Page 17 of The Undercover Cowboy

Nash didn’t like it, but he deliberately sat back down again.

“Coward,” Mick spat.

Nash’s jaw clenched and he glared at him but did nothing else.

That was enough of that. Dolly raised her own phone and pressed record. “Hi y’all,” she said in a bright, happy voice. “I’m here at the Pig and Puddin’ Palace in Killeen with up-and-coming bull rider Nash Weaver.” She stood up and panned the camera over him. “Nash’s mouth is full of delicious barbecue so he can’t talk right now.” Deliberately, she kept the camera off Mick and turned her back on him. “And look who else I see? It’s Sammy Volero.” She walked to one of Mick’s cronies, who dropped his phone on the table when she centered him in her shot. “Sammy, I hear there are some Mexican fighting bulls coming into the lineup for next week’s rodeo in Laredo. What do you think of that?”

As Sammy preened and stuttered, Dolly saw Mick seething behind her. After she moved on to his other friends, who were more than willing to talk on her live feed, he stormed away. Too bad. She had hoped to goad him into doing something stupid on camera.

When she finished up the post, she came back to the table. The live post had gotten some hearts and thumbs-up. Maybe she needed to do more lives before and after the rodeos. They seemed to be popular.

“Were you always so good at putting a spin on things?” Nash asked, scowling at her for some reason.

“It’s a skill that’s gotten me out of tight situations,” she said.

“In my experience, people who bend the truth tend to bend the rules too.”

Dolly gave a half-shrug. “Rules are made to be broken, don’t you think?”

Nash winced. “No.”

“Right.” Dolly shook her head and whispered again, “Once a Fed always a Fed.” Then a little louder she said, “I play by the rules when others play by them. But if you want a fair fight, sometimes you have to get down to their level.”

Rolling his eyes, Nash got up and threw some cash on the table, more than enough to cover their meal. “Give me a call when Reba can get us in to see those bulls and you can do a photo shoot or something.” Without another word, he stormed out of the restaurant.

As she watched him go, her emotions swirled with a mixture of worry and frustration. Dolly wished they could have a conversation that ended more pleasantly. Had he been mad that she hadn’t let him duke it out with Mick? Or was he just done with the whole social media thing? Either way, she would have liked to have finished their meal with a shared peach pie or something. Maybe walk hand in hand into the sunset? A good-night peck on the cheek?

Well, to hell with him. She’d order dessert without him. While she waited for it to come out—with a scoop of ice cream—and while the thoughts of Mexican fighting bulls were still fresh in her mind, Dolly called LeAnn.

“Hey, what’s up?” LeAnn said.

“I just overheard some rodeo hands talking about a shipment of Mexican fighting bulls coming in. I thought you should know since you’re riding this season.”

“Really?” LeAnn’s enthusiasm didn’t waver. If anything, it seemed to grow. “That’s amazing. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at riding those beasts.”

Dolly clenched her jaw, irritated by her sister’s reckless attitude. “Those bulls are killers. This isn’t something to celebrate.”

“This is what bull riding is all about—facing danger head-on and coming out stronger for it.”

“Right, because getting gored by a bull is really going to make you stronger,” Dolly muttered under her breath, but she knew there was no use arguing with LeAnn when her adrenaline was up. “Just…be careful, all right?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” LeAnn replied cheerily before hanging up.

Dolly sighed, slipping her phone back into her pocket. As she turned to leave the barbecue restaurant, she spotted another of her sisters, Loretta, sitting at a nearby table with Taylor. They were laughing together over plates piled high with brisket and coleslaw, seemingly oblivious to the world around them.

For a moment, Dolly felt a pang of longing. She wished she could have someone like that in her life. There just didn’t seem to be anyone who fit into her world. Her thoughts flickered to Nash again. Anyone who was interested in her, anyway.

Still, she was glad for Loretta. Her sister had been through hell and back after discovering her rock star husband’s infidelity and then after the divorce, falling for an art professor who turned out to be married with kids. If anyone deserved a fresh start, it was Loretta.

Dolly watched them for a moment longer, taking in the easy smiles and the warmth of their connection. Then she squared her shoulders, reminding herself that she had bigger fish to fry—like figuring out Jackson Blevins’s true intentions and keeping her sisters safe from the fallout.

Chapter Six

Nash

It wasn’t hardto catch up to Mick in the parking lot. The man couldn’t walk very fast with his shattered leg. As Nash closed the distance, Mick whirled, flicking open a switchblade.

“You’re going to jump me when my back was turned?” he snarled.

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