Read Online A Knight In Cowboy Boots by Suzie Quint - Free Book Online Page B

hoisted Jesse to her shoulder. Zach had no choice but to let her walk out the door. Before she could reach for the diaper bag, he picked it up. “I’ll carry this.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “You’d rather be loaded up like a pack mule?”
    Once outside, she led him to an old dove gray Lincoln Continental Mark IV. Zach felt his eyebrows lift. It was a classic in perfect condition. And it was larger than a good many boats.
    “This can’t get good gas mileage,” he said, gently running a finger over the Cartier signature on the opera window.
    “It’s a pig,” Maddie said as she strapped Jesse into his car seat.
    “No, it’s a tank. But it’s a beautiful tank.” He opened the passenger door and swung the diaper bag onto the seat. “What is it? A ’?” Zach asked as he walked around to open the driver’s door for her.
    “’.” Maddie slid behind the wheel and looked up at him, one hand on the arm rest ready to pull the door closed. “Uhm—thanks. Thanks for everything. For getting me the interview, for babysitting Jesse, for … everything.”
    Zach smiled. ‘Everything’ had come close to being a whole lot more than babysitting. “So when are you going to fix me supper?”
    “What?”
    “Isn’t that what a woman does to thank a man for … everything?”
    He could see the struggle on her face. Part of her wanted to agree, part of her was reluctant. He was afraid the reluctance was going to win.
    “Look, Rach makes sure I eat well when I stay here, and I’ll grant you the food’s a sight better than I get out on the rig, but it ain’t home cooking, and I’m craving a home cooked meal. Something simple like meatloaf with potatoes and gravy would have me rolling over like a pup begging to get his belly rubbed. Is that really too much to ask?”
    She bit her lip. “I—I think I could manage that.”
    Zach would have liked it better if she’d agreed without being guilted into it, but he’d take it.
    “Where and when?” he asked.
    “Well, if I don’t have to work … tomorrow night?”
    “Perfect. About seven?”
    Maddie nodded, like a person agreeing to the time of her execution.
    “Where do you live?” From his wallet, Zach pulled out the small pen he always carried.
    Maddie took a deep breath. That was it, Zach thought. The source of her reluctance. Did she think he couldn’t get it off her job application? If she put down her real address. A disturbing thought. He didn’t know where it came from, but somehow it wouldn’t surprise him.
    She gave him an address in the heart of what he called student-ville. He wrote it on the edge of a twenty dollar bill, then closed the car door for her.
    As she drove away, the license plate caught Zach’s eye. He smiled. Between the number six and the word RIDE was the silhouette of a rodeo bronc rider. If she was a rodeo fan, his family would love her.
     

Chapter Six
     
    “What are you drinking today, Zach? Kinda early to be starting Snakebites,” the bartender said as Zach straddled a stool.
    “No Snakebites today, Pete. That was … an occasion. Kind of a remembrance.”
    It was still afternoon. Soon, the out-of-town business types would finish up their work days and the nearly empty bar would start to fill up.
    “Sol’s friend? The one that used to stay here?”
    “Yeah. I was out on the rig, so last night was kinda my memorial for him. Jake and I thought it would be appropriate to drink his favorite drink. Gimme a Lone Star long neck.”
    “Sorry for your loss,” Pete said, getting the beer from the cooler. He popped the top and set it in front of Zach. “Kinda odd though. Hardly ever get asked for Snakebites, and then you boys and the lady on the bar are both drinking ‘em on the same night.”
    Zach stopped with the beer halfway to his lips. “The lady on the bar? The one who applied for a job here today?”
    “Yup.”
    How weird was that? It couldn’t mean anything though. Unless it was a sign from God. If it were a sign from