Dirty Cowboy

by Alycia Taylor

  “Yeah, I usually try and get some extra sleep on a Sunday, but I think my body is just so wired to getting up at this time that I can’t help myself. Anyway, there’s something nice about enjoying a cup of coffee before the sun comes up, don’t you think?”

  “There’s nothing quite like it. Especially out here. I’m sure if I had gotten up early in my old place, it would’ve still been noisy.”

  “What’s happening with that place by the way? I’ve been meaning to ask you. Because you just up and left so quickly.”

  “I’m renting it out on the condition that I can come back at any moment. I’m renting it pretty cheap, though, so they can’t complain.”

  “Wow, you found people so quickly?”

  “Oh yeah. People are always on the search for new places in the city. And when I put word out that I was renting mine out for such a little bit of money, it got snapped up.”

  “You thinking of going back soon?”

  I grinned. “Honestly? I don’t think so. I like it here.”

  “It suits you,” he said, not for the first time. Then he chuckled. “Also, you have another reason to stay now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, come on. You know what I mean. So, you still need to tell me about last night. Let’s start with the fact that you run off mid conversation to go and kiss her goodnight. How did that turn out for you? Sorry I wasn’t up when you got back. I was exhausted.”

  “She kissed me back,” I said and then took the coffee from him. I took a grateful sip and thanked him for it.

  “She did, huh? Nice. So she didn’t mind you coming back for it?”

  “She seemed happy.”

  “And the date went well? How about my restaurant suggestion?”

  “That was one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in a long time. Great atmosphere, great food, great wine. It also didn’t hurt that I had such great company. Emily is such a nice girl. We got along well. I haven’t been able to talk to someone like that in a very long time.”

  “Oh yeah?” he said. “That’s probably why you usually don’t talk to girls.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He laughed. “You and Gunner. You were both always the same with women. You went out on so many dates, but you never really had a girlfriend. He’s the same.”

  I couldn’t even be upset with Grant. He wasn’t trying to be mean to me, but rather just stating the facts. And he was right. I’d been with a lot of women in my life, but I’d never actually been in love.

  “Gunner’s a changed man though, did you know that?”

  Brady shook his head. “A changed man? What do you mean? I haven’t spoken to Gunner in a long time.”

  “You should. He’s a good guy.”

  “He is? I think he’s always angry. He hates the fact that I’m not in Arizona anymore. He hates the fact that I’m not a part of the motorcycle club or that I don’t help out in the shop. He doesn’t seem to understand that I want my own life, and he has no problem telling me that.”

  “That sounds like Gunner. But when you give him a chance, he’s not all that bad. And he’ll hear you out if you just talk to him. Anyway, don’t worry about that. Your relationship with him has nothing to do with me.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get angry. But sometimes that guy just pushes my buttons. More so than most people do.”

  “Don’t worry about it. He’s not an easy man. Trust me, I know. The two of us had a few run-ins these past few months. He’s always been the sort of guy that likes to push people away. But yeah, he’s a changed man. He met a girl, and the two of them have fallen hard for each other.”

  “He met someone? Have you met her?”

  I nodded. “I have. And she’s not at all the sort of person you would expect him to be with. She’s pretty, and sweet, and seems to love wearing bright yellow clothes.”

  That made Brady laugh. “Gunner is with a girl who wears yellow? I’m surprised.”

  “Yep. She’s a party planner. And she’s done him a world of good. I mean, he’s still the same guy we’ve always known, but there’s a happiness to him now that I’ve never seen before.”

  “Really? Well, I’m happy for him,” Brady said. I could tell that he meant it.

  “I guess I’m a bit like that too. I don’t know, man; I just haven’t found a girl that I could talk to like Emily. She’s really nice.”

  “She is. She was my neighbor for a long time. It’s strange not to see her every day. But listen, you mustn’t forget about the whole arson thing. Did you ask her about it?”

  “I thought about it but I’m not sure if she even knows, and I didn’t really want to be the one who told her. Also, it’s none of my business.”

  “If you’re dating her, then it sort of is your business, don’t you think?”

  “I’m not dating her.”

  “Are you going to see her again?”

  “Yeah, I’d like to.”

  “Then that’s another date, which is sort of like dating, isn’t it? Anyway, I’m just saying you must be careful. She’s a nice girl, but who knows what she’s mixed up in. I mean, if someone is angry enough to burn down her house, it doesn’t seem like something you want to get too involved in. Just be careful. That’s all I’m saying. The last thing you want is for her enemies to become your enemies.”

  “I’ll be careful,” I said.

  Later that day, my father called. I’d been meaning to call him soon, so it was good to hear his voice. He voice was clear and more upbeat than it had been the last time that I had spoken to him.

  “How’s the patient doing?” I asked.

  “Much better. The doctors are seeing big improvements by the day. I’m over the worst part.”

  “That’s so good to hear, Pop.” I felt relief wash over me. Even though I knew his cancer was treatable, I still worried that something could go wrong. I hadn’t realized how worried I was until I heard the good news. “You sound great.”

