Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane Read Free Book Online Page A

or no vacation.”
    Mr. Peabody shook his head. “He left express instructions not to be bothered until next week.”
    “So that’s it?” She hit a high note that had Beau glancing over. She lowered her voice, but her temper still sizzled. “You’re just going to throw a poor widow woman out on the streets?”
    Mr. Peabody’s beady eyes wandered down to the three-carat diamond on her finger. “I’m sure you won’t be out on the streets, Ms. Dalton.”
    That violent feeling reared its ugly head again, and she really wanted to shove the diamond straight up the snooty little bugger’s nose. But instead she reached out and patted him on the bald head. “Hang on to that title, honey, because I’ll be back.” Lifting a hand, she waved at Beau. “Nice meetin’ you.” Then with a tug on the leash, she swept out the door.
    The sun had inched higher in the sky. Heat already rose from the sidewalk in suffocating waves. At least it felt suffocating to Shirlene as she strode back to her Navigator. All it would take was one telephone call to her brother, and she would be back in her house by sundown—one quick call and she’d be sitting on her opulent white couch with a margarita in one hand and a remote in the other.
    Except no matter how wonderful the image was, she couldn’t bring herself to grab her cell phone. Partly because she never liked to eat crow, and partly because she hated disappointing Colt. In the last few months, she’d done her best to convince him that his wild, impulsive sister had grown into a strong, independent woman who could handle her own finances—and the death of a husband. Too bad it was all a lie. A lie she wasn’t ready to own up to. At least, not yet.
    “Ms. Dalton!”
    The sexy drawl stopped her in her tracks, and she turned to see Beau hurrying toward her, his long-legged strut eating up the sidewalk.
    When he reached her, she cocked her head. “Did I forget something?”
    “Yes,” his smile almost blinded her, “my invitation to dinner.” She opened her mouth to decline the offer. But before she could, he held up a hand. “Now it wouldn’t belike a date—more like a charitable woman helping out a stranger that doesn’t know a soul in town.”
    She laughed. “A charitable woman? Honey, you don’t know me at all.”
    The smile faded. “I’d like to change that.”
    She had to give it to Beau, he was charming. Still, she didn’t have time for cute young cowboys. Except before she could decline, her stomach growled.
    Beau’s eyebrows shot up, along with his smile. “Should we make that breakfast, Ms. Dalton?” He glanced over at Josephine’s Diner, where it looked like the entire town was standing in the windows, watching them.
    Shirlene waved at the townsfolk, realizing she wouldn’t make it back to her Navigator without half of them stopping her. And she wasn’t in the mood to dodge all their questions.
    She turned to Beau. “There’s this little truck stop right outside of town that serves up a mean flat-iron steak and eggs.”
    Beau winked. “Now how did you know I was the steak-and-eggs kind of guy?”
    “Possibly because I’m a steak-and-eggs kind of woman.”
    He tipped back his head and laughed before he held out an arm. “Ms. Dalton, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”
    Shirlene slipped her arm through his. “I think you might be right, Beau.”
    They were still smiling at one another when a loud rumbling broke their eye contact. Having heard the noise before, Shirlene wasn’t even fazed by the large monster truck that rolled into view. Its big, black, deep-treadedtires ate up the asphalt as the flags fluttered out behind the cab. The mud-splattered chrome grill grew closer, and the truck slowed down, giving them both an unobstructed view of the man who slouched in the driver’s seat.
    The stupid-looking redneck in a camouflage John Deere hat sat behind the wheel. A hat with a brim so curled it almost came full circle. As he