Page 20 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

“It wasn’t a fence.”

“It was fence adjacent.”

“It was a gate.”

“A gate is fence family.”

I laugh hard enough that I have to lower my notebook.

Emmett shakes his head. “I hate both of you.”

“No, you don’t,” Willy says. “You’d miss me if I wasn’t here.”

“Maybe for a day.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Willy catches me watching and points dramatically. “See? Arizona thinks I’m funny.”

“Arizona thinks you’re loud,” Emmett says.

“Those are practically the same thing.”

“They really aren’t.”

I tilt my head. “For what it’s worth, I think Emmett’s the funny one.”

Willy places a hand over his heart. “You wound me.”

“She’s got a point,” Emmett says.

The fact that he says it without hesitation makes me laugh all over again.

Willy stares at him in disbelief. “Wow. Betrayed by my own people.”

“Your own people?” Emmett repeats.

“That’s what hurts the most.” Before either of us can respond, Willy launches back into song. “I should’ve been a cowboyyyyy…”

CHAPTER FOUR

Willy

I’ve always believed confidence is one of the greatest gifts a person can give themselves.

Talent is nice, and hard work’s admirable. Luck helps, of course. But confidence? Confidence lets a man walk directly into a terrible idea and somehow convince everybody else it was intentional.

Take my singing, for example.

Nobody’s ever accused me of being good at it. Not once. Yet I continue singing with the commitment of a man headlining a sold-out stadium tour because life is more fun when you refuse to be embarrassed.

Arizona McCay seems to appreciate that philosophy.

Most people react to my version of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” by asking whether I’ve recently suffered a head injury. Arizona laughs instead.

Not the polite little chuckle people use when they’re trying not to hurt your feelings, either. She laughs like she’s genuinely entertained, and that earns her points immediately.

A lot of points, actually.

The woman drifts through town carrying a guitar and enough stories to fill an album, but she doesn’t seem interested in performing some mysterious musician act.