Read Online Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane - Free Book Online Page B

rocked back and forth, but all it did was make her neck ache and give her a Charlie horse in her leg.
    “My mama don’t believe in spankin’s. And you won’t get untangled,” the ornery kid said. “Kenny Gene taught me how to tie a rope, and everyone knows that he used to rope in the rodeo.”
    Great. Shirlene rolled her eyes. When she got a hold of Kenny Gene, she was going to blister his ears with a long list of reasons why you should never teach a kid rodeo skills. While she was mentally cussing Kenny, a pair of chubby legs came into view. They folded right in front of her, and she found herself staring into a pair of bright brown eyes beneath a fringe of uneven bangs.
    “Mine,” he growled in his unusually deep voice before he cracked Shirlene right in the head with the naked Barbie doll he held in one fist. Not just any Barbie, but Shirlene’s.
    “You,” she hissed, and Brody scuttled back a few feet as she lifted her head and turned to look at Jesse. “It was you and your little brother who scared me and Sherman the other night.”
    “It wasn’t that hard to do. You’re the biggest chicken-livered girl I’ve ever met—even more than Mia.”
    If she could’ve gotten loose at that moment, shewould’ve easily paddled the kid. But the rope was too tight, and the position too awkward, to do more than rock back and forth like a fishing bobber on a line. Finally accepting defeat, she flopped back on the floor. Brody stared at her, his mouth smeared with jelly and his eyes big as saucers. Realizing that anger was getting her nowhere, she tried a different tactic.
    Lifting her head, she flashed a smile at Jesse. “Now, sweetie. I realize I surprised you and your siblings, but I’m not mad at you for usin’ my trailer as a playhouse—although your baby sister really needs to be watched by someone a little older.”
    Jesse glared back at her. “I’m old enough.”
    Not wanting to rile the kid, she let it go. “Now, that’s not here nor there. What I’m trying to say is I’m not gonna tattle on you to your mama. This little mishap will remain between you and me. In other words, if you’ll untie me, I’ll just be on my way, and no one will be the wiser.”
    Jesse’s eyes narrowed as he stared back at her. Finally after several hamstring-stretching minutes, he spoke.
    “You mean you’ll leave and never come back?”
    Seeing how the trailer was hers, the little brat was asking a lot, but with her toes and fingers going numb, she really didn’t have much choice. Besides, she didn’t have any plans to return to Grover Road. Ever.
    “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Since her neck was killing her, she rested her head back down on the floor. Time ticked by, punctuated by the baby’s gentle sucks. Finally the mattress squeaked, and Jesse’s boots appeared in front of her.
    “You’ll need to take a blood oath.”
    “A what?” She lifted her head and tried to look Jessein the eye, but all she could see was his baggy jeans and stretched out Spiderman t-shirt.
    “A blood oath,” Jesse solemnly stated. “I won’t believe you if blood’s not involved. Go get your scissors, Brody.”
    The little boy jumped up and disappeared from sight.
    Scissors? Blood?
    Shirlene quickly tried to get control of the out-of-control situation. “Now, wait a minute, Jesse. I don’t think scissors are such a good idea. Besides, a man is only as good as his word, and I’m more than willing to give you my word.”
    “But you ain’t a man.”
    Damn.
    “No, I’m not,” she conceded. “But I’m an honest west Texas woman. You can ask anyone in town.”
    He flopped down in front of her. “Honest ain’t a word that comes up when people are talkin’ about you.”
    “And just what words come up?”
    His freckled face scrunched in thought for only a second before he spoke. “Wild. Im-puss-ive. Gold digger.”
    Shirlene’s mouth dropped open. “Why, that gossipy bunch of—”
    “Where do you dig for gold