Page 25 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys
“I once spent three weeks trying to figure out who kept stealing my beef jerky.”
“That was Sadie.”
“I know that now.”
Dinner turned into this without me noticing.
One minute I was meeting everyone at the ranch, trying to remember names and pretending I wasn’t surprised to discover my one night stand apparently came with an entire found family attached.
The next, I’d spent hours eating barbecue, listening to stories, and becoming far more invested than I should be in the mysterious disappearance of Kevin the Frog.
Apparently Kevin remains a sensitive subject.
“Maybe he moved away,” I offer.
Sadie, who’s curled up on a blanket near Emmett’s boots, gasps dramatically. “I knew it.”
“You knew it?” Emmett asks.
“He wanted adventure.”
I nod. “Some frogs are like that.”
“Exactly.”
Emmett points at both of us. “You two aren’t turning Kevin into some kind of amphibian outlaw.”
Sadie looks horrified. “No! Kevin’s a good frog.”
Willy leans forward. “Depends. Tax fraud?”
Sadie shakes her head. “What’s that?”
Willy blinks. “Uh…”
“Never mind,” Emmett says quickly.
I nearly choke laughing. The kid is ridiculous and completely adorable.
The fire throws golden light across the yard while the mountains rise dark beyond the fences. Laughter bounces around the circle. Somebody opens another beer. Horses shift in the distance near the pasture.
My eyes dart around the fire and find themselves locked on to another gaze.
Red.
My stomach does that irritating little flip again.
He’s never the loudest person in a room or the center of attention. Half the time he barely says anything at all.
But he’s always paying attention.
The corner of his mouth lifts slightly, making my pulse stumble.
I look away. Pathetic.
A few minutes later, Sadie reminds me that it’s bedtime. “You promised a song.”
I smile, adjust the guitar, and brush my fingers across the strings. The first few notes drift through the ranch yard, and gradually the conversation around the fire starts to die off.
