Do You Take This Cowboy?. Vicki Lewis Thompson

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      “That what?” Lexi looked up from her phone. “Is a courtin’ truck what I think it is?”

      “Yes, ma’am.” Cade took a long pull on his beer.

      She turned to Austin. “Are you really buying a new truck so you can impress women?”

      “Not all women. Just certain ones.”

      “Let me put it this way, Lexi.” Cade put down his beer. “When you attended that riding clinic in Denver last year you took cabs to get around, right?”

      “Right.”

      “How did you know a cab was available?”

      “The roof light was on.”

      “Well, Junior here has his light on.”

      “I do not.” Austin glared at his brother. “That suggests I’ll take the first one who comes along, and that’s not how I—”

      “Isn’t Drew the first one who’s come along?”

      “Yes, but we still don’t know if she’ll go out with me.”

      “What if she does?”

      “Then I’ll have to go truck shopping pretty soon.”

      “Wait, wait, wait.” Lexi waved her hands in the air. “You two are speaking in tongues. Could you both use your native language, which also happens to be mine? What the hell are you talking about?”

      Cade reached over and covered her hand with his. “I called it his courtin’ truck because Junior is looking for a wife.”

      Lexi swiveled in her seat to look at Austin. “You are?”

      He hadn’t planned to lay out his plan this soon but he also couldn’t beat around the bush with Lexi. She was like a big sister to him. “Yes, ma’am.”

      “See?” Cade gestured to him. “I knew he had another reason for coming back to Wyoming besides our wedding.”

      “Austin.” Lexi put her hand on his arm. “Please tell me you didn’t get this idea because of our wedding invitation. There’s such a thing as wedding fever. When I was twenty-two I tried to get Cade to propose because of peer pressure. You probably don’t remember that.”

      “Oh, I remember, all right. That’s when he took off for Colorado.” At seventeen, Austin had been devastated when his idol had driven away from Thunder Mountain Ranch. Lexi hadn’t been the only one with a broken heart. “It wasn’t just the invitation, although that made me realize all I was missing and I didn’t want to miss this. But I’ve been thinking about moving back and settling down for quite a while now.”

      “You’re only twenty-six. You have lots of time.”

      “I know. The thing is, I’m sick of getting involved with someone when it’ll never go anywhere. Every woman I dated in New Zealand told me flat out she wasn’t relocating. That made perfect sense. Their families were there and it’s a beautiful country.”

      “All right.” Lexi seemed relieved. “Then ultimately you want to get married, but you don’t have a timetable or anything.” She smiled. “It’s not like you’ll ask Drew out now and propose next week.”

      “I certainly wouldn’t plan on it.”

      “Good, because—”

      “But what if she’s perfect? What if we’re perfect for each other? Life’s short. We don’t know what’s going to happen.” He’d learned that early. Both his parents had died in their thirties. “I don’t believe in putting things off if taking action is the right decision.”

      Cade glanced up at the ceiling.

      Austin knew he didn’t fully agree, but Drew had liked that he was focused. Didn’t mean she’d go out with him but he thought she would. He didn’t get many refusals when he asked a lady out.

      He glanced at the phone in Lexi’s free hand. “So can I have the number?”

      She looked at him for a moment longer. “Yes. Just—”

      “Just what?”

      “Nothing.” She squeezed his arm and moved her hand away. “Ready?”

      He touched the screen to refresh it. “Yes, ma’am.” He entered Drew’s number. “Do you think she’s had time to get home?”

      “Probably not.”

      “Then I’ll wait.” He put down his phone and picked up his beer. “It sounded like you were both happy with how the filming went.”

      “I think it went great,” Lexi said. “I’ll know for sure once we see the edited version, but I meant what I said about her work. She’s phenomenal.”

      “Good to know. Now that I understand how to run a trail ride company, I’ve been thinking about starting one. A good video on a website would be a big help.”

      Cade leaned forward. “Gonna go into business for yourself?”

      “I’d like to. I’ll have to begin small, work with one of the local stables, maybe get a business loan, but I think that’s all doable.”

      “Absolutely,” Lexi said. “I’m sure Rosie and Herb would let you stay here for a while, which would save money on rent.”

      Austin had been thinking the same thing until meeting Drew. “They probably would and I’ve considered it, but I’d rather get an apartment in town.”

      Cade gave him a knowing look. “That doesn’t surprise me. I—” He paused as the front door opened.

      “Anybody home?”

      “Hey, Zeke!” Cade pushed back his chair. “We’re in the kitchen having a beer. Come on back and I’ll get you one.”

      “Don’t mind if I do.”

      Austin left his chair to greet his foster brother, one he’d liked okay but had never felt close to when they’d all lived at Thunder Mountain. Zeke Rafferty had kept to himself and all the guys had figured it was because his dad had committed suicide. But Rosie said that Zeke had come out of his shell ever since discovering he was about to be a father.

      It seemed that Rosie was right, because the rugged cowboy who’d always looked slightly ticked off came in all smiles. “Hey, Austin!” His handshake was firm and enthusiastic. “I swear you’re a lot taller than I remember.”

      “Not much taller, but I filled out a little.”

      “I’d say so. How was New Zealand?” He took the beer Cade handed him. “Thanks, bro.”

      “I loved New Zealand but I got homesick.”

      Zeke nodded. “I can understand that. New Zealand’s СКАЧАТЬ