Catching the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch 2)

As soon as Rednex comes on, the entire room starts line dancing. I’m honestly having an amazing time with my cousins. The four of us can’t stop laughing as we nearly trip on each other to “Cotton Eye Joe.” Drunk people were not taken into consideration when this dance was invented, but it’s another reason I love to wear my cowboy boots. Heels are just too dangerous. Kenzie and I stumble around and nearly take Maize and Elle down with us. We are those basic girls wearing skirts and being obnoxious at the bar, but I don’t care what anyone thinks. Maize encourages me to take more shots with her and to keep dancing. She’s the life of the party right now, and I’m living for it.

After we’ve nearly tired ourselves out, we find a table in the corner, then sit and catch our breaths. My face hurts from laughing so much, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I had this much fun. Damn, I love being home. These girls are my best friends and practically like my sisters.

While I’m at the table, I pull my phone from my purse and ask the waitress to snap a picture of us. We smile wide, wrapping our arms around each other. Once we check the photo, I post it to Facebook with a sappy post about being out with my cousins. Grateful these three are in my life. Happy Birthday to me!

After it’s live, I scroll through my feed, and that’s when I see a picture of Nick and the skank he cheated on me with. She has a big diamond ring on her finger and looking at it makes me want to puke. The ring, the man, the future—all of it was supposed to be mine, but it was stolen from me in a blink from a man who never deserved me in the first place.

“What the fuck!” I shout and show Maize my screen. Immediately, her reaction changes, and she shakes her head.

“He’s a bastard,” Maize says.

Elle adds, “A cheating bastard, at that.”

“I guess we’ll join the convent together,” Maize continues. “Won’t be so bad if we’re both there, right?”

I snicker, regardless of how frustrated I am. “You know what I want right now?”

All eyes are on me, waiting for me to continue.

“I want revenge.”

Kenzie rubs her hands together. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

By the evil look on her face, I’m not sure I am. “I’m scared to know what’s going through your mind right now.”

“Bishop women don’t get back, they get even.” Maize has always been Team Rowan, and even from the very beginning, she didn’t like Nick that much. She said there was a vibe about him. I never saw it, but should have. I was blinded by his good looks and made excuses for his arrogance.

Never again.

Elle looks back and forth between us. “Oh lord. You’re gonna make me be an accomplice, aren’t you?”

“I just need you to drive by his place for me.”

“He’s back in town?” Kenzie asks.

I suck in a deep breath, then blow it out. “Yes, he moved back with his ho in tow last week. Trust me, I wasn’t thrilled about it. Out of all the men in the entire state of Texas going to the University of Houston, I had to date some asshole who only lived an hour away from home.”

“You were happy about that when you thought it was going to work out,” Elle reminds me.

“Yeah, I honestly thought it’d be great because I always planned to come back after graduation. No man was going to keep me away from home. I don’t care how sexy or rich he was. It was a compromise. Have a handful of kids. I’d work on the ranch and help with the bar, and he’d continue running his family’s business. We’d had our entire future planned out,” I explain with a frown. “Until he fucking ruined it. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive him for what he did to me.”

“I might become a nun with y’all,” Elle says, causing the three of us to laugh.

“Are you sure about this?” Elle hesitates.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I tell her and walk toward the exit, leading the way.

We hop in the Jeep. I sit in the front while Maize and Kenzie sit in the back. Elle starts the engine, and we turn out of the parking lot, then I give her directions to Nick’s house. A part of me feels like a loser for keeping tabs on him, but we dated for a little over a year. I can’t just snap my fingers and make my heart forget the way he made me feel when things between us were good. We shared some happy memories, but he was so willing to throw it all away.