Cowboy 12 Pack

by Cynthia D’Alba, Paige Tyler, Elle James, Donna Michaels, Shoshanna Evers, Randi Alexander, Cora Seton, Beth Williamson, Sabrina York, Sable Hunter, Lexi Post, Becky McGraw

  “—like what?”

  “Like I’m some prissy city-girl,” she said.

  Bill raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. “You said it, not me.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she fumed. “If I went to sleep in that apartment, the rats would probably eat my face off. That is, if whatever plague is growing in that toilet didn’t get me first.”

  Bill didn’t reply.

  Ah. So now he was playing the cowboy-of-few-words. Seriously, that trait was annoying when she had to deal with it in person—even if it was sexy in a western movie. And she knew him better than that. He couldn’t be as nonchalant about this as he pretended to be—so unruffled by her display.

  “Anythin’ else?” he finally asked.

  Allie exhaled heavily and shook her head. But she couldn’t leave it like this between them. He didn’t act like he understood what she was feeling. Maybe he didn’t even care.

  No wonder they called him Big Bad Bill. Their first day together and he’d already reduced her to tears.

  “I feel like I was duped,” she said, looking directly in his eyes—making him see her. “I spent all of my money to do this. The only way that I could do this is because you are paying for the renovation. I’ve never even renovated anything before!”

  The look on his face gave her pause. She’d told him that before, right?

  At some point, she’d had to have come clean and mentioned that while she knew her way around a bar, she had zero experience with renovations. Or maybe not.

  Well. Secret’s out.

  Bill didn’t look happy with her now, either. “You’d told me in an email that you’ve helped renovate your sister’s house.”

  “I put up the curtains, all right? And before you ask, no, I didn’t use the drill and attach the curtain rods. I literally just put the curtains on the rods.” She smiled ruefully. “Are you happy?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t know how long it will take to renovate an entire apartment and bar,” she admitted. “I wanted to renovate the bar first, so we could get it open and start making some money. I have no money anymore, nothing coming in. If I have to spend time renovating the apartment first, so I’ll have somewhere to live, we’re going to lose weeks.” She sank to the floor of the bar, ignoring the gravel and chunks of plaster strewn about.

  “Weeks, huh?” Bill said. “You’d have a point, if you actually knew what the hell you were doing.”

  “Which I don’t.”

  “Nope.” He stood above her, looking down at her from his immense height, and rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I bet we can get the apartment in shape sooner than you think,” Bill said. “It’ll get done. But you were right—the bar needs to be top priority so we can open.”

  “I needed to stay in the apartment here,” she muttered. “None of my planning works if I don’t have a free place to stay until this bar opens.”

  He shook his head. “It’s your own fault—spendin’ every last dollar on this venture. What were you gonna do for income till the bar was ready to go? Can’t buy food an’ gasoline with just a pretty face.”

  Perhaps he’d hoped to soften his words with his backhanded compliment. If so, it didn’t work.

  “I’ve brought lots of food with me,” she said, her defenses rising. “Cans and cereal and stuff. I’ll be fine for a little while at least.”

  “Right.” He grunted in a way that Allie translated as “good luck with that.”

  Great.

  “You could stay in the motel outside of town,” Bill said.

  “No way,” she said. “Even if you paid for it, it’s a two hour round-trip drive to the nearest motel. I don’t even think I have enough gas to get out off Melody Ranch at this point. And I’m not wasting two hours driving every day, fourteen hours a week, when I should be on site, working to make this happen!”

  “Hey,” he said, his voice firm.

  Allie wanted to kick something in frustration. “No income until it does, remember?”

  “Don’t be raisin’ your voice at me.” He pushed his cowboy hat back and rubbed his forehead. “You’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

  “The bottom line is, I need a place to stay that doesn’t cost any money, and that isn’t detrimental to my health and safety.”

  Bill cocked his head, as if waiting patiently for her to figure out a solution all by herself. It wasn’t right, she was new in town. He owed it to her to set this right, damn it. Why couldn’t he see that?

