A Ballad for Her Cowboys by Luxie Ryder Read Free Book Online Page A

thing.’
    ‘Steady, Seth.’
    Aiden put a hand on Seth’s arm, stopping him from walking away. Misty stared from one to the other, more confused than ever.
    ‘What did I do now? I mean I know I was shitty to you both the other night. I came here to apologize. Turns out I can’t even do that right.’
    She dropped her gaze to the floor, determined not to cry in front of them, even as the tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill into the dust at her feet.
‘Damn.’
    Seth’s voice held a note of regret and she jumped in surprise as he reached over the fence to touch her shoulder. What was it with these guys? They had faster mood swings than any woman she ever met. He lifted her face toward his with a finger under her chin.
    ‘Don’t go crying on me now. I’m sorry.’
    ‘Pay us no heed,’ Aiden added gruffly. ‘We’re working like dogs here. We’re both tired, sore, and cranky.’
    She sniffed away her tears and took a step back out of Seth’s reach, smiling a little to show them she was okay. ‘What
are
you doing here?’
    ‘That’s a long-ass story, for another time.’ Seth gestured over Misty’s shoulder toward someone’s approach.
    She turned to see their boss bearing down on them with a face like thunder.
    ‘You’d best not let Hoagie catch you here,’ Seth warned.
    ‘Don’t worry, I can handle him.’ She spoke faster all the same. ‘We can talk more later. I came to invite you both to supper at my place tonight. Meet me at the bar after the show?’
    ‘Orton!’ Hoagie boomed as he drew level with the group. He turned to stare at Aiden. ‘What in God’s name are you two doing standing around here yakking while I am paying you good money to tend these horses?’
    Misty moved fast. The muscle clenching in Aiden’s jaw warned anyone who had the sense to notice that he didn’t take kindly to being spoken to that way. If either of them acted on the anger making them stare the older man down, they’d lose their jobs and it would be her fault.
    ‘Now, now Mr. Dunshaw. It’s me you should be angry at, not them,’ she said, smiling up at him as she looped an arm through his and turned him around. ‘The boys were just helping me out. I’ve been thinking about doing some riding while I am here and I didn’t know who to ask.’
    Hoagie’s anger melted away instantly. ‘Well then why didn’t you come and see me, little lady? I told you when you first got here I’d help you in any way I could.’
    Misty remembered all too well the kind of ‘help’ Hoagie Dunshaw made it plain what he had in mind. It didn’t bother her none. She’d gotten used to fending off the attentions of amorous employers. Five years of working every bar, roadhouse, and dive in Tennessee made her immune to their sexist assumptions about her. If they wanted to treat every young attractive woman who crossed their paths like whores, it said more about men like Hoagie than it did about her.
    With a last look over her shoulder, and a wink at Aiden, who stood watching her leave, she allowed the boss to take her over to his office. She wouldn’t go into it with him, of course, but he didn’t know that yet.
    After she’d blown him off on the pretense of having a prior appointment, she’d gone shopping for supplies. The local store didn’t have very much. After finding something to give the guys for supper that even she couldn’t ruin, she headed home to get ready for work.
    For the first time since she started singing at the resort, Misty hated having to wear the cheap polyester outfits Hoagie provided. She had a choice of three, all garishly bright and covered in sequins, and all of them cowgirl style. If she had to pick a favorite it would be the white one, so she slipped it on. Not that she cared what Aiden and Seth thought of her appearance, she reminded herself. She’d have made just as much effort if she were meeting her girlfriends.
    But try as she might, Misty couldn’t shake her excitement at the