  “Yeah, I’m not as tired as I used to be. I feel like I’ve got my energy back again. And how about you? How is life in Buffalo? I still can’t believe that you’re all the way there.”

  “Ah, it’s not that far. It’s not like I’m in another country.”

  “It feels far.”

  “Actually, you’re right. It’s very different here to back home, which does make it feel a lot further away than it is. But I’m enjoying it. It’s done me a lot of good. And all this fresh air every day is great. I’m honestly not sure how I worked in that real estate job for almost a year. This feels a lot more my style.”

  “Doing ranch work?”

  “Mostly, yeah. There’s always so much that needs to get done. But I’m also helping out with the firefighters here. I’m learning a lot.”

  “Any chance you’ll be coming back to the club? It would be nice to see you again. The boys are always asking about you. I know it’s far just to come and see the guys, but if you can, they would really appreciate it.”

  I smiled sadly. My father loved that club, but just hearing him ask about it made me realize that I would never feel the same way as he did. I’d actually forgotten about it while I’d been working at the ranch. My father would never forget about that club—it was his life’s blood. And I was almost certain that the other members didn’t care whether I was there or not. It was my father that wanted me there.

  “I have so much going on at the moment, but I’ll definitely make a plan to come soon for a visit.”

  “Visit or for good?” my father asked.

  “I’m not sure right now. I feel like this is where I need to be for a while, but we’ll see what happens. It’s good to have a change every now and again. You should come visit,” I said even though I knew he never would.

  He replied by just grunting.

  “Listen, I have to get going. But do you want to talk to Brady? He’s downstairs somewhere, but I can go and find him.”

  “No, I need to get go
ing too,” he said. I knew him well enough to know he was lying but I didn’t push it.

  “Okay, Pop. Well, thanks for calling. It was good to hear your voice again, and I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better. Call me anytime.”

  “Good to talk to you, son.”

  I put the phone down and wondered what I should do with the rest of my day. My thoughts immediately went to Emily, and I remembered that I’d told her that I’d call. I thought about playing hard to get but decided I couldn’t be bothered with playing games. I liked her, and I wanted to see her again. And I was more than happy to tell her that. I was just about to pick up the phone to call her when my phone rang again.

  “Hello. Grant speaking.”

  “Grant, it’s Ted.”

  “Ted, what’s going on?” I asked. Ted was one of the guys from the firefighting team and he sounded flustered.

  “There’s been another fire, and we’d love the extra help if you’re free.”

  “Of course! Give me the address, and I’ll meet you there.”

  “Come to the station.”

  “Be right there,” I said and put the phone down.

  I ran downstairs and shouted to Brady that I was out to attend a fire, and then I got in my car and drove away. My call with Emily was sadly just going to have to wait.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Emily

  “We have a full day today,” Terra said. “Come on; you must be at least a little bit excited?”

  I groaned. “I’m not.”

  “What? Why not?”

  Today was the day that I was officially starting my house hunt. I’d spoken to an agent during the week and set up five different places for me to see all in a day. I’d tried to get her to spread the places out over a few days, but she was insistent that I do them all in one day. She clearly needed to make some commission, and I’d ended up just agreeing. I’d asked Terra to go with me, and she was excited. Although I wasn’t sure if she was excited to spend the day house hunting or if she was just happy that we’d both taken the day off work.

  I groaned and put my head under the pillow.

  “Em, what’s wrong? I thought you’d be excited to go house hunting?” she said and lifted up the pillow.

  “I miss my old house,” I said and sat up.

  “Ah, Em. I’m sorry. I’m being insensitive here.”

  I shook my head. “No, you’re not. You’re being a good friend. You’re trying to get me excited, and I appreciate that. I had a dream about my house last night. I guess I just woke up in a sad mood. You know how much that place meant to me. I mean, it belonged to my mother and my grandmother. And now it’s all gone. They’d be devastated if they knew. Maybe they do know. Maybe they’re looking down on me and wondering how could’ve let this happen to their house. To their legacy.”

  “No way. It’s not your fault. You have to know that.”

  “But how did it happen? I mean, one minute it was standing and the next it was engulfed in flames. How does that even happen? What if it was all my fault?”

  “Are you crazy? It’s not your fault. Come on, I know you well enough, Emily. There’s no way that was your fault. Freak accidents happen, and you happened to be in the firing range that day. Don’t think like that. But, I’m really sorry that it happened. I’m sorry that you have to find a new home. You didn’t deserve something like that to happen to you. But your gran and your mom will know that. They’ll be happy that you get a nice new house. You’ve told me so much about your gran. I know that she’d see it as an adventure.”

  That made me smile. “You’re right. She would. She saw the good in everything. Thanks, Terra.” I still wasn’t sure that it was a freak accident though, as Terra seemed to think it was. The investigation was still open, although I couldn’t imagine what could’ve caused the fire. Right now, I was going to have to rent until things got sorted out.

  After the talk, I got ready, had something to eat and then made my way to the agent’s office with Terra.

