One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas)

by Carolyn Brown

  She eased back in the sand and opened one eye to see the big lover’s moon hanging out there above the skyscrapers. “No, but I looked one up in the yellow pages.”

  “Why? Are you teasing me, Leah?”

  She took a deep breath. “Yes, I was teasing. But it would be like a divorce, because Granny told me I had to make a choice.”

  “Between?”

  “The ranch and you.”

  The silence was so long that she held the phone out and glanced at it to be sure the connection hadn’t broken. “Rhett?”

  “Sorry, that took me by surprise. We’ve only known each other a week and, Leah, I would never come between family. You’ve seen how close the O’Donnells are and—”

  “I’m not proposing to you,” she said.

  “Well, thank God for that. I’m not sure what Eve would do, but you seem like the type of woman to let a man have his moment and do that job,” Rhett said.

  “Even Eve isn’t that brazen,” she said. “Do you have an alter ego, Rhett?”

  “We all do. Some of us call it a conscience.”

  Leah sat up and shut her laptop. “What if you have both?”

  “Unless there’s a psychological problem, it’s called a conscience. You can name it if you want. I call mine Scorpion.”

  The giggle came from her chest. “Like the bug.”

  “That’s right. Because, more often than not, it stings me, it’s not pretty, and it’s sneaky.”

  “Mine is sneaky too, but it doesn’t sting me. It tells me to not be so trusting and laid-back, to make up my own mind and not let others do it for me,” she said.

  “It sounds like you’re becoming friends with yours,” he said.

  “Do I hear you filling beer pitchers? Please tell me you don’t have this on speakerphone.”

  “No, ma’am, I’ve got you wired up to my ear. Bought this thing to use when I’m driving and it works very well in the bar when I want to talk to you,” he said. “But”—his voice dropped to a whisper—“I’d rather be close enough to whisper in your ear in person.”

  “Me too, Rhett. Why don’t you fly up here for the weekend?”

  “Hey, Jill, I’m stepping outside for some fresh air,” Rhett said, his voice coming through loud and clear.

  “When you get back, I’ll take a turn outside. Polly should have made it a nonsmoking place years ago. I’ll be glad if the law is passed that declares we don’t have a choice in the matter and all public places are nonsmoking,” Jill hollered back.

  “Might as well shut it down,” Rhett said. Polly was Gladys’s sister-in-law and she still owned the bar. She’d broken her ankle in a fall a while back and it was taking longer to heal than she’d have liked. Nowadays she was even talking about selling the place, but so far it was just talk.

  And then the noise softened.

  “Pardon that interruption. Are you still there?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m still here. Are you on the way to New York to take me up on my offer?”

  “I wish I could, but the bar stools are all lined up with Gallaghers, and the Brennans have three tables at the back instead of their usual one or two, and there’s something in the air, Leah. It’s heavy and thick, worse than the tension in church when everyone is leaving and some of the Brennans get tangled up next to the Gallaghers.”

  “Granny is going to get revenge, and then in a few days or weeks, the Gallaghers will do something right back at us. I’ve lived with that tension my whole life.” Leah sighed.

  “No wonder you want to divorce the ranch. I couldn’t live six weeks under a roof like that. Come home and let’s go skinny-dippin’ in the river,” he said.

  “Can I have a rain check? I don’t expect that the Red River would be a good place to partake in such an adventure, but I know where there is a wonderful waterfall less than two hours north of us that would be perfect for a midnight swim in the nude,” she said.

  “Really?” He sounded surprised.

  “Eve came out to play. We could ride up there late one evening on the cycle, spend some time at the falls, and be back by morning. Or if it’s a Saturday night, we could rent a cabin close by.”

  “It could be your divorce celebration,” he said. “Are you smiling? I could swear I heard a smile.”

  “How can you tell when I’m smiling?” she asked.

  “When you’re happy, your voice has a lilt to it. Remember, I told you that the first time we talked on the phone? When you’re sad, it’s deeper and you talk slower.”

