The Renegade Cowboy Returns: The Renegade Cowboy ReturnsTexas Lullaby

by Tina Leonard

  Jonas looked up from staring at his phone, his attention finally caught. “What kind of friend?”

  “A snake friend. Just a small one, maybe a foot long. Nothing to get excited about. Be seeing you, Jonas.” Gage nodded and went down the sidewalk toward the lumber store, not feeling any more need to socialize. Reading Jonas the riot act about sticking him with a red-haired, sexy female wasn’t going to do anything but give his friend fodder for tales around the dinner table. He knew the Callahans too well.

  I can take it, Gage thought. He just wasn’t certain he could take Chelsea and Cat and Ma all under one roof, when he didn’t know any of them at all.

  * * *

  “JONAS!” CHELSEA EXCLAIMED when her one-time fiancé banged on the front door. “Get in here so I can bawl you out like you’ve never been bawled out before!”

  He came in, looking a bit wary, wearing a smile to placate her. She was not placated.

  “Why didn’t you tell me there was going to be someone else living here?” she began hotly.

  “Everything happened quickly,” Jonas said. “Both of you are making way too big a deal of this. Pretend like this farmhouse is a bed-and-breakfast. Would you care who the other boarders were?”

  “No,” Chelsea said, clenching her teeth, “at least not until one of them shot a gun near my feet, I wouldn’t.”

  “Gun?” Jonas perked up. “Gage wouldn’t fire a gun near you, Chelsea.”

  “Well, he did.” She wasn’t about to share the whole bikini topless incident.

  “Had to have had a good reason.”

  Jonas’s eyes began to twinkle, and she knew from experience that he was vastly amused and couldn’t wait to hear the whole story, which would be retold later to his brothers and their wives with great gusto.

  “Were you being mean to him, Chelsea?” Jonas asked, his tone rich with teasing.

  “No, Jonas, I wasn’t.” He was referring to her Irish temper, knowing full well she wasn’t really mean to anybody.

  But she did have a temper.

  Which she didn’t intend to rein in now.

  “Did this have anything to do with a critter you didn’t want around?”

  “I am quite certain, Jonas, that Gage has told you everything, if you know about the critter. I’m sure he couldn’t wait to have a good laugh at my expense.”

  “Now, now,” Jonas said, his voice comforting. “Gage didn’t tell me anything except that some animal had been around, and you hadn’t been happy about it.”

  “It was a snake,” she said.

  “Snakes are no fun,” Jonas agreed, trying to get on her good side. “What kind was it?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care,” she snapped.

  “It’s important to know, Chelsea. If it was poisonous, I need to look for a nest and—”

  “A nest!” Her blood ran cold.

  He looked at her, his gaze curious. “You’re really afraid of snakes, aren’t you?”

  “Everyone who is normal has a fear of snakes,” Chelsea stated, “unless that’s their line of work. And I’m not a snake charmer. Yes, Jonas, you know darn well that I’m as unenthusiastic about snakes as your five sisters-in-law and your wife would be.”

  “True,” he conceded. “Snakes are not welcome around Rancho Diablo.”

  “Well, then.” She crossed her arms. “Maybe you’d like to go take a look at it and catalog it. The stupid thing is down by the creek.”

  “All right.” He ambled off, letting the screen door slam. Chelsea shook her head, thinking that men could be so dense at times. She went back to dusting, arranging the kitchen so she could start cooking tomorrow.

  Cleaning made her start thinking about her heroine, who was still in danger and dangling cliffside.

  This writer’s block is terrible. I don’t know how to get the story to flow again. I need peace and quiet and—

  “Aw,” Jonas said, coming back inside with half a snake dangling from his hand. “It was just a—”

  Chelsea screamed, a good old-fashioned gut scream that probably moved nearby mountains.

  “What?” he said. “This is just a harmless—”

  “Get it out of the house!”

  “All right, all right.” He exited his own house in a hurry, recognizing that he and his trophy weren’t welcome. Chelsea grabbed a glass of water, drinking to calm herself.

  “I’m sure that snake was more scared of you than you were of it,” he called from the porch.

