Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) (31 page)

Twyla dropped to her knees and hugged his
shoulders. “Try harder.” Ryan nodded against her shoulder, and she
kissed his temple. “Because in two hours you’re going to be what
amounts to a new daddy. That little girl will fall apart if you do.
She has to be as torn up as you are.”

“
I know,” he choked out. “She’ll
probably be scared here too. I don’t know what that bastard is
charged with, or if he’ll get out. If he does, he’ll come back here
and I’ll kill him. I swear I’ll kill him.”

Twyla pushed back from him. “So call and find
out what he’s charged with. You have the right to do
that.”

“
I can’t today. I’m going to take
a walk, then get ready. “ He pushed up to his feet, and Twyla
stood. Ryan pulled her to his chest again, and Twyla slipped her
arms around his waist.

“
Then do it tomorrow. We don’t
have to solve the world’s problems, or yours, in one day. The guys
want to come and help, Ryan. Will you accept their help? Even if
you don’t stay here, you’ll need to fix it up to sell
it.”

“
The bastard owns it, there’s no
way he’s going to let me sell it. We’re stuck here.”

Twyla sighed and put her hand on his ravaged
face. “Things will work out, just take a breath and that walk. Have
faith.”

Ryan nodded then turned his face to kiss her
palm. “Thanks for talking me off the ledge, Twyla. I really don’t
know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”

One side of her mouth kicked up. “Keep your
cool, and march on. I’ll be right there beside you,
cowboy.”

Two hours later, Twyla pulled her only pair of
jeans on. The same pair she’d washed nightly with Ryan’s, before
they headed back to the hotel. They needed to go shopping soon, but
they were conserving money for building supplies, and the fricking
hotel. They couldn’t stay here though. There were only two bedrooms
in the house, Mary’s that had a dingy little single bed in it, and
his mother’s. She’d slept in there with Clarence. There is no way
she was going to even suggest they stay in that room. And the
furniture in the living room was ratty and cigarette burned. It
smelled just like the walls had before she cleaned them. Clarence
must’ve been a chain-smoker is all she could figure.

She wished like hell she had that
twenty-five-hundred dollars she’d wasted on bail money for him.
Twyla could do a lot with that money right now. According to
Heather, the charges against Ryan had been dropped the afternoon
after she’d bailed him out. Zack was out on bail too, her parents
had put it up, but his assault charge against Ryan was still
pending. That was a relief, but she hoped her brother got off too.
She was mad at Zack right now, but she did not want him to have a
criminal record. Because of her.

If she hadn’t put herself in the stupid
position with Jared Wilkins, none of them would be in this fix. But
they were here, and needed to deal with that too. She also wanted
to call and find out what was happening with the charges against
Jared. She hoped that bastard rotted in prison.

Twyla was pulling her hair into a ponytail
when Ryan walked in with a towel wrapped around his trim hips. He
heaved a breath but when their eyes met in the mirror on the
dresser he smiled. It was the first smile she’d seen on his face
since before they’d gotten to Houston.

His eyes heated and he dropped the towel,
standing there naked as a jaybird, seeming proud of himself. Twyla
couldn’t help but drink him in. Ryan was a beautiful man, wide
shoulders, firm pecs, washboard abs and dayum, he was happy to see
her. The sad part was Ryan Easter knew it, and knew that she
thought so too. Pasting on a smug smile, she repeated the same
words to him she had that day in Heather’s kitchen, as she fixed
her eyes on his dick. “Well cowboy, I’m sure that little sprout
satisfies those buckle bunnies just fine, but I’m used to um, more
mature men.”

Twyla’s teasing words had the desired effect.
Ryan’s smile faded, and he looked a little insulted but then a
determined look filled his eyes as he stalked her and she backed up
against the dresser. He put his palms down on either side of her,
trapping her there. Twyla leaned back, and the intensity in his
blue eyes scorched her. “I don’t seem to remember you complaining
about my sprout when I had it shoved up inside your—”

Twyla gasped and put her fingers over his
mouth. She clicked her tongue. “We’re gonna have little ears in the
house. You need to watch your mouth.”

