Page 11 of The Cowboy's Temporary Solution

It does the damn job, causing Seri to break away from me with a start and bringing me back to reality with a jolt that has me looking for the joker to blame, with my mind on murdering the son of a bitch.

Virgie stands just behind me, an empty beer pitcher clutched in her hand like she's expecting to swing it at me, and the fight leaves me fast enough.

I've seen Virginia Stockebrand put down men twice my size and drag their dead weight out the back door of O'Hare's to sleep it off in the alley. I know better than to mess with the woman.

"The bar's rating only goes to R, O'Leary. Might be time to call for a ride." Virgie levels her humorless tone at me with a narrowed gaze before clearing away the empty glasses scattered over the table and heading back to the bar.

"I think you just got us cut off," Beryl slurs as he stumbles to his feet. "Looks like we're headed to the Toll Booth."

"Joe's on his way." Flint slides his phone into his pocket as he picks his hat up from the table and takes a head count. "Who all's going?"

Bernadine's phone lights up in her hand, causing her to glance down at the message she just got and break the awkward stare she's had Seri fixed in since Virgie reminded us where we are.

"Not tonight, guys, I got a ride coming for me." She gets to her feet, far more stable than the rest of us after nursing a couple of beers to our multiple rounds of whiskey. "Walk me out, Range? I need to talk to you about something."

Seri's arm snakes around my waist and then she hooks her thumb into my back pocket. The feel of her knuckle pressed into my ass has me missing a step, her pressing her fingertips against my hip doesn't help steady me in the slightest.

There's nowhere for my arm to go except around her shoulders and I'm so caught up in the feel of her that I barely even notice the scowl on Bernie's face

Or maybe Bernie's face pinches at seeing my reaction to it. There's no hiding the fact that I love feeling Seri stake her claim on me in front of another woman. Even if it is just for show.

"I need to settle up with Virg." I shrug unapologetically at Bernie and lean into Seri's embrace, taking advantage of any chance I get to press against her curves while noting with smugsatisfaction that she's doing exactly what I asked of her-- making sure Bernie doesn't manage to corner me off alone somewhere.

Bernie slides an unreadable look to the woman tucked under my arm before rolling her eyes and heading outside with the rest of the guys while I hunt down Virgie to take care of the bill.

6

SERENITY

"Isaid it was taken care of," Virgie scowls across the bar at Ranger, shoving his credit card back at him. "Take yer girl home and enjoy the rest of the night, O'Leary."

Ranger tries one more time to hand her the card before she manages to shoo him away from the bar.

"Joe's gonna come back for us after he drops the Crazy P's off at the roadhouse," Lance slurs, leaning against the door frame for support.

Gunner and his girlfriend, Clementine, left the bar long ago and, from what I gather of Lance's slurred curses, has no intention of driving back into town to give his drunk brothers a ride back to the ranch.

Leaving the rest of us to wait for Slow River's only ride share driver to come back for us after he drops the "Crazy P's--" as Lance refers to the Pereira's of the Lazy P ranch-- off at another bar in a town called Keller's Ferry.

I have been assured that I do not want to go there. Apparently the Toll Booth has a reputation for cheap beer and expensive bar fights.

Looking around, I notice that it's not just our party that's moving on. The bar crowd has thinned significantly and I wonder what time it is.

Rowan's head has been on the table for quite some time, one hand laying on the table top with his limp fingers still curled around an empty shot glass.

Virgie reaches over and slips it out of his loose grip without disturbing the sleeping man.

Rowan's sister, Callie, and Ranger's brother, Archer Dean, are possibly still close to sober, having slid their chairs over to a nearby table about the time Callie's brother passed out. They've been lost in a conversation that's obviously private enough to keep them oblivious to the rest of the group ever since.

I could use a trip to the ladies’ room, but Bernie's still hovering while she waits on her ride, no doubt waiting for a chance to corner Ranger as soon as I slip up and leave him unattended.

Fat chance, lady. I can hold it for a long damn time. I'll pee when we get back to the ranch.

I lean into Ranger's broad chest, resting my head on his shoulder while eyeing the blonde across from me.

Bernie's not quite as glassy-eyed as the rest of us but she still sways slightly on the heels of her bedazzled cowboy boots while she taps out text messages with a light click of her acrylic nails against the screen. Occasionally, she looks up my way with an expression I can only assume is seething jealousy.

It fills me with a sense of triumph that pairs dangerously with the solid drunk I've got going on; drunk on alcohol and absolutely wasted on the sensation of spending the evening in Ranger's lap.

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