Turn and Burn (Blacktop Cowboys 5)

Fletch gave him a suspicious look. “How do you know that?”

“I pay attention.”

“You gossip, you mean.”

Eli shrugged. “Not gossip if it’s the truth. But the truth is, she and I had a conversation earlier.”

“What’s goin’ on with her?”

“Ain’t my place to say. You’ll have to ask her.”

“I would have asked her, but you chased her off,” Fletch reminded him.

“Like you said. She’ll be around. Don’t hound her today and give her a reason to avoid you.” Eli walked off.

Fletch considered that option for roughly four seconds before he went to track her down.

But she’d disappeared once again.

Chapter Five

Tanna ducked into the barn from the rear entrance. Hopefully no one had seen her and she’d have a few minutes to think.

Holy, holy shit. In all the wide-open spaces of Wyoming what were the odds that her last hookup would be . . . a Muddy Gap homeboy?

Fletch—God, the name fit him perfectly with that wickedly naughty grin of his.

The barn door opened and she stepped deeper into the shadows.

Lainie stopped just inside the doorway and called out, “Tanna?”

“Over here.”

“Aha. So you were hiding.”

“I was just looking for a little quiet time. Why? Did you or Celia need something?”

Lainie plopped beside her on the long wooden bench. “No. I saw you talking to Devin, then Fletch horned in and appeared to be chewing your ass. Then Eli interrupted and you took off. So, what’s the deal? Because, dude, this is way better than The Bachelorette.”

At one time Tanna could’ve talked to Lainie about anything. But in the years since Lainie had married Hank and settled down as a ranch wife with two kids and a part-time job, they now lived in different worlds. As Tanna internally struggled with her answer, Lainie poked her arm.

“No way, missy. You don’t get to pull that silent crap with me. I told you about the wild sex stuff that summer I traveled with Hank and Kyle.”

“Which was years ago.”

“So, because I’m not single I can’t possibly understand your love life anymore?” Lainie said with an edge to her voice. “That’s crap. We’re friends. Friends talk.”

Tanna released a slow breath. “Maybe I don’t wanna tell you because I’m embarrassed about my most recent one-night stand.”

“With who? And how recently?”

“With Fletch. Thursday night.”

“Fletch?” Lainie cocked her head and stared at her. “How’d that happen?”

Tanna met Lainie’s gaze. “I wanted to cut loose and he was the guy holding the scissors. I didn’t tell him my name and refused to let him tell me his.”

She laughed. “You guys really didn’t exchange any personal information?”

“Nothin’ besides we were both single and we don’t have any sexually transmitted diseases.” Tanna braced herself for Lainie’s reaction.

But Lainie just whistled. “You’ve always been a braver soul than me. So, with the angry way Fletch loomed over you, I take it you snuck out before he woke up?”

“That was our deal. He had no right to act all pissy and territorial.”

“Fletch never acts that way.”

She offered Lainie a shrug. “Fletch just needs to realize I meant it when I said I wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship.”

Lainie opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. “Why not?”

“Because I need to figure out where I’ll go and what I’ll do after this job ends.”

“Does that include thinking about returning to barrel racing?”

Tanna fidgeted. “I don’t know.”

Lainie patted Tanna’s thigh and stood. “It’s too bad, though. Fletch is a great guy. Crazy busy with his practice. I swear he puts as many miles on his vehicle as you do each year. And he’s not the type of guy looking for a permanent thing either.”

Rather than continuing to hide in the barn, Tanna followed Lainie outside. Two tables had been set up in the backyard and she felt guilty watching Celia bustling about. “Celia, is there anything I can do?”

“Nope. Our neighbor Ronna had everything organized ahead of time. She and Kyle’s mother practically threw me out of my own kitchen.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant, not helpless.”

A woman with fiery red hair, sharply dressed in a rhinestone dotted Western shirt and jeans, came up behind Celia and hugged her. “It won’t hurt you, my darlin’ girl, to take the help when you can get it. Because as soon as my grandbaby is here, you’re gonna wish you’d taken the time to put up your feet when you had the chance. Now why don’t you sit down and I’ll bring you a plate?”

Celia kissed the woman’s cheek. “You spoil me, Sherry. I’ve got a couple things to do and then I promise I’ll sit.”

Tears welled in Tanna’s eyes at seeing that sweet moment between Kyle’s mom and Celia. She missed so much about her mother, especially the casual affection they had shared.

All around her, conversations rose and fell. Kids cried. Chairs scraped against the cement. A radio played country tunes. Just a typical gathering on a ranch. She could be on any ranch anywhere in the country. So her sense of the familiar warred with her disconnected feeling. Somehow she found herself wandering to the fence that housed the horses.