His eyes fell to her lips. “I’d rather watch
yours when it’s wrapped around my—
sprout
.“

Twyla bit back a laugh, but slapped her palm
over his mouth. He nipped it and she yelped, then gasped when Ryan
shoved his hips into her hard. His rock hard cock hit her right
where she would love it to be. Wanted it to be right now, if they
weren’t expecting visitors.

“
And the only little thing in this
house will be those ears,” he growled, pressing himself harder
against her. “As for mature men. I’m the
only
man you’re
gonna be trying on for size, got that, Daisy?”

Her eyes widened, and she wondered if he knew
what he’d just said. “Ryan…I…ah.”

Twyla didn’t know what to say.

As it turned out she didn’t have to say
anything, because Ryan swooped down to claim her lips in a kiss she
felt all the way down to her toes. He leaned in, pressed himself
tighter to her body. Twyla moaned, circling her hips against him,
and Ryan forced her mouth open with his tongue then courted hers to
dance.

This man was so damned confusing, Twyla gave
up on figuring out what was going on with him. She just slid her
arms around his neck and kissed him back. She had two weeks to
drink her fill of Ryan Easter, and before she left this ranch, she
would be full of him. Ready to savor these moments for the rest of
her life. This man was the Ryan she’d always dreamed of having hold
her, kiss her just like he was kissing her. The only thing missing
were the words she given up on him ever uttering. And wasn’t that
too damned bad for both of them?

The flagging screen door rattled as someone
opened it then knocked on the wooden front door. “Oh my God,
they’re here,” Twyla said, panicking as she slid her body from
under his. “Get dressed! I’ll stall them. Hurry!”

Twyla straightened her shirt and tucked it
into her jeans as she ran for the door. When she opened it, there
stood the prettiest blue-eyed blonde girl Twyla had ever seen.
Well, she wasn’t a girl really, she was almost a teenager. The only
resemblance between her and Ryan were their penetrating blue eyes.
Mary’s were sad and afraid and it almost ripped Twyla’s heart
out.

She realized she was gawking and forced her
eyes to the woman standing behind Mary. With a smile, she stepped
back and waved them inside. “Come in. Ryan will be out in just a
minute,” she said, trying to stop the nervous quiver in her
voice.

The social worker held Mary’s shoulders, as
she stepped inside. Her eyes immediately tracked around the house.
Twyla knew she was judging, even though she tried to make it appear
she was admiring. “Um, nice place,” she said with a polite, but
cool smile.

“
We’ve been fixing it up. It was a
mess,” Twyla said, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, her own
eyes moving around the room trying to see it through the social
worker’s eyes. It wasn’t fancy, but Twyla could attest it was now
clean.

“
Would you like some sweet tea? I
made some earlier.”

“
Miss Nell, I want to go see Boney
Pony. He’s out in the barn,” Mary said timidly, before she cast her
eyes back down at the chipped pink polish on her toenails, as she
wiggled them in her worn flip flops.

“
I’ll take you out there when Ryan
gets in here so he and Miss Nell can talk.”

That would probably be better anyway. Twyla
wouldn’t stick her foot in her mouth with this woman and make the
situation worse. She hoped Ryan didn’t either.

She looked at Mary, when the silence
lengthened. “I’ve been feeding Boney for you. You might have to
change his name,” Twyla said with a laugh. “He’s getting a little
pudgy, since you haven’t been here to ride him.” The pony was big,
but not large enough for her. Her legs would drag the ground, so
she hadn’t ridden him. Well that and he had hoof problems she had
to treat. He hadn’t ever been trimmed, Twyla didn’t think. The
farrier agreed when he came out to take care of him.

Without lifting her eyes, Mary mumbled, “I
don’t ride him. I don’t have a saddle.”

Shock rocked Twyla for a second. What adult
bought a kid a horse, and didn’t get them a saddle? That was pretty
damned cruel in her opinion. And so was the fact the damned horse
had been underfed for so long his ribs were showing. That is the
only reason his name fit.

