Hitching the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch 1)

A chuckle escapes me. “Okay, well I can’t deny that.”

After we help her move every single box, she thanks me with a hug. Then she turns to Diesel and gives him a handshake and a glare.

“I’ll take a kiss as a thank you.” He leans down, pointing at his cheek.

“Will you turn back into a toad if I do?” she jokes, playfully slapping his arm.

“No, sweetheart, I’m already your prince.” He puckers his lips, which only causes Rowan to groan and walk away.

I get in my truck, and Diesel climbs in the passenger side so we can drop off the trailer, and I can head back home.

“I think she likes me.” He beams.

I snort. “I think you’re still drunk from last night.”

“Nope, totally sober,” he taunts, touching the tip of his nose with his right finger then his left.

“Don’t forget I’ll kick your ass if you fuck with my sister. She’s off-limits,” I warn, completely serious. Diesel is a great guy, but he’s known for one-night stands and partying. Rowan just graduated and is focused on her future. No guy will ever be good enough for her in my eyes, not even Diesel.

“What you don’t know won’t hurt ya, Daddy.” He snickers.

“Dude! It’s sick when you call me that.”

Diesel’s mood shifts, and he frowns as I start the truck. “I might’ve seen who she was texting earlier,” he states, and when I look at him, he continues. “You’re not gonna like it.”

“Who was it?”

“Trace. That guy she hung around a couple of years ago.”

Snarling, I ask, “That fucking thirty-year-old?” I remember him from the Fourth of July party she invited him to and didn’t like him then.

“I think he was twenty-seven at the time, so almost, I guess.”

I growl just thinking about it as I drive over to Diesel’s truck.

“What the fuck is he doing texting her?”

“The message said ‘Can’t wait!’ so it sounds like they’re planning to meet up,” Diesel explains, but I can tell he’s agitated as hell over it.

“Over my dead body,” I hiss. “No good can come from her dating an old fart like him, especially after the last guy who cheated on her.” My jaw tenses just thinking about that Nick asshole she dated her last year in college. “She told me she wasn’t interested in anyone,” I say. After she got her heart broken a couple of months ago, she swore off men and has been pretty vocal about it.

I park next to his Chevy, and after he hops out, he leans back in and smirks. “I’m lookin’ quite good now, aren’t I?” He waggles his brows. “At least you know I wouldn’t cheat on her.”

My brows furrow as my body tenses. “No, because you don’t date. You just bang ’em and bail,” I retort. “And I’d really hate to have to kick your sorry ass if you touch my sister. So, don’t even think about it.”

Diesel gives me a cocky salute, and as he walks to his truck, I honk my horn at him. When he looks, I flip him off, then drive away, amused with myself. I drop off the trailer in the old barn by the B&B and then make my way home where Zoey’s waiting impatiently.

As soon as I walk in, she smiles but doesn’t get off the couch. Her feet are propped up on the coffee table, and there’s a towel on her forehead. I lean down and kiss her before sitting next to her. “You feeling okay?”

“It’s torture in here. How is it possible for Texas to be hotter than Phoenix? It’s shit!” She groans.

I try not to laugh, though she’s so damn adorable when she’s mad. It’s pitiful. The air is on, but it can’t keep up in this heat or with a pregnant woman’s hormones.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” I grab Zoey’s hand and weave her fingers through mine.

“Pull this baby out? I’ve tried to coax him. Even made some insane deals that I promise to God I will keep, but he refuses to take the bait. He’s stubborn!”

I snort, knowing Zoey can be the same way. The past three years together have been amazing, and I wouldn’t change them for anything, but we’ve done our fair share of bickering. You learn a lot about a person you married on a whim when they move in with you. All the quirks and bad habits come to light.

“What kind of deals?” I grin, loving her crazy pregnancy antics.

She readjusts the pillow that she uses to support her back. “I told him if he decided to come out within the next twenty-four hours, I’d buy him a brand-new Mustang convertible when he turns sixteen. What kid turns that down?” she shouts.

I lean forward, rub her belly, and speak to him. “Zach? You hear that? You’ll be a chick magnet with a convertible. You’ll pull all the hoes. I’d take that deal!”