Her Midnight Cowboy by Lauri Robinson Read Free Book Online Page B

punch.
    It was the third glass he actually tasted. Sugary-sweet, it hit the back of throat and all but made him gag. It certainly had been spiked. He set the glass down and paced the floor. What the hell was he going to do now? He’d compromised her. The one thing he’d sworn he would never do.

Chapter Seven
    Angel grabbed the sopping dress. The material, heavy with water, resisted her attemps to lift it out of the rain barrel, and still teetering from Rowdy’s glorious caresses, she released it, letting it sink again.. If it was just up to her, she’d leave the dress, but Tanna never would, and Angel wanted the guests gone as soon as possible.
    Her gaze went to the house. Through the open doorway, she saw Rowdy standing near the punch bowl. A smile pulled on her lips and unfathomable joy pump through her veins with every beat of her heart.
    Someone hollered her name.
    She flipped around, instant ire racing up her spine. Why couldn’t they all just leave?
    “Where have you been?” Timothy Milner demanded.
    Turning back to the rain barrel, Angel snatched the dress out with one swift movement and went to drape it over the porch rail.
    “You were with him, weren’t you?”
    Her backbone went stiff. “Don’t say another word, Timothy. Trust me, you’ll regret it.”
    “I’m the only one who can provide you with the lifestyle you’re used to.” He grabbed her arm. “He’s a drifter, Angel, a nobody.”
    Fury fueled her reaction. The smack of her hand hitting his cheek echoed through the night. People rushed toward them from all directions.
    Timothy pressed a palm to his cheek. “Half the territory has asked to court you, and you’re gonna settle for him?”
    “Settle for him?” She shoved Timothy backward with both hands. “Rowdy McGuire is ten times the man you’ll ever be. He’s not focused on how large my father’s bank account is. He cares about this land. He cares about the cattle.” Irritated to no end, she stepped forward and poked a finger in Timothy’s chest. “He cares about me.”
    A great force overtook her, made her turn and look over her shoulder. Rowdy stood in front of the crowd. His silver eyes transfixed her. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to. The air sizzled as if a lightning storm brewed around them. Rowdy didn’t move, not even a blink of an eyelid. Neither did she. “And I love him,” she declared.
    Rowdy’s expression changed. He didn’t look stunned, but he didn’t look exactly thrilled, either.
    The crowd dispersed, whispering as they went. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Angel wrung her trembling fingers together as she stepped forward. “Rowdy—”
    He held up a hand, stopping her from moving any closer.
    “I—” she started again.
    “Go in the house, Angel.” He turned and walked toward the barn.
    She wanted to scream, beg him to come back, but a glimmer of sense made her stop. Now she’d done it. Liza had said Rowdy needed some nudging, but Angel had just pushed him over the edge—and watched him tumble into a deep ravine.
    She clenched her jaw, forcing the tears behind her eyes to stay where they were, and twirled around. Grabbing the dress from the railing, she climbed the stairs into the house.
    After she’d said goodbye to the last guest, she leaned heavily against the door, wishing there was a way to turn back time. Rowdy hadn’t returned to the house, and she didn’t expect him to. The man had pride.
    Pushing away from the door, she dowsed the lamps, except for one to light the way as she trudged up the stairs to her solitary room. The wherewithal to straighten the place couldn’t be found and she plopped onto the bed.
    She loved Rowdy, of that she had no doubt, and wasn’t ashamed of it, but she’d lived around men her entire life. If there was one thing they didn’t like, it was being embarrassed by a woman. A deep sigh of despair forced its way out of her lungs.
    It could have been minutes or hours later when a sense of