Twyla’s saddle didn’t fit Tango anymore. Yeah,
it was her lucky saddle, but Randy was right. It wasn’t very lucky
if she wasn’t winning, and it didn’t fit her horse right. She
needed a new one anyway. “Well, I have one you can have. It’s
special. I won it barrel racing. It doesn’t fit my horse anymore,
but I think it might fit Boney.”

The girls eyes shot up then, and she smiled.
“Really?” she asked with awe in her tone.

Twyla returned her smile. “Yep, but it’s in
Dallas, so I’ll have to go get it for you.”

Her face fell, and Twyla wanted to shove Ryan
in the truck right then to drive to Dallas to get the damned
saddle. Ryan walked in looking handsome as sin in his spit-shined
boots, freshly washed faded Wranglers and black t-shirt. He smiled
that smile that always hit her in the gut and stuck his hand out to
Nell, and she shook it.

“
I’m Ryan Easter, um,” his eyes
darted to Mary who was staring at him with the same awe in her
expression she’d had over the saddle. “I’m Mary’s
brother.”

Mary’s expression was also the same expression
Twyla imagined she’d worn when she first met Ryan. When she fell in
love with him ten years ago out by the bonfire at her parent’s
ranch. Her heart wiggled in her chest remembering how young they
were. And how damned handsome he was even then. She could imagine
just how the little girl was feeling.

“
You’re my brother?” Mary asked,
her eyes widening.

“
Yes, ma’am, I am,” he said with a
grin, ruffling her hair like he would a five-year-old. And like a
teenager she harrumphed and ran her fingers through her hair until
she thought it was straight.

“
I’m not a ma’am and don’t do
that!” she said sassily, jerking a laugh from Ryan.

Twyla saw that the little girl wasn’t kidding,
she was winding up to blast her new brother. She quickly put her
arm around Mary’s shoulders. “I think Mary and I are going out to
the barn to visit Boney. Y’all have a nice talk.”

Twyla stepped around Nell to open the door,
and quickly ushered Mary outside. Twyla knew that kid’s attitude,
because it mirrored hers at that age. Her mouth got her into
trouble often, and Twyla knew that would be the case with Mary too
if they didn’t get out of there. Ryan Easter was going to have both
hands full with his new sister, and Twyla would love to be a fly on
the wall to watch the fireworks.

But she wouldn’t be that fly. She would be in
Dallas living her new life, while Ryan figured out his. Sadness
tried to steal her good mood, but she pushed it away.

Heather’s words came back to shore her up.
Don’t give up your dreams for a man
. Well Heather had never
been in love with a man like Ryan Easter, but she was right, Twyla
wasn’t going to do that. She was going back to Dallas to learn
cowboy mounted shooting just like she planned, and she was going to
live her life. Just the way she wanted to live it. And nobody was
going to tell her differently. And from all appearances Ryan wasn’t
going to try and convince her to stay by uttering the words that
would change everything.

She pasted on a smile, when they reached the
barn. “Girlfriend, we’ve got to get you some boots. If Boney steps
on your toes, you’re going be out of luck.”

Twyla watched Mary’s face wilt when she heard
Boney whinny for her at the fence. She had to know what was wrong
now. Had she said something to upset her? Walking on eggshells
wasn’t going to cut it. She stopped walking and turned Mary to face
her.

“
Why are you frowning?” her damned
lower lip trembled and those blueberry eyes filled.

She pulled her into her arms and hugged her
tight. “What’s wrong?”

Her voice was barely above a hoarse whisper,
when she said, “Daddy was going to give away Boney. That’s why him
and Mama were fighting.”

Twyla hugged her tighter, and rocked her, as
she fought her own tears. “Boney isn’t going anywhere, baby. Your
brother loves horses. He won’t make you get rid of him.”

“
But if my Daddy comes
back—“

“
He’s not coming back,” Twyla cut
her off. “Your brother is going to make sure he stays right where
he belongs and that’s not here with y’all.” Twyla could only hope
her words would prove true.

Tomorrow morning, Ryan was going to make that
call if she had to make it for him.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE