Page 69 of Ride a Cowboy

Before she knew it, Joel had pulled her toward him, tickling her as she giggled and tried to bat his hands away. She continued to wiggle, fighting to crawl off the opposite side of the bed, until he pulled her toward him, her back resting against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her in a friendly, relaxed manner, a far cry from their previous touches.

“I guess I should get up and call for a cab to take us back to the ranch.”

She shook her head. “No. Sleep it off here. We’re going to have to deal with the awkward morning after for this fiasco at some point. Might as well get it over with right away.”

He tightened his grip, accepting her invitation without words. Then he finally said, “You’re still not going to go out with me, are you? Or Oakley.”

She twisted in his arms, wanting him to see her face as she tried to explain. “The thing is…I can’t choose, Joel. I like you and Oakley. A lot. And as I think you saw tonight, I’m attracted to both of you. You say choose, but it’s just not that simple.”

He nodded slowly, though she could see her words didn’t make him happy. Hell, they didn’t make her happy.

She needed to lighten the heavy mood. “Let’s face it, put together, you and Oakley make the perfect man.”

Joel chuckled, the sound short-lived when Oakley walked back into the room.

Sadie glanced at him over her shoulder, wanting to put a smile on his face again as well. “Damn, Oak. That didn’t take long. You know that doesn’t really speak too highly of your stamina.”

“Shut up and scoot over,” Oakley said, no heat behind his words. He spooned her, snuggling close to her in a way that was far too comfortable. Sadie could sleep just like this every night of her life.

She sighed. “You mad?”

“Naw,” Oakley said. “I could never be mad at you, Sade.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“Fine,” he amended. “I could never stay mad at you.”

She closed her eyes. Alcohol was a fickle friend. Now that the possibility of sex was off the table, it was taking the opposite route, making her very, very sleepy.

Her last thought as she drifted away was of Advil. She should have taken two. And had some water. Because there was no way she wasn’t waking up without a headache.

Fucking champagne.

Fucking karma.

Chapter 2

Joel tossed a hay bale on the back of the tractor and tried to ignore Oakley’s constant whistling. The damn man had been in an annoyingly good mood ever since they’d left Sadie’s bed yesterday morning.

Sadie had claimed the morning after would be awkward, but she’d been wrong. Apart from the fact they’d all had wicked hangovers, there was no uncomfortable silence or stilted conversation. They had just gotten out of bed, dressed and shared some dry toast and weak tea while teasing each other the same way they always did.

That was one of the things Joel liked best about Sadie. She didn’t play games or pretend to be anything other than exactly what she was. The woman was honest, with a great sense of humor and just the right amount of humility. She didn’t take herself too seriously, but she wasn’t afraid to tell you what she thought of you either. It was incredibly appealing.

However, unlike Oakley’s sudden, irritatingly cheerful demeanor, their night together had left him in a foul mood. Mainly because he knew exactly how much he was losing out on now. He’d always liked Sadie, always been attracted to her, but he’d never realized just how cool she was. Hearing that she couldn’t choose between him and Oakley was different from thinking she was uninterested and just trying to be a decent person. It made things harder, because now he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Oakley’s whistling grew louder.

“Dammit, Oak. Will you stop making so much racket?”

Oakley paused mid-toss. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

That wasn’t the right question at all. “Actually, I’m curious to know why you’re so freaking happy?”

Oakley sighed. “You don’t get it, do you, Joel? You haven’t figured it out yet?”

Joel had spent the past eight years of his life working side by side with this man. And sometimes, it felt as if they were still strangers. Joel would never get used to Oakley’s bizarre way of looking at the world. If Joel saw storm clouds, Oakley saw shade. If Joel saw an annoying deer eating all their vegetables in the garden, Oakley saw Bambi. And clearly, while Joel looked at Sadie and saw no possible future, Oakley found something different.

“Figured out what?”

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