The Rancher's Rules

A man was not supposed to be romantic with his best friend—not if he wanted to keep the friendship intact. But what about the woman he spent a mind-blowing passionate encounter with? What about her? And what if they were one and the same? What was a man supposed to do then?

“Hey, Grant. Don’t tell me those are for me?”

The sound of Carlene’s soft Texas drawl interrupted his confused musings. She stood behind the bar, her smile covering more than the tight leather vest that passed as her top.

“I forgot to give them to you last night in all the hullabaloo over Bud.”

She blushed. “That’s so sweet. I felt like such an idiot, leaving and not helping you look for him.”

“He came out on his own. Hamsters are small, but they’re resilient.” He set the flowers on the bar in front of her.

She leaned forward and sniffed them. “Mmmm. These smell wonderful. You’re a real romantic, aren’t you?”

Not if you asked Zoe. “I’m sorry about dinner.”

“Me too. I really am.” She leaned across the bar and touched his cheek, the movement strangely hesitant. “Why don’t we try it again? This time at my place.”

Oh, hell. He moved a step back, breaking the contact of her fingertips with his face. “I…uh…I can’t leave Zoe’s pets without supervision right now.” The lie came out sounding as ridiculous as it was.

Carlene looked down at the roses and then back at him, her expression thoughtful. “Maybe we can work something out.”

“Maybe.” Even as he said the noncommittal word, the image of Zoe’s face as she climaxed filled his mind.

Their friendship had been irrevocably altered that morning, and pretending it hadn’t wasn’t going to change a thing. He did not want to be with any other woman, and it wasn’t fair to Carlene, himself or Zoe to pretend otherwise. He opened his mouth to tell Carlene, but was interrupted by a man demanding another beer from the other end of the bar.

Carlene grimaced. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.”

“No problem. Look, I—”

The customer banged loudly with his beer bottle on the bar and Carlene turned away without giving Grant an opportunity to finish his sentence. He’d have to call her later and let her know he wouldn’t be dating anyone but Zoe from here on out.

He wasn’t sure what Zoe would think of that. It hadn’t been the most successful of endeavors when she’d been nineteen and he’d allowed himself to treat her like a woman instead of his best friend for a few mad weeks. The one time he’d let his passion get the better of him, she’d ended up looking like a wounded pup and running from him. He’d been very careful to keep his libidinous thoughts about her under lock and key since.

She hadn’t looked shocked or dismayed in the kitchen, though. And why should she? She was a professional woman now, not an innocent teenager still in college. She’d come back to Sunshine Springs of her own volition. She had the career of her choice and she did not need to be protected from him any longer.

He didn’t know why it had taken him so long to figure that out, but one thing was certain. His attempts to ignore the desire that was always one step away from bucking out of control like an unbroken horse had failed.

When he got outside, he scanned the street and parking lot of the Dry Gulch before noticing Zoe sitting in the truck cab.

He loped over to the navy blue rig and swung open the driver’s door. “I thought you were going to meet me inside.”

She tugged her knitted cap more firmly onto her head, tucking a stray strand of her pretty brown hair under it and behind her ear. “You were busy. I decided to wait here.”

Why had she left the bar without saying anything? “I told you I had to apologize to Carlene.”

Zoe pulled out the newspaper page with several red circles around ads, many of which had already been crossed out. “I think we should concentrate on older apartment complexes. They are more likely to allow pets. Let’s go to the Courtyard. It’s on the other side of town, near the county line.”

Grant knew where Zoe was talking about, and just thinking about her living there was enough to sidetrack him from demanding a reason for her leaving the bar without saying anything. The apartments were in a small rundown complex near the one and only topless bar in the county. “No way.”

She turned hostile brown eyes on him. “I’ve got to find a place to live, and most apartments won’t take pets. The ones that will don’t allow the number I have.”

“You can’t seriously consider living in the Courtyard.”