Page 8 of Spurred On

So when the conversation turned to redheads, he had to chime in. Then again, he was the one to bring it up. “Any of you like redheads?” he asked apropos of nothing.

Fortunately, only Ford pinned him with a curious glance.

“Everyone likes redheads,” Ben said, and Brandon nodded.

Rafe shrugged. “I’m not particular, but I probably wouldn’t kick her out of bed.”

Promising.

“You have a preference for redheads, don’t you Logan?” Ford said with a wink.

A red tide crept up Logan’s cheeks. “Just the one.” This he murmured, but Cody heard. And, all of a sudden, a dim memory flashed through his mind. Oh it was dim, but it sent a brilliant blaze of inspiration through him.

High school had been ten long years ago and, if he was being honest, Cody had been utterly self-absorbed back then, but now that he thought about it, he remembered Logan—who’d been a skinny kid back then, a high school nobody—had had a crush on one of the cheerleaders . . . none other than Hanna Stevens.

Suddenly Cody was filled with certitude. Logan was his choice. Logan would be the man he would inveigle to seduce Hanna. He was pretty sure his friend wouldn’t mind in the least.

***

It took most of the evening and way too much self-discipline to bait his trap, but the result was a resounding success. A sharp shard of satisfaction skewered Cody as Logan fell and fell hard.

Needless to say, Logan was not amused with the way things played out.

“What the hell?” Logan glowered at him. “You want me to work at your ranch?”

“Just one weekend.”

“You want me to work at your ranch?”

Cody waved at the cards. “You did lose the hand.”

“Right, but I thought you’d want me to wash your truck, or give you a free meal at the restaurant.”

“I said a favor.” Cody shot a look around the table. “You all agreed.”

“We only agreed to play for favors because you were broke,” Logan snapped.

Yeah, pretending to lose was half the fun of sharking someone.

“You’re the one who suggested playing for favors, Logan,” Ben said with a grin. Probably because he hadn’t lost.

“You did agree to the terms.” Rafe smirked as he collected the cards.

Logan scowled at Cody. “I’m too busy to spend a weekend at your . . . love ranch.”

“It’s not a love ranch.”

“What is it then?” Ben asked with a chuckle.

“It’s a B&B.”

“Right.” Ford snorted.

“A B&B with strippers,” Logan warbled.

Cody affected an outraged frown. “It’s a working ranch as well.”

They all ignored him.