Page 13 of Her Missing Cowboy
The ladies fell into a fit of laughter. Reyna seemed nice. Too bad Cassie would be leaving soon. They seemed like they could be good friends.
“So, Reyna, where’s a good place to get a good meal? I’m starving.”
“Oh, my friend, Jenna and I were headed to this new black owned restaurant for a late breakfast. Care to join us?”
“Your friend wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all. Hey Jenna, come meet Cassie.”
Introductions were made and the ladies walked down the block to the only soul food restaurant in town,Foot in It. Cassie chuckled at the name. She just knew the food was going to be great with a name like that. They were open for breakfast and lunch only. According to the menu, they hosted brunch on Sundays after church, of course.
“Girl, look, there’s Merlene with her raggedy ass,” Reyna cooed.
Cassie almost snapped her neck off turning her head so fast. The woman was prancing down the sidewalk headed toward a truck. She was all dolled up, hair a mile high, and her face full of makeup. Her lowcut tee was too tight for the boulders she was carrying in her bra. And the child had the nerve to have on cut off denim shorts showing off her nonexistent ass.
“Un, she looks a hot mess,” Jenna added.
“You guys know her?” Cassie inquired.
They both looked at her with interest. Shit, she didn’t mean to alert them that she knew the girl too. Now she would have to explain.
“The real question is, how do you know her? I thought you were new to town,” Jenna asked.
“She introduced herself to me last night over at the Hen House. I went there for dinner, and she waltz over like a rock star.”
“Yeah, that sounds just like her, except she doesn’t really like the brown girlies. I know she was up to something. Watch your back with that one,” Reyna warned.
They didn’t need to tell Cassie. She was very wary of the little lady. In fact, she needed to clarify some things with Joaquin. If he slept with her after being with that Merlene chick, she might need to go to the doctor for a shot or two. At the very least, he owed her an explanation, and she was determined to get it.
After exchanging numbers with the ladies, she thanked them for lunch and headed out to the ranch. It was time to see if things between her and Joaquin were going to blow up or not. No way in hell would she be with a man with baby mama drama.
As her truck rolled up to the main house on the ranch, Cassie noticed another familiar truck. In fact, it was the one that Merlene was driving around town. What was she doing here?
Cassie stepped from the truck and headed toward the porch when she saw movement in her peripheral. Turning, she saw something that made her stop in her tracks. There stood Joaquin and in his arms was that tramp Merlene. What the fuck? Cassie had her answer. Without a word, she turned on her heeland hightailed it out of there. He must have noticed because the next thing she knew, Joaquin was calling her name. But that only made her move away faster.
“Cassie! Please stop. I need to talk to you.”
His cry fell on deaf ears. All she could see was that woman in her man’s arms. That was it. She was done. It was time to head back home. There was nothing for her here. Silver Creek Ranch was a nightmare that she would never recover from.
Ten
Joaquin
The day was going as bad as expected. They had lost a calf to a bear overnight. The carcass was found on the trail, and the mother cow was crying. People thought that animals didn’t have feelings, but they were wrong. It hurt Joaquin to see that mother in mourning. He loved and cared for all animals and knew they felt love and pain just like humans.
Then when they were roping, one of the horses injured his leg and had to be put down. There was no worse tragedy for a cowboy than losing a horse. They bonded with those animals more than they did people. A horse meant everything to a cowboy. Even if it wasn’t his, Joaquin still felt the pain.
Once they were able to break for lunch, he thought things would calm down. Boy howdy was he wrong. Just as he finished washing up, he was met with the bane of his existence… Merlene. The woman knew no boundaries.
“Hey there, Tanner. How are you today?”
Being a man of little words, Joaquin tipped his hat to the lady and tried to move past her. It was not in his power, however. Merlene decided she was going to launch herself at him. To keep her from falling, he caught her. Big mistake. She wrapped herself around him like a boa constrictor. Before he could dislodge her from his person, Joaquin looked up to see Cassie’s horrified face.
Great! That’s all he needed. Just when he was ready to grovel at her feet and beg her forgiveness for running out on her, this happened. If he didn’t know any better, he would thinkMerlene planned it. But that couldn’t be. The ladies had never met as far as he knew.
“Cassie! Please stop. I need to talk to you.”
Nothing he could have said or done would have stopped her. The hurt look on her face ripped a hole in his heart. He needed to ditch Merlene and run after Cassie. Only getting rid of the leach of a woman was harder than he imagined.
