Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Her brain was threatening to fritz. Lack of sleep. That was it. It wasn’t her libido turning on and thinking about how well those cowboys could handle her.
“Are you talking about Shane and Bay?” Stella stood at the end of the booth. She was dressed in blinged-out jeans, a Western shirt, and some serious diamond jewelry that Brooke would suspect was lab created, but Stella’s hubs was the CEO of Talbot Industries, so those puppies were real. The cowboy hat on her head, though, had almost certainly come from The Trading Post. The café owner was a study in contrasts. A bit like the town itself.
“I’m talking about those two assholes who better not sniff around my sister like they sniffed around my wife,” Max said as primly as a six-foot two-inch cowboy could be. “My sister is a good girl. She’s saving herself for marriage, and it won’t be with two lowly cowpokes.”
Brooke looked to Rye. “He’s joking, right?”
Rye winced. “Just let him live in a haze of delusion. It does him good. He’s going to find you a husband, and we’ll pay the family your bride price in well-trained horses. And maybe the barn cat. She’s good at what she does.”
Stella’s grin told Brooke she was thrilled with the drama. She filled the coffee cup in front of Brooke, despite the fact that it was afternoon. “I’m going to be honest. I thought those two boys would hit the ground running when they got here. I’ve told all the younger women around to be on the lookout, if you know what I mean.”
Max used his free hand to point Stella’s way. “See, that is a public service.”
Brooke didn’t think that was what Stella meant, but she wasn’t getting her brother spun up again. They hadn’t even gotten to pay for her lunch yet.
“Oh, I was telling them where to go if they had an itch to scratch.” Stella never had minded spinning Max up. She seemed to think it was a fun game.
Max’s frown went even frownier. “Well, Doc better run a blood panel on those two because I’m pretty sure they’ve already run through half of Southern Colorado. I’m glad Trev’s baby girl is too young for them to try anything on.”
“She’s just a kid,” Brooke pointed out, though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. When Max got going, he did not stop.
“I wouldn’t put anything past them. They might take one look at little Miranda and think she’s the way to riches.” Max nodded like he’d finally figured out their evil plans. “That’s what they’re doing. Looking for a meal ticket.”
Stella’s eyes rolled. “Well, then they are the dumbest cons in the history of time since Stef offered to set them up wherever they liked so Bay can work as an artist. He offered them their own cabin. They turned him down.”
Max gestured Stella’s way like she’d just made his point. “Because they are holding out for more, and they are going to take one look at my rich, successful baby sister and think they can mooch off her for the rest of their lives.”
She shook her head. “Not rich. They would not fit into the tiny thing I call an apartment.”
Max plowed on. “They’ll probably want her to introduce them to all her artsy fartsy friends in New York City.”
Another head shake. “They’re mostly fartsy, and they’re poorer than I am.”
Not that she had many friends. The people she’d thought were her friends were the same people who turned on her and went along with the let’s get rid of the chick who doesn’t like having her work stolen and won’t blow a dude to keep her job plan.
She looked to Stella, determined to change the topic. She wasn’t going to think about those two men. She was here to take a breath and figure out her next steps. “Could I get a burger? Georgia’s on a health kick because Logan’s cholesterol came back out of range. You should have seen Seth trying to choke down his beet salad. Surprisingly, Logan was cool with it.”
“That boy’s been eating beets since he could have solid food,” Stella admitted. “And yes, I’ll get you a juicy burger, baby girl. It’s good to have you back. Are you in town for the weekend?”
“I’m here for a couple of weeks. The company I work for takes a sabbatical this time of year when the owners all head to Milan.” Not an untruth, but not the whole truth. She had four weeks before she was getting kicked out of her apartment. Unless she found a job, which she wasn’t going to do here in Bliss. Deep breath. Two weeks. She was taking two weeks to figure out what she wanted to do. She gave Stella what she hoped was a confident smile. “I’m here to help Rachel with the party and to finish up the guesthouse. Although I’m wondering if the guesthouse isn’t really the doghouse. How many times have you had to sleep there, Max?”