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“That’s the one.” I don’t have a clue if she has an aunt in Montana or not.

His lips thin. “I’ve texted and called her repeatedly and she won’t answer.”

That’s a clue, dude.

And because I’m nosy, I ask, “What was the misunderstanding?”

He sighs. “I lost my head temporarily and stepped out with another woman. You know how it is.”

“My head has never popped up my ass like that.”

He frowns, then does a heh-heh-heh laugh. “It wasn’t totally my fault.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Well, I suppose I’ll wait for her to get back to town.”

After he’s gone, I tap on the office door. “You can come out.”

She opens the door cautiously. “He’s gone?”

“Yep. That winner was your boyfriend?”

“Yes.” Tempest scowls. “My cheating ex.”

And I feel an instant connection with my nemesis. I know how she feels. I’ve been run over by the crushing pain of betrayal.

The atmosphere takes a weird turn with her standing there looking up at me and me looking at her. Her lips part and she licks the lower one with the tip of her tongue.

And that moment is the first time I ever thought about kissing my sexy enemy.

She doesn’t act like she notices anything before she tosses a begrudging thanks my way, then leaves.

I’m still stunned by the rush of desire that snuck up on me without warning.

“What happened?” Logan asks as he returns. “You look like you ate something bad.”

“I thought about kissing Tempest,” I admit, slightly bewildered. “I don’t even like her. How fucking weird is that?”

He shrugs. “Maybe it’s a hate attraction.”

“I’m not…” I fall silent. Truth is, I don’t know what the hell is going on. Could I really be attracted to her? Wouldn’t that be a kick to the nuts if I was attracted to a woman who has always acted like I was a mugshot waiting to happen? But in all fairness, she’s not the only one who thought that way.

Though I have a good family, I came from a broken-down house on the wrong side of the tracks. Hung out with a group of friends, some which were headed nowhere but trouble. Only Logan and Jake turned their lives around.

Unlike me, Jake didn’t have a good home to start with and was sent to a place called the Naughty List Ranch in Montana run by Mary and Christopher Maas. He always credits them for making sure he turned out okay.

Logan was a runaway who came to live with his aunt and uncle.

I never got into a mess because I ended up working seven days a week for years from the time I was seventeen to save up for some land.

The day I signed the closing documents on all that acreage that had once belonged to my family, I gave them back their stolen legacy. My mama cried and my father gripped my shoulder and said over and over you did good, son.

Proud people, they’ve never asked me for anything except to stay away from “that family and them girls” meaning Tempest and her sisters. Thieving is in their blood my grandpa had said bitterly.

So this pull, interest, desire…whatever the hell it is that I felt today toward my nemesis isn’t a good thing and I need to step carefully.

My phone dings with a message. I pull up the Write a Cowboy site and find that I was matched with a pen pal.

I quickly respond to the message.

To: Sunflower