  “Shut up, Jonas,” she said, and then she heard Gage and him giggling outside the screen door like a couple hyenas. Like children. Chelsea drew a deep breath, marched to the front door, slammed it shut and locked it.

  Boys might be boys—but not at her expense.

  * * *

  “NOW YOU’VE DONE IT,” Gage told Jonas. “I could have told you that gag wasn’t going to play well. Although it was funny. That Irish is a screamer for certain.”

  His friend couldn’t contain his grin. “I’m going to take it home and bring it out at the dinner table.”

  “Sabrina will probably let you have it upside the bean with a dinner plate,” Gage warned.

  “This is true.” Jonas stuck his prize in a sack and went off. “Good luck, by the way.”

  “Good luck with what?” he asked, knowing the sentiment had been loaded.

  “Getting back in the house. Ever again.” Whistling, Jonas got in his truck and drove away, his conscience completely unbothered by how he’d destroyed Gage’s plans to get on Chelsea’s good side.

  She wasn’t going to let him in tonight, he’d be willing to bet. “Nuts,” Gage said, thinking about the pretty breasts he’d tried so hard not to look at. Maybe it was better if he slept in the old run-down bunkhouse. Deciding there was always his truck to bed down in if he couldn’t stomach the conditions, he went off, cursing Jonas under his breath.

  * * *

  FROM HER UPSTAIRS bedroom window, Chelsea watched Gage slink off, a veritable snake in nicely fitting blue jeans that hugged his butt and yet sagged just enough to be comfortable. She should have known that any friend of the Callahans was bound to be a bad boy.

  “I know how to handle men with a wild streak,” she said, setting down to her laptop. Bronwyn was in trouble, but Chelsea didn’t know how to help her. It all had to do with Bronwyn’s conflict, and Chelsea had yet to figure out exactly what that was. She had the feeling Bronwyn hadn’t yet been totally honest with her about her real emotions, the real thing that drove her to be a detective—

  “Chelsea!”

  She glanced out the bedroom window. Gage was below, waving something at her.

  It looked like a white flag.

  Truce?

  She opened her window. “I’m busy. What do you want?”

  He lowered the flag. “To ask you out to dinner.”

  “Why?”

  The question shot out of her more rudely than she’d intended. Once burned, twice shy…

  “Just a friendly meal between two people who are sharing space.”

  “We’re not,” she said very sweetly. “You’re out there and I’m cozy in here. But thanks.” She started to close the window.

  “Chelsea, wait!”

  She edged it up a little and looked out. “What’s the matter? Can’t you just grill a snake for your supper?”

  He grinned at her, the devil in denim. “I could, but I’d rather share a meal with you.”

  She shook her head. “Uh-uh. You’re trouble, Texas.”

  “Yeah. But you know that up front, so it’ll be easier for you. Anyway, we should try out a restaurant in Tempest. I’ll buy, since you’re mad at me. It’s the least I can do.”

  “Then obviously you’ll be buying me dinner every night.”

  Gage laughed, a full deep laugh that had the hair standing up on her arms. The man was too sexy for his own good—and she suspected he’d been told that a time or two by man-hunting ladies.

  “You need to see the town,” he said. �
�Getting out will help you with your writing.”

  Chelsea wrinkled her nose. He had a point—it wouldn’t hurt her to go do some exploring of her new town. Jonas had said Tempest was charming.

  Anyway, she had a dangling heroine, and truthfully, she’d do anything to get rid of her stubborn case of writer’s block. “All right,” she said, not gracefully, either. This man had probably looked at her naked breasts, no doubt told Jonas she’d gotten out of the creek without her top. They’d probably had a great, knee-slapping guffaw over it. “I’m ordering steak, though. You pay for your sins around here, buster.”

  “Come on down, Rapunzel. We’ll see if we can find you a steak in Tempest.”

  Chelsea shut the window, closing the drapes so he couldn’t watch her change. It had been a long time since she’d had a real date, although this certainly couldn’t be called a date—more like a short truce. She and Jonas had never dated—their relationship had started out as an agreement between two people who each needed something.

