Cowboy Heaven (19 page)

“It wouldn't look right on you,” I said firmly. “In fact, it's a little out of proportion on Joe. Can we talk about something else?”

Joe leaned back in his chair. “I dunno. Talking about my dick might get some woman to want to dance with me.”

Between the two of them, I felt like tearing my hair out. “Maybe, but they'd have to be close enough to hear our conversation. Besides, in case you've forgotten how this works, you're supposed to ask
them
to dance—unless we've got some real liberated types here tonight.” A swift perusal of the crowd suggested there might be a few. However, none of them seemed to be flocking toward Joe.

Troy and Caroline returned. This time, they actually sat down to rest. Bull and Jenny were nowhere in sight.

“But it's safer this way,” Joe insisted. “If I wait until one of them asks me, then I won't feel rejected when they say no.”

“Yes, but you might end up waiting forever,” I pointed out. “Wouldn't you like to hurry things along a bit?”

“I suppose so. Maybe I need to practice some more.” With a sigh, he stood and held out his hand. “Will you dance with me, Angela?”

“Sure, Joe.” I made quite a show of batting my eyelashes. “I thought you'd never ask.”

The other guys started whooping and clapping.

“Way to go, Joe!” Troy shouted. “Go get her, buddy!”

When we reached the dance floor, the band was playing a reasonably good rendition of George Strait's “I Cross My Heart,” the romantic lyrics making me wish I'd been dancing with Dusty. Joe took me in his arms, which was a bit awkward seeing as how he was a good foot and a half taller than me.

I had to crane my neck to see his face. “Having fun?”

“I am now,” he replied. “I've always wanted to dance with you.”

“Really?” The stuff I was hearing from my normally reticent cowboys continued to amaze me. “Too bad we're so mismatched.” I rolled my head from side to side, trying to work the kinks out of my neck. “I should probably be on stilts for this.”

“Feels great to me.” We danced several steps before he spoke again. “Any idea why Troy and Dusty are carrying on like a couple of idiots tonight?”

“You mean they're acting more idiotic than usual?” I was stalling. I had a pretty good idea what he meant, but it couldn't hurt to be sure.

“Yeah. Seems like every time they start teasing you, it's something about me. Then you tell them to shut up or hit them or kiss them. Mind telling me why?”

I should've come clean with all three of them, but it was kinda fun to keep them guessing, and I'll admit I was enjoying the banter. Romance wasn't the only thing my life had lacked since Cody's death. Joe might even get a kick out of the story. That way he could play along and we could really drive Troy and Dusty nuts. “You know I've sort of switched from Troy to Dusty, right?”

“I figured that,” he said. “Especially since he's been sucking your ear off all evening. I'm kinda surprised that didn't happen a long time ago.”

“Yeah, me too,” I agreed. “Guess I was too blind to see it. Anyway, the night Goldie's foal was born, I was out in the barn with Dusty. Troy came in later, fussing at me for being with him. Turned out Dusty had already told him how things were between us and he was putting on an act. They gave me a hard time about being fickle and all, but eventually, they wanted to know who was the best—Troy, Dusty, or Cody—and while I was teasing them, I sort of let it slip that you were.”

“The best what?”

Obviously, I wasn't the only one being cautious. “Um…lover.”

“Well now, how in tarnation would you know that?” I'd seen that pleased-as-punch smile of his at least once before. He seemed even more pleased this time.

“You know what they say about bigger being better, don't you?”

“That's not necessarily true,” he said. “But I get the idea. So you told them we'd…um…done it?”

“I let them think we had,” I admitted. “I've been accused of a lot worse in my time.”

“I never have,” he said with fervor. “Thank you, Angela.” He gave me a squeeze as a slow grin split his face from ear to ear. “I'm gonna play this for all it's worth—just wish I'd actually done it.”

“Hey, now. I'm in enough trouble as it is. Don't you start too. We can always tell them we were kidding if things get out of hand, but for now…”

He chuckled. “They'll want to kill me.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Nope. It'll be a blast. No one's ever been jealous of me in my entire life.” He gave me a big kiss on the cheek and we danced on in silence for a few minutes. Joe was a surprisingly good dancer for someone who probably hadn't had much practice.

“Anything specific I should know about?” he asked.

This time around, I saw no need to pretend I didn't know what he meant. “Use your imagination. I didn't tell them very much except—” I stopped there, hesitant to explain further. Telling Joe was harder than I would've thought, especially since I'd seen him with his pants down—
and
kissed him.