  If she could email him and ask him for a place to stay, Allie would bet he’d jump on it. But here, outside the realm of the internet, real life got in the way. It made him different.

  Or did it?

  “You have that farmhouse,” she suggested. “Maybe I could set up in there. Surely it has a bathroom if it used to be a proper house, right?”

  “No way,” Bill said sharply. “That’s the main office for Melody Ranch. You can’t stay there—it ain’t some sort of guest house.”

  “Well, since you’re such a ‘big, bad’ cowboy, a few rats and a mattress on the floor shouldn’t scare you,” Allie said. “You can stay in the apartment above the bar, and I’ll trade you for your house.” Sarcasm dripped from every word.

  It didn’t matter if he hadn’t actually ripped her off. She felt ripped off, and she felt broke and stupid for giving up everything for a dream. How fitting that this would be what her dream looked like in reality. Broken glass and cigarette butts.

  “That’s not happenin’,” Bill said. “Don’t stay here if you don’t want to.”

  “So what then?” she asked. Where was she supposed to go?

  But Bill didn’t offer any suggestions.

  “Are you playing dumb?” Allie asked, “or were you absent the day they handed out manners?” She wasn’t sure which was worse.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Bill…” She sighed. “Why won’t you just invite me to crash at your house? We’re not strangers, not really. Maybe it’s me who’s acting dumb—to think that after three months of emailing back-and-forth that we might actually… like each other.” The last few words came out mumbled, quiet.

  “You’re not dumb,” Bill said. “I have my own reasons for not inviting you to stay with me.”

  “I guess I really am a big disappointment to you,” she said. “Maybe I’m not as great in person as I am in an email.”

  “No,” Bill said. “I wasn’t lookin’ at you then…couldn’t see your face. Couldn’t see the emotion behind your words. Now I can.”

  Allie listened, needing to hear this. To know why she didn’t have that immediate connection with Bill she’d expected, the kind of partnership where she’d drive up and he’d give her a hug, and they’d start up right where they’d left off. Instead, it was like they had to start from the beginning… despite knowing more about each other than a stranger should.

  “I’m—I’m attracted to you,” he said. “All right? You happy now?”

  Allied considered. “I’m not sad.”

  Bill’s mouth opened, as if he had to say something, but didn’t know what.

  “If you let me stay at your house,” she continued, “instead of making me stay in this disgusting apartment you’ve sold me, it will go a long way toward renewing my faith and goodwill in you.”

  Now it was Allie who crossed her arms and waited.

  “You wanna stay at my house, after I told you I’m attracted to you?” he asked in apparent surprise. “That doesn’t worry you?”

  “You’re a grown-ass man who is in full control of his own actions. I don’t think you’re going to hurt me.”

  He swallowed, his handsome face so vulnerable, yet so strong. “I would never hurt you,” he said. “But I can’t risk havin’ my—” Bill stopped speaking abruptly.

  “What can’t you risk?” she whispered.

  “Forget it,” Bill said, his words barely audible, his lips barely moving. “You can stay at m
y house. But I need my space, and it’s a small place. If you see me, leave me be.”

  Allie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Let me get this straight. I can stay in your house, but if I come out to make some coffee, and you’re already in the kitchen, I have to turn around and go back to my room? Because…you need your space?”

  (Or because he’s attracted to me?)

  It wasn’t like she could afford to be choosey. It was either deal with a prickly man or sleep in her car—again. No thanks.

  Bill took a step toward her, and stared down at her from where she sat on the ground. “That’s right.”

  “Or maybe we could act like normal people, and sometimes be in the same room,” she suggested. “Once in a while.”

  Bill offered her his hand. She took it, his biceps flexing as he pulled her to standing. “We can get started right away.”

  “We?” Allie raised an eyebrow.

  “Zach Walker’s got the ranch covered tonight,” he said, clearly misunderstanding the reason she was surprised he offered his help. “I’m not worried with him an’ the guys around.”