  I wanted out of Ireland. I wanted a climate that suited my mother’s health better. I wanted life beyond what I knew.

  If I have to put up with a snake now and again, it’s going to be worth it—even if he has brown eyes and a body to die for.

  Chapter Three

  “So,” Gage said, as they seated themselves in a booth at Cactus Max’s. “This looks like a great place for a red herring, don’t you think?”

  Chelsea glanced at him with some disdain in her big eyes. Gage grinned, loving yanking her chain.

  “Are you trying to be funny?” she asked.

  “Not really. Am I?”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re not.” She snapped open her menu with some annoyance, and he grinned again. In the corner of the bar-and-grill-style restaurant, three pool tables were in use, the occasional clicking of balls audible over the easy conversation of the diners. About fifty people milled around, enjoying nachos and beer and other cuisine, or watching big-screen TVs that hung from all four corners, the sound muted. In the background, soothing and mellow jazz music played. Gage found himself relaxing, until he saw Chelsea’s gaze fixed on him.

  “What?”

  She shook her head. “There’s a twenty-ounce steak on the menu.”

  “If you can eat it, be my guest.”

  “I’ll go with the Southwestern steak wraps.” She closed her menu.

  “And some wine?”

  “Tea,” she said, eyeing him again. “Thanks.”

  He laughed. “You’re not letting your guard down around me, are you?”

  “I can’t,” she said. “You got really close to me with a bullet. And do you have a permit for that gun you carry?”

  They were interrupted by a dark-haired woman named Blanche cheerfully placing a lighted candle on their table. The flame gave the booth a romantic atmosphere that Gage knew would not help Chelsea relax. Not around him, anyway.

  Talk about trust issues. He had a wall to climb with this redhead.

  “New to town?” the waitress asked.

  “We are,” Gage said. “We’re staying at Dark Diablo.”

  “Oh,” Blanche said. “I know you. You’re the ones Jonas said didn’t like each other very much.”

  Chelsea’s gaze shot to his, then bounced away. Gage laughed. “We’re working on it, Blanche.”

  She smiled at him. “Well, you sure are a good-looking fellow. I like my men rugged. I can’t imagine a lady wouldn’t just go to jelly at the knees for you, honey.”

  He figured Blanche was somewhere around sixty years old, and with her infectious smile and dark brown eyes, she’d probably been able to catch whatever kind of man she wanted. “Thanks. I like my ladies round and sweet like you.”

  She grinned. “And what about you?” she asked Chelsea, politely trying to include her in the banter.

  “I like my wraps rare and my tea cold, please,” she said, and Blanche giggled.

  “She’s no fun,” the waitress told Gage.

  “She’s fun sometimes,” he responded, teasing both of them. “So, who’s the babe in every corner of this joint?” He gestured to the four large paintings of a busty blonde in different costumes, looking like Marilyn Monroe come to life, only younger and somehow more innocent.

  “That,” Blanche said with the gusto of a born storyteller, “is Tempest Thornbury.”

  “Is that a stage name?” Chelsea asked.

  “Well,” she said, “when you’re born Zola Cupertino, you have to consider alternatives, right?” She jammed her pencil into her abundantly tall and sprayed mass of shining dark hair. “Anyway, Tempest is our big star around these parts. She decided to name herself after our town, and the Thornbury, heck, I don’t know how she came up with that. But she went off and made herself famous on Broadway, and then went overseas to live in a villa in Tuscany.” Blanche shook her head. “They say she’s a recluse now, which is a shame, because she’s all of about twenty-eight. Can sing like a bird and dance like nothing you ever saw before.”

  “Why did she become a recluse?” Chelsea asked, and Gage could tell she was fascinated by the story in spite of herself.

  “No one knows, exactly. Something about a love story gone wrong, and ghosts in the old family home in Tempest. Not sure how it all fits together. We’ve talked about it many a time in Tempest, but the truth is, when she left here, she changed so much from when she was little Zola that we don’t really know what to think. Her life is very different from ours. You can still see her family home from the country road, you know, but none of us go out there much because of the ghosts.” She smiled at Gage. “So are you having steak wraps, too, or did you just want to sit there and stare at the lady all night?”

