“Feel like grabbing a steak?”
My stomach rumbled at the idea. The sandwich I’d scarfed down on the drive in had barely touched the sides, and I needed a decent meal. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten a vegetable that wasn’t already on a frozen pizza. Steak sounded damn good.
I glanced down at my watch. It was already after four and I still had shit to do before I could call it a day.
“Give me an hour?” I conceded, unable to think of anything other than a thick, juicy steak with buttery mashed potatoes and a cold beer.
“Sounds good,” Austin replied, clapping me on the shoulder.
“Meet you at Dusty Boots in an hour.”
“See you there,” I confirmed, yanking open the truck door and sliding behind the wheel.
As much as I didn’t like people and hated being in town, I was looking forward to catching up with Austin. He was a good guy. But first, I had to finish up what I needed to do. I pulled into the parking lot at Seed and Feed surprised to find it was still full. I stuffed my hat on my head and stalked into the side entrance making a beeline for the supplies I needed.
It wasn’t hard to run up an account here. Between the feed, the vaccines, and all the other shit that you needed to keep your animals healthy, it was never a cheap trip when it included a stop at Seed and Feed.
I ran into Joe, the owner, and he helped me haul the bags I needed out the door and load up. Twenty minutes later, with my bank account two thousand dollars lighter, I headed for the gas station.
I finished up my errands with ten minutes to spare and headed back toward the Dusty Boots. From the moment Austin mentioned a steak, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. I didn’t give a shit that I was eating at the same time the nursing home served dinner. The only thing I’d had since five this morning was a couple of cups of coffee and a PB&J on bread that had seen better days.
Thankfully, when I stepped into the air-conditioned bar, it was still quiet. Dusty Boots had been known to get a bit rowdy but that was usually on a Friday night when everyone was blowingoff steam or on a Saturday afternoon after the baseball was done. Wattle Creek wasn’t big enough to have an MLB team, but the town’s pride was firmly entrenched in the local team, the Wattle Creek Wizards So much so they tried to recruit anyone who stepped foot in town. I’d been on their radar for six months before they finally got the hint that I wasn’t really into team sports.
I ordered a beer and found a table in the back. Right on time, Austin strolled through the door, showered and changed.
“You looking to pick up?” I teased as he sat down opposite me and took a long pull of his beer.
“Sorry, Flanigan. You’re not really my type.” He shrugged, and I grinned. Even though I hadn’t wanted to come into town, maybe I needed to. I definitely needed this.
Austin and I sat there, shooting the shit and eating our meal. It was everything I needed it to be. Hot, tasty, and plenty of it. I swear I was so hungry I inhaled it and when the waitress asked if I wanted dessert, I couldn’t say no. I had a sweet tooth like no one's business and my greatest weakness was those peanut butter cups. I had a really bad habit of the moment the bag was open, it was empty. I had no willpower when it came to those chocolatey treats.
“I’ll take a peach cobbler with ice cream, thank you.”
“And for you?” the waitress asked Austin.
“I’m good, thanks,” he replied, and she sashayed away. “But for you, sweetheart, I can be bad. So very bad,” he added once she was safely out of hearing distance.
“You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?”
“A guy’s gotta have some fun. We can’t all become old men and hide on our ranches forever,” Austin replied.
I finished my cobbler, tossed some bills on the table, and said my goodbyes before heading out. Now I’d eaten I was ready to curl up in a ball and crash. It was an exciting life I led sometimes.
I jumped in the truck and fired up the engine. It was time to head home.
I’d made it a couple of miles outside the town limits when I saw her.
Hobbling down the road toward me.
I slowed my truck to a crawl as I inched closer. She was fucking gorgeous. I mean, her hair was a mess and stuck to her face. She looked like she was about to burst into tears at any second. Her long legs were cased in short running shorts showing off her thick, creamy thighs that had my mouth watering more than the cobbler did. And her rack. Well, fuck me seven ways to Sunday. The woman was wearing a hot pink sports bra that barely contained those tits that, even from here, I could tell were more than a handful.
I edged the truck onto the shoulder of the road and pulled up. She was thirty feet in front of me. With each step, she wobbled.
Behind her, the sun was setting, turning the sky the most amazing shades of pink and orange but I didn’t see any of it. All I could see was her.
“You all right there, miss?” I asked as she froze.
A trickle of blood ran down her calf, and everything inside me coiled tight.
