Page 7 of The Cowboy's Off Limits Option

His voice trails off and he snaps out of his deep thoughts. Slapping an open palm on the table and grinning back up at me, like he's caught himself talking too seriously.

"So the flowers are for Mom, fine. But seriously, bro, you've only been half with me for days now-- who is she?"

We've been friends too long for me to get off this hook. My buddy has caught on to the fact that I'm head over heels for someone, there's no denying it. I just have to make sure he doesn't realize who it is.

"I knew it!" His grin widens when my face gives me away. "I didn't know you were seeing anyone, man. The way you've been acting lately, I take it it's pretty serious?"

Coughing lightly, I take a pull from my own beer to buy myself some time and think of how to answer.

"Yeah," I finally admit, "it's uh, pretty fucking serious. It's just that, um, well...it's complicated."

"Complicated how? You having trouble closing the deal? You need some pointers?"

This time I laugh, and it's genuine.

Damn. If it was any other woman in the whole fucking world, this conversation might actually be fun.

"Nah, more like, she's kinda-- off limits."

"Fuck that, man! What is this? The eighteen hundreds? You come from good blood, you're rich as fuck, man. Some women even think you're ok looking-- just from what I've heard around town, you know.

"Is she of age?"

"What the fuck man? Yeah. I mean, she's younger than me, but yeah, she's an adult."

"Well, I mean, there's not much left to mark a person as 'off limits.' If she's into you, then fuck whatever the obstacles are. If this is the real thing, it's worth fighting for."

"I don't know man. It's her-- family. Right?"

"This a local gal, Arch?" Rowan's giving me a hard look, that goes confused when I nod cautiously. "What family in Slow River wouldn't be fucking thrilled to have their daughter hook up with an O'Leary?"

"Well..."

"Not like the Ralston's have a sister, so who the hell else is there in town that wouldn't approve of you dating their daughter?"

I don't have the courage to give up details that might give him the clues he needs to figure out who we're talking about. Instead of talking any more about it, I drain the last swig of beer in my glass and grab the bouquet off the table as I get up.

"I gotta head back to the ranch," I explain. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, cool, man." Rowan says, following me out of Tapped Out's outdoor sitting area. "I need to put a note in Montgomery's file to make sure I'm out of the supplement he likes-- there's an extra charge when I have to put in a special order, you know."

He grins to let me know he's planning on making Jerry's life hard for his comment about Callie. A comment that echoes thought's I've been thinking more often myself lately.

"Don't be a dick, Row. The guy's trying to build a herd out there. You know how hard it is to break into the business from scratch."

"I'll think about it." Rowan half-heartedly promises as we start off in different directions. "I mean it, Arch, the real thing'sworth fighting for. Tell her family to fuck off. They'll come around as soon as they want to see their grandkids!"

Shaking my head, I raise my hand in a half wave toward my friend, not mentioning that it's not my would-be in-laws that I'm worried about.

He can talk all he wants when he's not talking about his own baby sister.

Today's been one reminder after another of why I can't take his advice.

Chapter Four

Callie

"Tell Ginge I tried some of her beer down at Tapped Out today."

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