  Gage snapped his gaze away from Chelsea, realizing he had been staring. “I’ll have the Aztec salad and a margarita, please.”

  Both women stared at him.

  “Not hungry, Gage? Planning on eating the snake later?” Chelsea asked.

  “Snake!” Blanche exclaimed. “Don’t talk about snakes. I can’t stand ’em!”

  Chelsea smiled at Gage, enjoying her jest at his expense.

  “I might eat the snake,” Gage said, handing the menus to Blanche, “but I’m a vegetarian.”

  “Oh,” she said, clearly rattled. “Well, I’ll put your order in. If you two need anything, just give a shout.”

  Gage smiled at Chelsea. “Don’t be mad. It really was harmless.”

  “Then why did you shoot it? Just to watch me hop around?”

  He smiled again. “No. From where I was standing, I didn’t know what kind of snake it was. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  She looked at him with suspicion. “Why are you so certain it was harmless?”

  “Because it was just a—”

  “I hope you’re not still talking about snakes,” Blanche said, plopping their drinks on the table. “I’m telling you, I hate nothing as much as I hate them!”

  “It’s all right,” Chelsea said, “the only snake around here right now is him.”

  “That’s not fair,” Gage said, as Blanche went off in a cloud of disapproval. “I was trying to save you.”

  “From a harmless snake?”

  “What if it had been a rattler? Would you rather I’d just called out, ‘there’s a snake next to you so be careful’?”

  Chelsea’s face reflected a mixture of emotions. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  “All right.” He raised his margarita to her and said, “To us being good housemates.”

  “I think not.” She didn’t raise her tea glass.

  Nodding, Gage glanced around at the life-size posters of Tempest Thornbury. Now that he looked at them more closely he could see that they were actually oil paintings done in careful detail, probably from photos of some of Tempest’s Broadway gigs. “She’s beautiful, huh?”

  “Yes. But it’s kind of a sad story, don’t you think?”

  He shrugged. “Everybody’s got one, right?”

&n
bsp; “Do you?”

  “Yeah. But nothing I share with anyone but friends.”

  She gave him a wry glance. “Okay.”

  “So what’s yours?”

  Chelsea shrugged. “It’s not very interesting.”

  “Yeah?” Gage watched her sip her tea with pleasure. She made everything look graceful. Even leaping into the creek she’d been graceful. He could watch her for hours, and if she lost her top again, then he could watch her for days, he was pretty sure.

  “I’ve taken care of my mother for years. That’s about it.”

  “What about Dad?”

  She shrugged again. “Died young. Don’t remember him.” She glanced at Tempest’s paintings. “It wouldn’t be so bad to leave your roots and go do something exotic and fabulous, would it?”

  “Takes a special breed of person, I’d guess. I’m much more of a homebody than that.”

  Chelsea laughed out loud. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone. “I made notes about you, Texas, when I called back to Diablo to find out about you—after the snake incident. According to Sabrina, you’re Jess St. John’s cousin, who is married to Johnny Donovan at Rancho Diablo. You rodeoed most of your life, happiest on the circuit. You’ve never had much of a love life because the road is your life. Apparently, you mentioned once that you’re never in one place for more than two or three nights, so there was never any point in calling a lady back.” Chelsea slid her phone back into her purse. “I’d say you didn’t lack for adventure. In fact, somebody like her,” she said, indicating Tempest, “is probably exactly right for you.”

  He shook his head. “You’d be surprised, but life catches up with people.”

  Blanche placed their artfully plated food in front of them, and Gage got hungrier just looking at it. “This looks great.”

  “You won’t find better in Tempest,” Blanche bragged, “although all the restaurants here are pretty good, I’ll say that. If you’re a foodie, you’ll find you don’t want to stray far from town.”

  She went off again, pleased with her story.

  “I like Blanche,” Chelsea said. “She’s happy.”

  Gage dug into his salad with gusto. “And proud of what she does.”

  “So what caught up with you?” Chelsea asked as she bit into her steak and moaned. “I could cut this steak with a spoon, it’s that tender.”