  “Let’s not forget,” she said, putting as much calm professionalism into her voice as possible (to cover up the premeditated murder that was currently playing out in her mind) “our contract states you pay for 100% of the renovations, but I am 100% responsible for making them happen. So. Maybe you could just…get out of my way, and I will get to work, by myself.” She paused. “With your checkbook.”

  “Right,” he said, a little smirk on his face. “You don’t need me one bit, not with all your experience renovatin’ places. I’ll give you the number to get electricity and water turned back on.”

  As he rattled off the phone numbers, Allie grabbed at her phone to punch them in. “Hold up, geez.”

  Right. Her completely dead phone.

  “I need to go charge this,” she sighed. “And then I can call.”

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go back to the ranch.”

  His hand on her back again—as if to guide her—was so intimate. Allie wasn’t accustomed to having a man touch her so much, as if he couldn’t help but to be physically drawn to her. Was it because their months of interaction meant they were already…close enough?

  The energy he imparted made her shiver, tremble. If he noticed, surely he’d know how much he was affecting her.

  Bill gave her a slow grin. “I was just messin’ with you before—if you call those numbers, you’ll get my phone. I’m who to call for electric an’ water.”

  Allie laughed. “Aww, I ruined your prank. I bet you were looking forward to answering both phone calls from me, huh.”

  “I was,” he laughed. “But I’ll make sure everything is ready for tomorrow.”

  “Do I still have to call? Or does this count?”

  “This counts.” Bill brushed his hand over her hair.

  “Hey,” she whispered. What was that?

  “Dust,” he said. “I got it.”

  Allie swiped the plaster and dust off of her clothing, pulled her shoulders back and nodded, not even mad he’d been playing games with her about the utilities. “Fine.”

  She was in way over her head. Now she had to bunk with Big Bad Bill, who seemed to want nothing to do with her, except for when he did an about-face and did want her. Well, he’d just have to live with it. If he’d bothered to make sure the apartment he’d sold her was up to code, he wouldn’t be having an unexpected houseguest inviting herself over.

  Unless he’d planned it that way?

  No. He couldn’t have known she’d be showing up two weeks ahead of schedule.

  Outside, Bill closed the chain on the door, and locked it. “We need to get somethin’ straight.”

  Allie’s stomach flipped, as if she’d gotten in trouble in school and had been sent to the principal’s office. “Okay.”

  “You told me that you had experience renovating, but you don’t,” he said. He didn’t sound as angry about it as she would have imagined he would be. “That part of the contract that says I’ll stay out of your way, it’s null an’ void now.”

  “What?” she asked. “No. That’s not fair.”

  “I don’t care if you think it’s fair. I’m investin’ a lot of money into this—into you. I’m gonna be here with you, every step of the way.”

  “Aren’t you too busy with the ranch, anyway?” Allie asked, changing her tactic.

  “My guys haven’t needed me at the ranch for a while now. I can take a couple weeks off. But that ain’t your concern. From now on, you’re gonna live and breathe and dream about this bar. Got it?”

  “You’re an asshole,” she muttered under her breath. Taking over, acting like he owned her.

  He leaned down until his face was close to hers, as if to hear her better. “Go on.”

  “The pictures you emailed to me did not show this level of… neglect.”

  “The pictures are from when my uncle was still alive, all right? But you showed up two weeks early,” Bill said. “I could’ve gotten the place cleaned up, at least, before you were supposed to be here. That’s on you.”

  “It’s all my fault, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you at least keep this place locked up? It was your responsibility! The whole time we were emailing, talking about the bar, about our future together as partners—the very future of your Uncle Freddy’s bar—you couldn’t bring yourself to mention even once that you’d let it all go to hell?”

  Bill shook his head, and turned his back on her, walking right toward the door.

  What on earth?! He couldn’t just leave. Not when she had a bone to pick with him, a serious bone.

