Page 79 of Ride a Cowboy

“Aren’t you coming over to say hello?”

Oakley grimaced. “Do I have to? Your mom does not like me, bro. Looks at me most of the time like I’m the son of Satan.”

Joel chuckled. “Maybe it would help if you didn’t cuss so much or adjust your dick in your pants all the time or chug beer like it was water or fuck anything that moves. Maris isn’t that big, buddy, and you’ve got a bit of a reputation.”

Oakley put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I don’t do any of that in front of your mom.”

“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t hear about it. She’s probably afraid you’re a bad influence on me.”

Oakley snorted. “Yeah, right. Because you were such a fucking saint when we met.”

Joel didn’t understand the wince that accompanied Oakley’s comment until he heard his mother’s voice right behind him.

“Oakley,” Mom said as way of a greeting. Of course, she’d managed to lace it with an avalanche of disapproval. She’d clearly heard him say the F-word.

Joel gave him an I told you so look as he turned to give his mom a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Mom. You look nice today.”

She reached up to touch her bangs. “Just got my hair done. What are you boys doing in town?”

Apparently no matter how old Joel got, in his mother’s eyes, he would always be a boy. “Just hitting the hardware store for some stuff we need to do repairs around the ranch. And then we’re going to the grocery store. Lorelie caught us before we could make our getaway and gave us a list of food she needed.”

Mom smiled. “That’s nice of you. You still coming over on Sunday for lunch?”

He nodded. He’d only missed a half-dozen Sundays in the last decade, yet his mother always felt the need to double-check. “Of course.”

Oakley fidgeted next to him, looking for a chance to escape. His mother was nothing like Oakley’s folks, who were free spirits who laughed often and hadn’t imposed many rules on his friend growing up. Oakley didn’t know how to relate to Joel’s strict, quiet mother and her devout religious beliefs. In fact, Mom seemed to be the only person with the ability to make Oakley nervous. So much so, he rarely spoke in her presence, always afraid he’d say the wrong thing.

Joel was probably an asshole for enjoying his friend’s discomfiture so much. After all, his mother had never been rude to Oakley. She just hadn’t been great at hiding her displeasure of his wild lifestyle and foul language. Oakley had expressed his amazement that Joel had grown up with any sense of humor at all. Joel tried to explain that just because his mother didn’t smother him with hugs and kisses and care packages like Oakley’s did, didn’t mean she didn’t love him. She just wasn’t comfortable expressing emotion—any emotion.

“Good.” Mom hitched her purse higher on her arm. “It’s my week to clean up communion, so you might want to come a little later. Or you could come earlier and go to mass with me. I know Father Andrew would love to see you there.”

His mother had been trying to get him to return to mass with her for several months. Joel had always gone with her to the Sunday morning services, but after Coach’s heart attack, things had been too busy on the ranch. He’d used that as an excuse, but the fact was he’d only been attending mass to please his mother. He didn’t find the same peace in the service that she did. Now that he’d made the break, he was finding it difficult to unbreak it. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it this week, Mom. I’ll just meet you at home for lunch.”

Mom’s expression was pinched. He’d pissed her off.

Oakley shifted uncomfortably. “Okay. So we probably should, um…”

Joel took the hint. “Right. We’ve got a lot of errands to run.”

They were about to say their goodbyes when Sadie’s father approached them.

“Hello, Ms. Rodriguez,” Mr. Milligan said, tipping his baseball cap respectfully.

Mom’s smile was friendly. “Good afternoon, Mr. Milligan. Lovely to see you.”

Nelson Milligan was an enormous, hairy bear of a man. Joel and Oakley weren’t small guys, both of them well over six feet tall. Mr. Milligan made them look like toy soldiers by comparison. The man was easily six-seven and pushing three-fifty—all of it sheer muscle. And all of that muscle was covered in tattoos of skulls, naked women, a huge dragon, and Sadie’s name on one of his biceps. He looked like a cross between a Hell’s Angel and a death-row inmate. The dude was fucking scary.

If Joel’s mother intimidated Oakley, Sadie’s dad scared the hell out of Joel. And Joel didn’t spook easy.

So far they’d managed to avoid the guy since hooking up with Sadie. With any luck, they’d been successful in keeping their affair a secret, because Joel didn’t want to know what would happen if Nelson Milligan found out about it. Sadie had mentioned murder and while she’d meant that as a joke, Joel was fairly certain that was a definite possibility.

Mr. Milligan smiled at his mom. Unfortunately, any bit of pleasantness on his face was gone when he turned to face Joel and Oakley. “Heard you two left Chas’s wedding with my daughter.”

Shit. Joel nodded. “We shared a cab.” He didn’t bother to add that the cab hadn’t taken them to their own home.

Mr. Milligan’s scowl deepened. “No shit. I own a bar, Joel. If there’s anyone in town who knows the local cabbies better than me, I’d like to meet them.”

Joel wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he didn’t. He glanced over at Oakley, who gave him a slight I don’t know what the fuck to do shrug.

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