“Except what?” he prompted, still with that same endearing smile.

Taking a deep breath, I blurted out all of it. “I said your balls were too big to get them both in my mouth at the same time, and that you look awesome when you're fucking.”

His eyes grew round and he let out a low whistle. I'd seen
that
look before too. “So
that's
what they were going on about. Oh, Angela,” he said with a chuckle. “This is gonna be so much fun.”

I laughed right along with him. “Go ahead and enjoy yourself, but try not to make them too mad. They're already kinda sore. I don't want anyone putting a rattlesnake in your bunk.”

He arched a suspicious brow. “You don't think that was an accident, do you?”

Relieved to have someone else to discuss it with besides Dusty, I needed no further encouragement. “How else would a snake get in the truck? That truck gets used nearly every day. It would be different if it had been sitting for a month. That snake had to get into it during the time you guys were unloading the supplies or it would have tried to bite Dusty on the way out there.” Simply voicing that possibility made me miss a step. Fortunately, I didn't stomp on Joe's foot.

Regaining my composure, I kept dancing. “I can't understand how a snake could get into a truck without help anyway. I know they can climb trees and things, but into a truck? It's not like there were field mice in there for it to eat. Dusty still thinks his accidents were just that, but I'll have to admit this has me pretty worried.”

“That's my fault for bringing up the idea,” he said with a grimace. “But it does seem kinda suspicious. No one is
that
unlucky.”

“No shit.” On the other hand, Dusty had been very lucky to survive both of those incidents. The next time around, luck might not be enough to save him. Somehow or other, this “accident” business had to be stopped. “Any ideas on how we could find out who's behind it short of accusing someone?”

“Not really. Although, maybe if you moved Dusty out of the bunkhouse and into your bedroom, whoever's responsible might realize you don't intend to give him up without a fight—or stand quietly by and let anything else happen to him.”

“Dad would throw such a fit,” I said. “I wouldn't want to be responsible for him having a stroke.”

“Okay, so you break it to him gently. But do it soon, before our perpetrator comes up with any more ideas.”

“Perpetrator?” I echoed. “Geez, Joe, you sound like a police detective.” Apparently all those reruns of
Law
and
Order
the guys watched had made an impression.

“Maybe we
do
need a detective around here.”

“We should mention it to Bull. I'm sure he would claim to have been one at some point.” According to him, he'd done damn near everything.

“Wouldn't surprise me a bit,” Joe agreed. “Although I wouldn't believe it for a second. He's always trying to sound like a bigger man than he really is.”

“Maybe he's compensating for that tiny dick of his. Whereas you never seem to put yourself forward for anything. Must be a confidence thing.”

“Yeah, right,” he grumbled. “Like I'm the most confident guy in the world.”

“Naw, you're the strong, silent type.”
Who
happens
to
have
an
enormous
dick.
Once again, I batted my lashes at him. “Women like that.”

“Oh really?” he asked with a doubtful scowl. “How come none of them hang all over me like they do with Bull and Troy?” He glanced toward our table. “Or Dusty?”

“Hmm, good question. I'll have to think about that.”

“You shouldn't have to think very long,” he said. “I'm too homely to get noticed with them around. Bull may be a prick, but he's not bad-looking.”

“If you like that shaved head thing,” I conceded. “I've never cared for it myself. It makes his ears stick out.”

“Yeah, well, my ears are still bigger than his.”

“So is your—” I broke off there as a fiendish thought occurred to me. “Let me talk to Jenny and her friends. I'll set them straight on a few things. You're still one of the nicest of the bunch, even if you aren't the prettiest. Hopefully, one or two of them might appreciate that fact and at least act like they might want to dance with you. You're a pretty good dancer, you know.”

“Aw, shucks, ma'am,” he said with a grin. “I'll bet you say that to all your cowboys.”

“My cowboys,” I said dreamily, giving him a hug. “I've got some good ones, don't I?”

“I can't argue with that,” he said. “That Troy is one helluva man with a rope. Have you ever watched him?”

I had enjoyed watching Troy do a lot of things, but I'd never actually seen him rope a calf. “Nope. I figured he was pretty good, though. I spotted that belt buckle right off.”

“I'll bet that's not all you noticed,” he said dryly. “He's about the handsomest man I've ever seen—and I don't enjoy admitting that, either.”

