “Well, unless you try another half-assed attempt to kidnap me. Or squirt me with those cheese guns.”
Bree was smiling again when she pulled back to face them. “Well, then. The next attempt will just have to be full-assed.” She winked, squirted them both on their mouths with cheese and, laughing, she headed for the door. “Don’t forget the part about calling me after you recover from your leg-buckling sex.”
Ryder slipped his arm around Allie as they watched Bree leave. He felt as if everything had suddenly moved into place. Not the old familiar grooves that’d once made up his life. But new ones—that still involved Allie, Bree, Curt and, yes, even Easy Cheesy. All in all, these new grooves were darn good.
Perfect, in a new “looking forward to this” kind of way.
“Well?” Allie asked, staring up at him.
“Bree had some sage advice.” Ryder smiled. Licked the cheese off her lips, and he kissed her. “Let’s see if I can really make your knees buckle.”
An hour later, Ryder proved that he could do just that.
* * * * *
The Granger siblings thought they’d left their ranching days behind, until fate sends them home to Wrangler’s Creek, Texas—and into the passionate arms of those they’d least expect…
Don’t miss any of the stories in the irresistible Wrangler’s Creek series by USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen.
Lone Star Cowboy (prequel novella)
Those Texas Nights
One Good Cowboy (novella)
No Getting Over a Cowboy
Just Like a Cowboy (novella)
Branded as Trouble
Texas-Sized Trouble
Order your copies today!
“The perfect blend of sexy cowboys, humor and romance will rein you in from the first line.”
—New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels
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ISBN-13: 9781488091292
Cowboy Heartbreaker
Copyright © 2018 by Delores Fossen
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