  Tamara Middleton was an energetic woman who didn’t look to be much older than us. I’d peg her to be in very early thirties or late twenties. She didn’t look like most of the realtors I’d met in the past. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She didn’t try to bullshit us with fancy words, or obvious falsities. She was straight forward and friendly, and we knew that she was being honest with us.

  “Okay,” she said when we arrived. “Are you ready for a day of house hunting?”

  “We certainly are.”

  “Good. We should be done by around midday.”

  “Oh, cool, that early? I thought we’d be gone all day,” I said.

  “No need. I’ve plotted the route out so it shouldn’t take us too long. It might even be quicker than you think. You get a feeling of a place. But let’s see all five and then discuss if there’s anything you want to see again, or if you want me to start from scratch.”

  As it turned out, I got a feeling on the very first house that I saw. It was a freestanding house not too far from Terra’s house. It was small, but it had everything that I needed. It was by no means wonderful or show-stopping, but it had a sense of home that my old house offered me. Inside was a small reading nook that I could easily imagine myself sitting in for hours at a time, and space for a huge bookshelf next to it. It was by far my favorite part of the house. Also, the kitchen had one bright-yellow wall which immediately made me feel happy.

  “This is the one,” I said to Tamara and Terra as we finished looking around.

  “I knew you were going to say that!” Terra said. “I told you she’d like this one,” she said to Tamara.

  Tamara laughed. “I cannot tell you how many times it happens like this. But, there are still four more places to see. It’s important that you see them. And if you still feel the same way about this one after seeing all four, then you know that it’s the right one for you. But you might change your mind.”

  “I doubt it,” I said and looked around again. My eye caught the yellow wall, and I smiled.

  “You never know. The houses are all within the budget that you sent me, but one happens to be a lot bigger than the rest. You might end up liking that one more.”

  It took us two hours to see the next four houses, and while they were all lovely, they didn’t come close to the first one.

  “Not even the big house?” Tamara asked.

  I laughed. That house had been almost double the size of the one I liked. And I could see that it would be the house that most people would’ve chosen. It was a lot newer than all the other houses, and everything inside seemed a lot shinier. But, it lacked the feeling of home that I was looking for.

  “I want the first one. I want the reading nook, and I want that yellow wall.”

  “You can paint another wall yellow in the big house if you like?”

  “Nope. I want the first house.”

  “Then it’s yours! Wow, that was easy. Sometimes I have clients for months before they find something they like.”

  “I’m surprised we got it done so quickly too. But I’m very happy. So what happens now?”

  “Well, let’s go back to my office to sign some paperwork. The house will be ready in a week or so. How does that work for you?”

  I looked at Terra. Two weeks was fine for me, but it was completely up to Terra. She nodded. “Of course, man. You don’t even have to ask. I’m glad I get you for another week.”

  “Thanks, Terra.”

  We went back to Tamara’s office, and I signed a few forms.

  “We’ll need a few more things from you, mostly paperworkk stuff. But I think it’s safe to say that the house is yours. The lease is for a year and after that we can discuss whether or not you want to buy or keep on renting. I’m so pleased to have been your agent in all of this.”

  “Tamara, you’re the best agent I know. I’ll be sure to spread the word around about you.”

  She beamed. “Thanks, man. And hey, I’m
sorry to hear about the house. It’s awful. But, I also heard there’s a new man in town and that he took you out on a date. What’s he like?”

  I laughed. “Wow, news travels fast around here. He’s Brady’s brother, Grant. Very cute. Very cute.”

  I walked out of the office beaming and hugged Terra.

  “I found a house. One that I know my gran and my mother would’ve loved. It’s the one. I knew it the instant I saw it.”

  “Yeah, so did I, actually. I told Tamara that you’d take it. I just knew it. I’m glad we saw the other ones, though. That was a fun day.”

  “And you, Terra, are a great friend. I woke up feeling sad this morning, and now I’m so excited. You’re going to be the first guest in my new house. You can bring those wine glasses over. Although, I’ll probably have no furniture for a while, so that’s going to be fun.”

  “We can have wine in the reading nook,” she said, and I grinned.

  “I like the way you think. Now, I’m buying you lunch.”

  “Oooh, can we go to Wyo?”

  “Great idea!”

  I took her to Wyo and chuckled as she oohed and aahed over the place. We ordered a glass of wine and some pasta and then laughed at how nice it was to be drinking wine instead of working.

  “I could get used to this,” I said.

  “So, have you heard from Grant?” she asked.

  I shook my head. He’d said he’d call me the day after the kiss, but he didn’t. But I didn’t mind. I wasn’t the sort of girl that was going to be upset if his call was a bit late. He had his own life to lead after all.

  “Nah, not yet. I’m sure he will, though.”

  “After that kiss, I’m sure he will too. So, you’ve got two weeks left with me. That’s two weeks of not being able to do more than kiss. Do you think you can handle it?”

  I laughed. “Of course I can. I’m not a sex maniac, you know.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I’ve been told otherwise.”

  “What? Who told you that? You’re making it up.”

  “Am I?”

  “Terra, you’re crazy. Nobody told you that.”

  She chuckled. “Remember Aaron?”