  She ran to the door, crossing in front of him, and pressed her back against it, her arms splayed to keep him from leaving.

  He stopped directly in front of her and crossed his arms, looking merely annoyed by her antics.

  “Are you kidnappin’ me?” he asked. “Holdin’ me hostage?”

  “I think I have a few more hours before this could count as a kidnapping,” she said. “But I’m willing to risk it. We can call the Sheriff and ask him later, after we figure out what we’re going to do about this.”

  Bill sighed. “Have ya ever pretended somethin’ doesn’t exist, ’cause maybe then it’ll go away?”

  “I’m not going away, Bill Edwards.”

  At that, he shook his head. “I couldn’t pretend you didn’t exist if I tried. But I did ignore my responsibility. I sold you the job of takin’ care of renovations and day-to-day operations. It was the best I could do.”

  She paused, thinking of the disgusting toilet upstairs, and the rats. “We need a plumber, and an exterminator. And you need to figure out what was stolen or damaged, write it down, and give me back my share of whatever it was. Cash.”

  “All right,” he said slowly. “That’s fair.”

  The expression on his face had gone from annoyed to… respectful? Did he respect her for sticking up for herself?

  Well, good. It was something she’d have to do more of. Just like Ginger had said, she had to keep her chin up and not be scared of Big Bad Bill.

  “Just so ya know,” he added, “any damage or theft—that was done by people I don’t know. Guys outside of town. The folks in Bear Creek Saddle would never disrespect Fred like that.”

  Allie pointed to the graffiti that said RIP Fred In Heaven!!! and raised her eyebrow.

  Bill nodded. “That’s not really vandalism… more of a… you know what I mean.”

  Let him think what he wanted about how the bar got to the state it was in. That didn’t matter as much as the fact that she’d spent her life savings on a building she couldn’t live in, and needed far more work to renovate than he’d represented to her.

  At least she’d get some cash back because of this, something she needed even more than she’d realized she would.

  Allie shook her head. “And just so you know, I already do live, breathe and dream about this bar. I have ever since I
contacted you on Craigslist.”

  Her words must have softened him. He fingered the chain on the door, touching the cold metal with two long, calloused fingers.

  “I should’ve taken better care of this place,” he admitted, his voice low. “But we’re gonna get everythin’ back to the way it was. It’s what we gotta do. What the town needs.”

  If their previous emails meant anything, then getting the bar back to the way it was sounded like something that Bill needed, whether the town needed it too, or not.

  Allie didn’t want everything to go back the way it was… She wanted her own vision, her own dream. Could they make it happen without killing each other first?

  Bill Edwards, in person, bore little resemblance to the person he’d been online. In their emails, he’d been nice. Funny, even. He spoke well—or rather, wrote well—putting his thoughts out clearly to her. But in person, it was like he was being mean for no reason, as if out of habit.

  Didn’t he remember? They were already… friends. Weren’t they?

  Chapter Six

  ‡

  ALLIE FOLLOWED BILL down the gravel walkway that led up to his home. More like a log cabin, really. It was small, with beautiful hand-hewn logs and a wraparound deck. In the area he had appropriated as his backyard, a vegetable garden and chicken coop took up most of the space. Tall wire fences surrounded both.

  “Hey, did your tomatoes ever grow back after the moose incident?” Allie asked, referring to one of his old emails.

  “Yup,” he said. “You shoulda seen that moose. She was so tall, she just bent her big head over the top of the wire there.”

  “Did you stop her?”

  Bill laughed. “Moose aren’t all that afraid of men. They know they’re bigger; they’ll just trample you if they want.” He raised his arms high above his head, demonstrating just how huge moose were.

  “Whoa,” she said. “You’re gargantuan yourself, Big Bad Bill, so if the moose was even bigger, that’s scary.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders in an unexpected display of affection. “See, I like how it sounds when you say it.”

  She smiled up at him, not wanting him to move his arm away. If felt too good to be close to him. “Big, Bad, Bill…” she whispered, teasing.