Page 94 of Ride a Cowboy

The more Joel looked around at the people in his barn, the more he realized he couldn’t leave here. He was happy.

His gaze landed on Oakley, who had taken Sadie’s hand to spin her in time with the music behind the bar. She was laughing and trying to break free so she could pour a drink.

No. He couldn’t leave.

“Damn. If all the girls around here are as pretty as you, I may never leave Texas again.”

Joel and Lorelie turned around at the strange voice. Joel’s hackles rose as a man he’d never seen gave Lorelie a charming smile to match his come-on. Joel started to tell the guy to back off, but as always, Lorelie was more than prepared to fight her own battles.

“Is that a pickup line?” To a stranger, Lorelie would sound sweet, flirty. But Joel recognized the tone. This guy was in danger. Joel stuck around for the show.

The guy stepped closer to her. “Did it work?”

“Not even a little bit.”

He laughed. “Guess I’ll have to figure out something else that might work with you then.”

Lorelie narrowed her eyes. “Yeah. That’s not gonna happen.”

The man didn’t look deterred. In fact, if Joel read his face correctly, it appeared he’d taken Lorelie’s comment as a dare. “Never say never, beautiful.”

Lorelie rolled her eyes. “You know, I made up the guest list for this party and I don’t know you from Adam, which means you weren’t invited.”

The man pointed to a guitar case resting against the table next to him. “Actually, I was. I’m Glen Young, Walt’s friend. I just got into town. Goddamn GPS on my phone took me all around Robin Hood’s barn. Didn’t think I’d ever get here.”

Lorelie pointed toward the stage. “Walt’s over there getting ready. I think he had given up on you. Said something to the effect that you were probably three sheets or between the sheets with some groupie.”

Glen chuckled. “Walt always was a jealous bastard. So…if it’s your party, you must be Lorelie. Walt failed to tell me how gorgeous you are.”

“You realize all you did was reword the first pickup line that failed miserably. Your efforts are getting worse, not better,” she teased.

Joel still stood close in case Lorelie needed him, but it was becoming more and more apparent she wasn’t going to be calling in the troops.

Glen laughed loudly. “I’m going to sing you a song, Lori.”

She shook her head, but she didn’t look annoyed. “Don’t bother. I’m not your type.”

Glen gave her a curious look. “What’s my type?”

“Blind, deaf, and stupid.” With that, she gave Glen a wicked grin and walked away.

Glen’s grin grew wider. “Damn.”

Joel felt compelled to warn the guy off, in deference to Coach. “She’s not a woman you want to mess with.”

Glen only offered Joel a nonchalant shrug, his eyes still locked on Lorelie’s retreating form. “Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to marry that girl.”

Before Joel could say more, Glen headed to the stage, where Walt was was waiting in the wings. He watched the men high-five.

Ty noticed the man’s arrival, so he and his band wrapped up their song, then he introduced Walt and Glen. Glen had his guitar out of the case and plugged into the amp in record time. Within minutes, he and Walt were jamming out and the dance floor filled up almost instantly.

“Hey, Joel,” Sadie called out. “Thought you were helping us.”

Joel walked over to the makeshift bar, joining Sadie and Oakley in the tight space. The lack of room meant they kept bumping into each other. He took advantage of the opportunity that afforded with Sadie, leaning closer, brushing her ass with his crotch whenever he could.

The sexy smile she gave him and the number of times she managed to run her breasts across his arm as she reached for something told him she was on to his game. And as always, Sadie found a way beat him at it. He had to adjust his pants several times as his cock refused to stay down. It was becoming painful.

The problem was Oakley. There was no way to avoid running into him as well. Each time they got too close, Joel backed away.

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