“You don't think Dusty's cuter?”

“Maybe.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you. I've probably said more to you in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years.”

“I know, and I'm sorry about that, Joe. If I'd known about Rufus and his stupid rules a long time ago, things would have been different. I've had so much fun with you guys tonight, and, well…pretty much every day since Troy showed up. I guess we have him to thank for that.”

“True, but it probably helped that you got to him before Rufus did. Otherwise, he'd have been cowed into submission along with the rest of us.”

“I doubt that,” I said. “He's a spunky little rascal—and he didn't know me when I was married. That might have something to do with it.”

“Good point—although you being married didn't stop Rufus from lecturing us from time to time. Cody never said a word to any of us. Didn't need to, but you'd expect that to be the husband's job rather than the foreman's.”

“Yes, and Cody
was
kinda possessive,” I admitted.

The dance ended and I snuggled up against Joe's chest for another hug before letting go of him. He escorted me back to the table where Dusty sat with a redheaded Siren draped around his shoulders whom he wasn't lifting a finger to discourage. I'd sort of wondered what Joe had meant by girls hanging all over Dusty along with Bull and Troy.

Now I knew.

Jenny was in Bull's lap giving him a sip of beer while she toyed with his mustache. Surprisingly, Troy was alone for the moment. Rachel was still sitting at the end of the table, nursing a gin and tonic and looking miserable. I shot the redhead an evil glare and decided it was time to declare war. Tugging on Joe's hand, I somehow managed to get his head low enough to plant a big, wet kiss on his cheek.

“Oh, don't stop there,” he pleaded, turning toward me.

I reached up and threaded my fingers into the soft, brown curls on the back of his head and gave him a good one, tongue and all. When I let go of him, Troy and Dusty were both staring daggers at me. I don't think Bull even noticed, but the redhead did. Apparently seeing this as evidence that Dusty wasn't taken, she began nibbling his ear.

Joe took his seat with a smug grin and a satisfied sigh. “It's so nice to be irresistible.”

Dusty glowered at me and leaned his head away from the girl, offering her better access to the side of his neck. “Could you do that a little lower, baby?”

Ignoring him completely, I went over to talk with Rachel, hoping she hadn't heard our earlier conversation. She'd been raised on a ranch and knew better than to pay much attention to what a bunch of cowboys might discuss in a bar, but you never know about these things.

“Hey, Rachel,” I said, pulling up a chair. “You need to come over and see my new baby. Jenny's stallion outdid himself this time.”

Rachel smiled. “So she said. Nothing quite as cute as a foal, is there? I'll be sure to check him out before he gets much older.” Rachel's Texas accent was even more pronounced than her sister's, which wasn't surprising since she'd been about fourteen to Jenny's six years of age when their family moved to Wyoming. “How've you been? I don't think I've seen you since Cody's funeral. You were pretty torn up at the time.”

“Much better,” I replied. “It took a while, though.”

“You seem pretty happy now.” Taking a sip of her drink, she darted a quick glance at the other end of the table where the others were laughing.

I wondered again exactly how much she'd overheard. “Love will do that for you.”

“I'll take your word for it.” Love never having been her strong suit, I was surprised she didn't laugh in my face.

“So what did Jenny say to get you to come here tonight?” I asked. “Threaten you with something dire?”

She shrugged. “Nothing really. She said she needed another person, although I don't see why. With me here, there are more than you need to each have a dance partner.”

“But there are four men and four of us—oh, I see what you mean. Dusty isn't dancing.”

“No, I meant the redhead. I'm kinda superfluous now.”

“Yeah, well, the redhead is about to get her ass kicked,” I said sweetly. “The one she's hanging all over is mine.” Apparently, I was every bit as possessive as the guys.

“Really?” Rachel sounded surprised. “He's gorgeous, I'll grant you that—even if he
is
kinda young.”

“Oh, he's pretty, all right,” I agreed, smiling. I wasn't touching the age thing with a ten-foot pole. “Now if I could only get your stupid sister to fall for the right one, everything would be cool. I'm sure you've noticed she's doing it again—hanging out with the biggest prick in the bunch.”

“She does have that history,” Rachel concurred. “Which is why I moved to town when she married the second loser.” Having no interest in ranching, Rachel had gone off to college to become a veterinarian. When their parents retired to Florida, she'd happily left the running of the family ranch to Jenny.