“Thanks, Cash.”
“Oh, and this.” Cash held out a silver cell phone to Jared. “You left it in the can.”
Jared snatched it. “Appreciate it. Now move along, mate.”
Channing had endured enough of Jared and was tempted to ask Cash to take her back to the motel. Let Jared sort out his fit of temper on his own. She wasn’t his goddamn babysitter.
“What? You waiting for a tip?” Jared demanded.
“I’m going.” Cash took a couple of steps, then turned back. He gave Channing a pitying look before addressing Jared. “Your wife called your phone while I was in the bathroom, that’s why I picked it up. She wants you to call her back right away.”
Dead silence, ugly as the antelope-horn chandeliers hanging above them.
“Wife?” Channing repeated.
When Jared’s gaze zoomed to hers then flitted away, she knew the truth.
The bastard was married. He’d lied to her. Guilt, shame and fury arose inside her.
Jared spun on Cash to chew him out.
Without thinking, Channing blindly swung the trophy and clocked Jared in the back of the head.
He crumpled to the floor.
She froze. Shit. What had she done? What if she’d killed him? Spending her life in a Southern prison wearing orange paper shoes wasn’t part of her big adventure.
Clutching the trophy like a shield, she dropped to her knees and accidentally squashed Jared’s hat. She gingerly touched his head. A big bump protruded from the back of his neck. No blood though. Good thing she had lousy aim. His chest rose and fell so she knew he wasn’t dead.
A sick sort of relief swamped her.
“Hey, slugger, you okay?”
She looked up at Cash. “No. Cash. Please. I didn’t know—”
“I figured you didn’t, sweets. You don’t seem the type to mess around with a married fella.”
“I’m not.” New experiences did not include becoming a home-wrecker. Her stomach churned. “Please get me out of here. I can’t stay with him.”
“Well, he can’t stay here to get trampled. Grab his boots. Let’s move him outta the way first before we figure out what to do with you.”
After they’d hauled Jared through the sawdust to a dark corner, he came around. He plopped his lopsided hat on and kept his face aimed at the floor.
She doubted the jerk felt any shame. Only anger that he’d gotten caught.
Cash took her aside. “You stayin’ at the Silver Spur tonight?”
She nodded and hugged her trophy.
“Get your stuff and head over there. Double-lock the door. I’ll make sure he don’t follow you and cause more trouble. I’ll check on you in the mornin’.”
“Thank you, Cash.”
“No problem, sweets. Just sorry you found out the way you did.”
Channing snuck out of the bar without talking to anyone else from the circuit. She unloaded her three pieces of luggage from Jared’s truck—and liberated his bottle of whiskey.
A six-foot neon sign shaped like a cowboy boot, announcing The Silver Spur Motor Inn, flashed NO VACANCY. Luckily she’d already secured a room. She dragged her belongings across the highway and let herself into number 111.
Once locked inside, she panicked. What was she going to do? No way did she want to turn tail and run back to the tiresome life she’d fled.
Served her right for trusting someone. It would’ve been nice, for once in her life, not to have to be so damn self-reliant. Wrong again.
She should leave. Right away. Tonight.
Colby’s words surfaced: Come talk to me before you do anything rash.
The scared part of her wanted to run to Colby right now. Demand to know why he hadn’t told her Jared was married.
But in his own way, Colby had warned her.
Reality check: She doubted this one-stoplight town had a rental-car agency or even a bus stop. Nothing she could do about her predicament tonight. She’d deal with it all tomorrow.
A steaming hot shower and three generous slugs of whiskey later, Channing drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
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Lorelei James is the NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author of steamy westerns in the Rough Riders series and the Blacktop Cowboys® series, steamy romance in the Mastered series, contemporary romance in the Need You series and Want You series, and the New Adult Rough Riders Legacy series, as well as several stand-alone novels and novellas. Lorelei lives in western South Dakota—yes, by choice—with her husband, and Copper, their crazy corgi who has made their empty nest more interesting.
Other books by Lorelei James
Rough Riders Series
LONG HARD RIDE
RODE HARD
COWGIRL UP AND RIDE
TIED UP, TIED DOWN
ROUGH, RAW AND READY
STRONG, SILENT TYPE (novella)
BRANDED AS TROUBLE
SHOULDA BEEN A COWBOY
ALL JACKED UP
RAISING KANE
SLOW RIDE
COWGIRLS DON’T CRY
CHASIN’ EIGHT
COWBOY CASANOVA
KISSIN’ TELL
GONE COUNTRY
SHORT RIDES (anthology)
REDNECK ROMEO
COWBOY TAKE ME AWAY
LONG TIME GONE (novella)
Rough Riders Legacy Series
UNBREAK MY HEART
PIECE OF MY HEART (coming soon)
Wild West Boys Series
MISTRESS CHRISTMAS (novella)
MISS FIRECRACKER (novella)
Blacktop Cowboys® Series
CORRALLED
SADDLED AND SPURRED
WRANGLED AND TANGLED
ONE NIGHT RODEO
TURN AND BURN
HILLBILLY ROCKSTAR
ROPED IN (novella)
STRIPPED DOWN (novella)
WRAPPED AND STRAPPED
STRUNG UP (novella)
HANG TOUGH
TRIPPED OUT (novella)
RACKED AND STACKED
WOUND TIGHT (novella)
SPUN OUT
Mastered Series
BOUND
UNWOUND
SCHOOLED (digital only novella)
UNRAVELED
CAGED
Single Title Novels
RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL
DIRTY DEEDS
Single Title Novellas
LOST IN YOU (short novella)
WICKED GARDEN
BALLROOM BLITZ
Need You Series
WHAT YOU NEED
JUST WHAT I NEEDED
ALL YOU NEED
WHEN I NEED YOU
Want You Series
I WANT YOU BACK
WANT YOU TO WANT ME
Mystery Novels Written As Lori Armstrong
Julie Collins Series – Private Eye Mystery
BLOOD TIES (FREE download)
HALLOWED GROUND
SHALLOW GRAVE
SNOW BLIND
BAITED (novella)
DEAD FLOWERS (novella)
BAITED/DEAD FLOWERS
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