A Bull Rider To Depend On

“Good morning,” she echoed coolly, knowing instantly that Jess had ratted her out. With the best of intentions, no doubt, but now she had to deal with Tyler.

“You’re looking good, Skye.”

A compliment. That was different.

“You, too.” She spoke with polite indifference, but, infuriatingly, the fact of the matter was that he really did look good.

He shifted his weight and folded his arms over his chest, as if debating how to launch into what he’d come to say. “We haven’t talked in a while, Skye.”

That was true. With the exception of him offering stiff condolences at Mason’s funeral, they hadn’t spoken since they’d faced off in the parking lot behind the Shamrock Bar almost two years ago, shortly after she’d discovered that Mason had been gambling again. She’d asked Tyler to stop encouraging her husband to go out. He’d told her he would. He’d lied.

Skye got her keys out of her pocket. No longer smiling, she tilted her head. Waited.

Tyler took the plunge. “Jess told me that you are in need of a loan.”

She shook her head. “Not any longer.”

“Ah.” He looked as if he wanted to ask why, but her stony expression must have made him think twice.

“Thank you for asking.” She hoped that would cause him to move along, and indeed he did take a couple of steps, but toward her rather than toward his truck.

“You know...” he said, his expression becoming serious. Too serious, really. “...we’ve had our differences, but I was Mason’s friend—”

“That was the problem, wasn’t it?” The angry reply burst out of nowhere, and Skye instantly clamped her mouth shut to keep from saying more. She needed to get out of there, away from this guy who so easily triggered her. She moved around him to her car, but before she could open the door, he put his hand on it. Her gaze jerked up, and he dropped his hand.

“Mason was a grown man, Skye. He made his own choices.” His voice was so low and intense that it was little more than a growl.

And you didn’t help matters. The words teetered on her lips, but she bit them back. She wasn’t getting into this. Not here. Not now. She forced her expression to go blank and uttered a lie. “I’m sorry, Tyler. That was uncalled for.” His gaze narrowed, telling her he wasn’t buying the false apology. “It was a busy shift, and I’m a little tired. I didn’t sleep well.” Total truth, there. “I appreciate your trying to help.”

“The offer stands.” The way he spoke made her wonder why.

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

And she’d file it under Fat Chance. She was not asking for help from the man who was in a large way responsible for the situation she was now in. The very fact that he offered...

“I need to go, Ty.” Before I tell you what I’m really thinking.

He studied her, as if debating whether or not to prolong the conversation, and she in return studied him, her gaze unwavering. He was handsome. Dark and lean and dangerous looking. Ty had always kind of intimidated her. He was so different from his easygoing twin, who’d been one of her best buddies growing up. Funny how those things went.

His mouth tightened a little as they silently regarded one another, the atmosphere growing more charged by the second, and for some reason the movement of his lips caused a tiny ripple in her midsection.

Yes. Dangerous.

Skye tore her gaze away and opened the car door. When she closed it, a wave of relief washed over her.

Safe.

* * *

OH YEAH. That had gone well.

Ty forced his tight jaw muscles to relax as he walked back to his truck while Skye all but laid rubber in her hurry to get away from him. It was obviously easier for her to blame him rather than Mason for the trouble she was in. He understood, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Nope. He pretty much hated it. But what could he do? Chase her down and tell her the truth about her husband? He might be angry, but he wasn’t that angry. He needed to let this go, focus on the here and now, on the things he could control, like where he lived.

Instead of getting into his truck, he reversed course and walked into the café.

“Hey, Ty.”

Angie Salinas greeted him with a wide smile. See, Skye... Angie likes me. And Angie probably had more of a reason to dislike him, because they’d dated in junior high for almost a week, before he broke up with her on Valentine’s Day. He was a smooth operator back then.

“Angie.” He smiled up at her as she waved him to a booth. “I don’t need a menu.”

“Know what you want, eh?”

“Grilled chicken.”

“Sandwich?”

“Just the chicken, but go ahead and charge me for a sandwich.” He ate all the protein he could to keep his muscles in shape, stayed away from useless carbs. As he’d gotten older, he’d started paying more attention to things like diet and exercise. Funny how a body could get beat around for only so long before it started requiring extra attention.

“Salad or something?”

“A salad would be good. Dressing on the side.”

“You got it.” She jotted a few words on her pad and headed off to the counter.

Ty drank some water, did his best to tamp down the irritation still lingering after his encounter with Skye, then pulled out his phone and went to the real estate listings. He and Jess might have been womb-mates who could practically read each other’s minds, but if they had to share that tiny trailer space for much longer...well...he saw no good coming of that. It was time to move out.

A house would be nice, but he had nothing against buying a used trailer, as Jess had done. In the beginning anyway. The important thing was that he wanted to buy whatever he decided on and own it free and clear while he had the bucks to do so. Traveling the circuit was expensive. Keeping his bare-bones insurance policy was expensive.

When Angie brought his food, he put his phone aside. “I’m looking to buy some land,” he said. “Know of anything?”

Because if anyone was going to know anything, it was Angie. She had six siblings and she worked in a café.

She cocked a hip, frowning a little as she thought. “Nothing springs to mind, but if I hear of anything I’ll let you know. If you’re around.” One corner of her mouth quirked up. “Will you be around?”

“I’m not retiring, if that’s what you mean. I’m just planning for the future.”

“That is so out of character, Ty.”

He grinned at her and she smiled back before heading to another table. It really wasn’t out of character, but Jess was so responsible that by contrast he appeared to be reckless. He had his moments, but deep down, he wasn’t all that different from his brother.

Try telling Skye that.

He wasn’t going to tell Skye anything. Why beat his head on a wall?

Chapter Three (#u9b1a17c3-f462-500b-8da8-c2eea914ba01)