  “You figured all that out in such a short time?”

  “Darlin’, I figured all that out in the first few minutes.”

  A smile spread across her face. “Next you’ll be tellin’ me you can read my mind.”

  “I’m not that good yet.” His laughter had a twang to it that sent shivers down her backbone. “Leah, all kiddin’ aside, I can’t make decisions for you, but I can listen anytime you want to talk.”

  “That means a lot,” she said.

  A man who listened? Had she found the eighth wonder of the world?

  “Got to get back inside or Sawyer will send Jill outside to get me. I’m not afraid of Sawyer, but Jill is a different matter. She might stop making cakes and pies.” He laughed. “Good night, love. Sleep tight and call me tomorrow. We’ve got church tomorrow, but I’ll be doing chores before that, and afterwards, Dammit and I are going to the river to see if the fish are biting. Think about me if you don’t call.”

  “I will. Good night, Rhett.”

  He’d called her love. Yes, he’d definitely called her love—not darlin’, not sweetheart, not even honey, but love. A man who listened and wasn’t afraid to let that word slip out of his mouth was truly a treasure. She flipped through the dozens of pictures she’d snapped of him in secret. She imagined the two of them standing behind a waterfall, tangled up in each other’s arms with the water flowing down over their naked bodies. A slow heat started in the pit of her gut and traveled with the speed of light through her body.

  She wanted Rhett O’Donnell to make love to her. Slow, sweet love. Wild, passionate love. It didn’t matter as long as she was in his arms.

  To have that, she’d have to give up River Bend. To talk to her mother, she had to give up River Bend. She sighed as she shut her laptop and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger to ward off the threatening headache.

  She’d barely shut her eyes when someone knocked on the door. Supposing that either Honey or Kinsey had forgotten their key or they were too drunk to figure out which way to slide the key down the slot, she slung it open without even looking through the peephole.

  “Are you Leah Brennan?” a man, holding a long, skinny box tied with a bright red ribbon, asked.

  “I am,” she said.

  “This came to the front desk for you. We don’t give out room numbers, so I told the fellow I would bring them up.” He handed them off to her. “You have a nice evening.”

  She closed the door, set the box on the coffee table, and opened the card to find nothing but a phone number. Icy chills chased down her spine when she realized that it wasn’t Rhett’s phone number.

  “Stop letting Tanner get under your skin. This is probably the number to the bar,” she said aloud. “But if it’s Tanner and I call with my cell phone, he’ll have my number.”

  She finally decided to call on the room phone. It rang several times before a man answered. “Hello, Leah. So you got the roses. They are to let you know I’m serious about seeing you.”

  “Where are you?” she asked bluntly.

  “I’m in Burnt Boot, but I can be in New York by dawn. Just say the word,” Tanner said.

  “This is beginning to feel like stalking,” she said.

  “Darlin’, there’s no such thing when two people have been in love as long as we have,” he told her.

  When Rhett said “love,” she wanted to run into his arms. When Tanner said the same word, she wanted to run away from him. Yes, sir,
there was definitely one cowboy too many in her life right then, and she had no idea what to do about it.

  “Are you there?” Tanner asked.

  “I am, but please, Tanner, let this go. I should have never told you that I had a crush on you when we were teenagers.”

  “But you did, and now I’m ready to tell the whole world about it,” he said. “I miss seeing you at the bar. I can’t wait for you to come home. Just call, and I’ll be there in person as soon as I can get a flight out of Dallas.”

  She was sitting on the sofa with a beer in her hands when Honey and Kinsey came in together. The roses were on the table, still in the box, and Kinsey homed in on them like a hound dog after a coyote.

  “From Rhett? I swear, girl, you are going to be in big trouble,” she said.

  “From Tanner Gallagher,” Leah said. “And what are y’all doin’ home this early?”

  Honey gasped. “We got bored. You know Granny will strangle you herself for even saying that Tanner is in your sights.”

  Leah’s head went slowly from side to side. “He’s not even a dot on the horizon. Not anymore.” She went on to tell them the whole story.

  “That’s stalking,” Honey said.

  “That’s the Gallaghers trying to tear up the Brennan family from the inside. Naomi has sanctioned it if he offered to take you to Sunday dinner. She’s a sly old bitch,” Kinsey said.

  Leah motioned toward the flowers. “What do I do with them?”

  “I’ll set them outside the door and the cleaning lady can throw them away,” Kinsey said.

  “That sounds like a wonderful idea to me,” Leah said.

  “Want to keep the card?”

  “Hell no!” Leah said quickly.

  “You cussed again. You might be right about not being the good girl anymore.”

  “I hope so. Thanks for listening to me and for taking care of those things for me,” Leah said.

  “Hey, we’re blood kin. We might fight and we might bitch, but it’s our fight and our argument, so everyone else best leave us alone.” Kinsey gathered up the dozen red roses and carried them out of the room.

  Chapter 12

  The Gallagher side of the church was missing Naomi, Betsy, Tyrell, and Tanner the next morning. All during the sermon, members of their family kept their cell phones on their laps and their eyes glued to them, hoping for a text.

  On the Brennan side, the pews were full, with only Honey, Leah, and Kinsey missing, and everyone knew they were on vacation.

  The middle section was about half-full. Rhett sat with his family and friends: Sawyer, Jill, Polly, and Gladys. His cousin Finn and Finn’s family were lined up in the oak pew in front of him.

  Rhett spent most of the time during the opening hymns and the sermon thinking about Leah rather than listening. He did come on back down to earth when the preacher finally wound down his sermon. He glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the back wall of the church and wondered if Leah was having a late breakfast or if she’d been up for hours and was maybe having a hot dog from a cart on the street right about then.

  Expecting the preacher to ask someone to give the benediction, Rhett had already bowed his head when the preacher said, “Zachary, would you please stand up, so everyone can see who you are?”

  A young man over on the Gallagher side rose to his feet and turned around to face the congregation. He smiled and waved as the preacher went on to say, “I’d like to introduce you to Zachary Milton, who is engaged to our own Burnt Boot girl Angelina Gallagher. He and Angelina will be living on Wild Horse Ranch after their wedding in October. He’s a horse breeder in addition to helping with the Lord’s work in the youth program. Y’all, make Zachary welcome here in Burnt Boot. He’ll be sending out emails about his new youth programs. And thank you to the Gallaghers for the fine donation to the church that has allowed us to offer him a three-year contract. Now, Zachary, will you please deliver the benediction?”

  Rhett looked over at Mavis, and from the way her face was turning from red to crimson, he’d have been willing to bet her blood pressure had jacked up to stroke level. Evidently she wasn’t too happy about the new youth director or the fact that the Gallaghers had donated the money for his salary. He’d have to ask Leah about it when he talked to her later. He was thinking about that when he realized that he and Verdie were walking out right behind Mavis and several members of her family. Verdie was the elderly lady who’d sold her ranch to his cousin, Finn, and then wound up returning to Burnt Boot to live with Callie and Finn. She was the same age as Mavis and Naomi, and was Gladys and Polly’s dear friend.

  “Granny, why would they do that to Quaid? He’s worked with the church youth for years, and he deserves that title. Besides, he’s been doing the job for free. This is a slap in the face,” Declan whispered on the way out of the church. “Do you think they know about last night?”

  She shot him a dirty look. “Shhh! This didn’t happen in ten hours. It’s been coming. Naomi has been going around all smug for weeks, and I’ll bet you a million dollars this isn’t the only thing she’s got up her sleeve. That bitch is about to pay for this.”

  “Now they’ve got the sheriff’s department and God both on their side. Everyone knows that Orville is nicer to them than he is to us, and now the youth director? They’ll be running the church in no time,” Declan said.

  Rhett flashed his most brilliant smile. “Hello, Miz Mavis. I missed seeing Leah in church this morning.”

  “You stay away from my granddaughter,” she hissed.

  “Which one?” Rhett asked.

  “Every damn one of them.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t like you.”

  “Because I’m not a youth director?” Rhett smiled. “I used to be one, down at my church in Comfort, Texas. You can call for references if you want.”

  “Did you Brennans kidnap Naomi?” Gladys touched Mavis on the shoulder. “I figured she’d want to be here for the announcement this morning.”

  Mavis’s smile was pure evil. “Not me. I was playing cards with my friends, and you were one of them, Gladys Cleary.”

  Verdie ignored Mavis and whispered to Rhett, “Finn and Callie are having a baby in about six months over on their ranch, Salt Draw. But don’t let the cat out of the bag. They’re telling everyone else at lunch.”

  “Well, how about that?” Rhett said.

  “Shhh. Finn wants to spring the news on everyone at the dinner table. Not even the kids know yet.”

  “I heard you, Verdie. You never could whisper worth a damn. Dear Lord, don’t Finn and Callie already have four kids?” Mavis gasped.

  * * *

  Leah had already decided what she was going to do when the phone call from Rhett came in right after noon. Her suitcase was on the bed, and Honey hadn’t even put up too much of an argument. Kinsey had told her to do what she had to do.

  She answered the phone with, “Hello, Rhett. I’ve got a big favor to ask.”

  “Name it,” he said.

  “I’m flying home. Can you pick me up at DFW at four?”

  “I’ll be there. What airline?”

  “American.”

  “I called to bring you up-to-date on the feud, but I’ll tell you the story on the way home. I’m afraid this one is going to blow Burnt Boot off the map. Naomi Gallagher might even put a hit out on your grandmother,” he said.

  “You can tell me all about it when I get there. I’ve got to get to the airport in record time. Talk to you when I get there and believe me when I say it can’t be worse than the pig war.”

  Leah zipped her suitcase and wheeled it to the door.

  “You sure about this?” Honey asked. “You’re going home to an argument with Granny, and that never goes well. You might as well put it off as long as you can.”

  “I’ve thought about it, worried about it, and now it’s time to face it head-on and get it over with before it gives me ulcers,” Leah said.

  “I can’t talk you into sta
ying?” Honey asked.

  “There aren’t enough words in an unabridged dictionary to do that.” Leah opened the door and walked out with Honey right behind her. “You don’t have to go with me. I’m perfectly able to catch a cab by myself.”

  “I’ll walk with you down to the lobby. I wonder what Granny would do if I told her I was in love with a Gallagher?” Honey asked as she opened the door for Leah.

  “Are you?”

  “Hell no, but you should tell her about Tanner and that we all think it’s one of Naomi’s tricks,” Honey said. “That’ll take some of the heat off you and Rhett. I still can’t figure out why she hates him so bad. I bet it’s the ponytail and the cycle.”

  “Why?” Leah asked.

  “I was flirting with a guy at Germanfest down in Muenster last year that looked a little like him, only his ponytail was longer and his cycle didn’t have horns on the front. Granny called me into her bedroom later that evening and put the fear of God into me. No Brennan was ever bringing home a man like that, so I could damn well watch who I was hangin’ all over—her words not mine,” Honey answered.

  “You’re probably right.” Leah explained the ordeal with her mother leaving with the guy on the cycle.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Honey said. “I always figured it was Uncle Russell who did the cheatin’.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Just something I overheard him sayin’ one time. I was hiding in the living room up under a desk when us kids were playin’ hide-and-go-seek. He came in and shut the doors, looked out the window, and then made a phone call. I was a kid, but it sure sounded like he was talkin’ to another woman to me. His voice went all soft and he said he’d meet her later,” Honey said.

  “And you never told anyone?” Leah gasped.

  “Lord, no! They already said that I exaggerated and even accused me of lying. I wasn’t about to get myself sent to my room for a week with nothing but crayons and a coloring book. I wasn’t old enough to read, and I sure didn’t have a television in my room back then.”

  “How old were we?” Leah asked.

  “It was before either of us were in school.”