Page 20 of Fallen Cowboy
It wasn’t fair.
Shit, he wasn’t fair.
How could something so simple as grabbing an apple off a tree look erotic and sensual and make my freaking core clench?
I didn’t get it, couldn’t understand.
But I also knew I was just a lady on a long list who found Troy to be too damn sexy for his own good.
“Troy Austin, is that you?”
We both turned as an older man walked up behind us, his hand wrapped another little girl’s hand.
“Yes sir, Mr. Fieldman. Thought you’d retire and move away from here?”
“Not by a long shot. My family is here. Though I did retire a few years after you left for the rodeo. Didn’t think I’d find you back in town.”
“Home finally called me back,” Troy said, lifting a shoulder like it wasn’t a big thing.
“Dad, I lost you with Charlene….Troy?”
My jaw fell open at Buck, another man from Troy and Markus’s friend group. Well, they were in high school. Buck was a jerk after graduation and Markus walked away from that. I hadn’t seen or heard much from him over the years, thank goodness.
I didn’t like him then, and I was sure I wouldn’t like him now.
I never told these two, but Buck would pick me on relentlessly, and not in the teasing kid sister way. He was more of a bully, which was why I claimed he was a jerk.
“Yeah, it’s me, Buck. Thought you moved out of state.”
“I did. But my sisters called me back, so I moved back about a year ago. Been helping out around the house and stuff. What about you? I thought the circuit was doing well for you?”
“Oh, it was. But it’s a hard life. So, after my last fall, said I would retire and come back home.”
“I saw that man, it looked painful. But surely you have more than enough funds to not have to come back to Pecos. I mean, it’s the same old buzz. Nothing new around here.”
“I always loved our town, man. And trust me, after being on the road, being home is nice.”
“Yeah, but the ladies are finer on the road and the pu…the ladies keep you happy.”
I ducked my head, my back teeth clenching. I could read between the lines on what the asshole was saying.
Hello, I knew Troy was out of my league, he always had been. But Buck didn’t need to stress it. Not now and not in front of my daughter.
“That lifestyle gets old.”
“So, you got hitched? Didn’t think you’d want to be tied down yet, especially with your own kid.”
Once more, I gritted my teeth at the belittling down of Buck and just about decked him, but Troy put his hand on my arm.
“This is Anelise, how about you be a little kinder.”
“Oh shit, Markus’s sister. I heard you got pregnant. Thought you would have left with the way this place is. So, ensnarling Troy huh?”
“You know Buck, I didn’t like you when you hung out with my brother back in high school, and I don’t like you now. How ateacher like Mr. Fieldman had a jerk of a son is beyond me. And no, I’m not capturing Troy, thank you very much.
“Some men do grow up, unlike you. Who, oddly enough I believe, will always remain a child. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my daughter would like to finish with her apple shopping.”
“Oh, she’s a hellcat Troy, better watch those claws.”
