Page 20 of The Cowboy and the Bombshell
“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes. “Stone is really no one’s fan. He’s such a grouch.” She turned her back to the counter and hopped up, her bare legs dangling. “When we used to go to Texas to see him, he barely talked to us. It took forever for me to even get him to acknowledge I existed. The only reason he finally did is because we would make fun of Constance together.” Daphne laughed, shaking her head. “I remember one time, when I was like six, we were in Austin for the summer. Constance hated going down there, but I loved it. She had to come, because she wasn’t eighteen yet, and she was doing her best to make the whole trip as miserable as she was.
“Anyway, dad always tried to engage Stone in family activities, but he was so angry, he wanted nothing to do with it. If it wasn’t for the fact that his mother asked him to, he would never have interacted with us at all. So we were out at the ranch where Stone and his mother lived, and Stone had me up on this horse. We’re walking around the corral, and I’m happy as a clam, but Constance is fuming. She’s sitting on the fence rail, reading some magazine, when this big old dog comes up behind her and starts barking like mad. Connie jerks and falls right off the fence rail face first in the mud.” Daphne throws her head back and cackles. “She was covered. Even had it in her ears!”
I smile as I picture it, perfectly poised Constance Pennington face first in the dirt. “I bet that’s not the type of mud bath she was used to getting.” I laugh.
“It sure wasn’t,” the evil grin on Daphne’s face told me everything I needed to know about her relationship with Constance. Perhaps we could be friends after all. “Anyway, as Connie was laying there, hollering her face off about how much she hated Texas and everyone in it, Stone and I were laughing our heads off. From that moment on, we’ve had an understanding. He may not be the most affectionate brother in the world, but I know he loves me. It’s just hard for him, you know? Growing up without dad around. Being thought of as the mistake.” Daphne looked away, her eyes growing distant as she got lost in her memories. “That’s what Connie and my mother always called him, even to his face as a kid. A mistake.” Daphne frowned, suddenly serious. I felt it too. The horrible way a little boy must have felt, being told these things by the women who were supposed to be his family. No wonder he was so defensive. He had probably spent his whole life deflecting emotional wounds.
I stared out over the pool, remembering our encounter there yesterday, how he was so quick to snap at me. Even at the airport, he assumed I was out to get him before I even had a chance to do otherwise.
As I watched the pool ripple in the desert wind, I thought that maybe I understood Stone Pennington just a little bit better now. And maybe I could forgive him for being so much of a jerk to me.
Then the front door swung inward, Stone entered the house with another man by his side, and all my charitable thoughts went out the window when he opened his freaking mouth.
“What the hell are you doin’ now, Blondie?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Stone
Watching Penelope walk away in the lobby, I couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. I knew she’d been working hard all morning. I had practically been camped outside her office all day, constantly finding excuses to be where I could see her. I didn’t understand it.
On one hand, she annoyed me so badly, I wanted to throw things, with her fancy clothes and her New York attitude, she was everything I hated about that town.
But on the other hand, she was sassy and fiery and didn't take any shit. She stood up to me no matter how hard I pushed. I liked that. I was so sick of people always scrapin’ and kissin’ my ass. It was part of the reason why I didn’t use the Pennington name. If it was this bad when they thought I was a Montgomery, imagine how ridiculous it would be if they knew it was my name on the front of all the buildings?
Then there was the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about how damn gorgeous she was. Those big blue eyes and all that golden hair she kept trapped in a bun like some school teacher. Even when I was fumin’ mad because she was getting under my skin, I still couldn’t stop picturing diggin’ my fingers into that hair and holding tight while I kissed her.
And what the hell was that shit? There was no way I was gonna be kissing her. For one, she was a New Yorker, and I wouldn’t kiss her on principle alone. And for another, she worked for the company. After seeing the aftermath of my parents doomed affair, there was no way in hell I was getting involved with someone who worked for me. Absolutely not.
Standing in the lobby, I watched and waited as the work trucks came and went from the parking lot. Silas had messaged me a few minutes ago, saying he was in a taxi and on his way to the hotel site. It would be damn good to have him here.
As I stood there, I couldn’t help but notice that several women kept walking to and fro, flitting about like little birds. I would see them staring out the corner of my eye, and when I turned to look, they would avert their eyes and move along quickly. I turned to look into the room where they gathered. It was the main business office and call center. All the incoming calls and packages came through there, then were forwarded to the appropriate department. There were about half a dozen women employed there, and the were all staring at me like I was a zoo exhibit. What the hell was going on?
I forgot all about them when the door opened and my best friend walked in. Silas was dressed as he usually was, in jeans and a long-sleeved Henley. He had his hair freshly cut, still according to army regulations, and he wore aviator sunglasses, his black duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
He entered the lobby, looking around until he spotted me, then pulled off his sunglasses and gave me a mocking smile. “Well, look at you, all suited and booted. I hardly recognized you, looking all big city like you are.” He exaggerated his Texas accent for effect, and I scowled at him.
“Yeah, you keep talking like that, you’ll have to find yourself another place to stay. I don’t have room in my house for mouthy bastards like you,” I attempted to keep my scowl, but I couldn’t hide the jest underneath.
Silas boomed out a laugh and dropped his bag, grasping my outstretched hand, pulling me in for a hard slap on the back. “Good to see you, man. Looks like Vegas is treating you well.”
As we released each other, I heard a round of giggles coming from the call center. Looking over my shoulder, all of the women were staring openly, dreamy looks on their faces. Silas and I shared a confused look, then headed for the truck. The girls all strained to watch us go.
Bizarre.
“I know you probably want to jump right in and get to work,” I said, knowing my friend well enough by now to know he prided himself on his work ethic. “But I thought we could grab a late lunch. I have a few things I’d like to talk about.”
“Uh oh,” Si said, climbing in the passenger seat with much more ease that Penelope had this morning. “Sounds like you have a Harold problem.”
I frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Stone, in all the years I’ve known you, the only time you ever want to have a serious conversation is if it’s about your father.”
“That’s not true,” I insisted, even though it probably was. Even work conversations weren’t as dire as the discussions Silas and I had had about Harold Pennington. I guided the truck down the side streets, getting us to the restaurant I wanted with as little traffic as I could manage. It wasn’t far, but I didn’t think we would be going back to the office today, so I brought the truck.
I had another moment of guilt over giving Penelope shit about ducking out early when that was exactly what I was doing now. Christ, I really was an ass.
“It is and you know it,” Silas said, laughing. “Dude, if you had any more daddy issues, you’d be a stripper!”
