Read Online Cowboy Sandwich by Reece Butler - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Reece Butler
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saw a few grins appear on the jeans-clad men sporting ball caps and cowboy hats. Her face looked calm, but he saw the frantic pulse beat in her throat.
She held up her hand and he thought she’d given the bastard the finger. But no, she made a circling motion. The man, highly amused and confident, unbuttoned his suit jacket and slipped it off. Holding the collar from a finger, he held his arms out and did a slow turn.
“Body’s not bad,” she said. “And didn’t I see that outfit in GQ?”
62
Reece Butler
Bryan had once skimmed through the magazine while waiting for an appointment with a lawyer. The stuff in it was so far from his lifestyle that it could be from another planet. The suit preened.
“But, I like men. Working men who smell like it, not fancy perfume. Who spend money on liniment for sore muscles instead of manicures. Pretty boys like you think a thin layer of expensive clothes can hide the garbage underneath, like veneer over rotten wood.”
The man glared at her, at the insult a small woman gave him in front of a room full of laughing cowboys.
“You might be rich.” She lifted her chest, thrusting it out like a challenge. “But you’ll never be a man.”
“You bitch,” he said, fists tight as if to hit her.
Adam tensed, ready to strike. He’d bet the bastard had backhanded many a woman. Though six inches shorter than Adam’s father, the man had the same evil glare. If the suit took one step, he’d take him down so fast…. Adam’s growl behind him agreed.
“I haven’t time for the likes of you,” she said calmly. “Go play with yourself. No one else wants to.” She sniffed a dismissal and turned away. She picked up her basket and stepped toward the revolving glass doors. “Don’t we have a storm to beat and work to do once we get home?”
Adam relaxed tense muscles, flexing his hands and shaking out his shoulders. His grin matched his partner’s.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. Heads high, they followed their magnificent woman. Some of the men doffed their hats as she sailed past like the Queen of England. Adam walked tall, as if a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders. She’d stood up for them, for men who worked rather than put in time. Better, she’d stated to the whole damn room that she belonged to them, and they to her.
“Jim. Bill.” Adam couldn’t hide his shit-eating grin. Candy was their kind of woman. By the time they got home, everyone in the county would know about their new cook, and not to call at the Cowboy Sandwich
63
Double R unless they had an emergency. He’d hoped to keep it quiet for a while, but he’d never been the type to hide.
Better to arrive a blaze of glory than to sneak home like a beaten dog.
He’d done that too often as a boy, hiding under his bed where his father’s thick arms couldn’t reach. When he was ten and Bryan eight, they’d screwed door hinges attaching the bedposts to the floor so the bastard couldn’t lift the bed and throw it into the wall to get at him.
All his life, he wore his bruises with defiance, held his head high and let no one give him crap about it. And he wasn’t changing now.
“That’s one hell of a wildcat you imported from the East. When will it be safe to visit?”
“Doc!” Adam hadn’t noticed the old man in the crow of rowdies.
“Bry, grab Candy. Doc wants to say hi.”
They waited until a smiling Candy approached.
“Doc, I’d like you to meet our new cook and housekeeper, Ms.
Candice Stevenson. Candy, Doc Secord’s birthed most everyone in the county for the last forty years.” He lowered his voice and spoke in Candy’s ear. “He knows where all the bones are buried, and keeps his mouth shut.”
“Enchantée,” said the dapper man. Candy blushed when Doc bowed over her hand, grazing her knuckles with his lips.
“Hold it, old man. She’s not for the likes of you.” Though Doc passed sixty the other year, Adam still felt uneasy when she smiled at him. It wasn’t
She held up her hand and he thought she’d given the bastard the finger. But no, she made a circling motion. The man, highly amused and confident, unbuttoned his suit jacket and slipped it off. Holding the collar from a finger, he held his arms out and did a slow turn.
“Body’s not bad,” she said. “And didn’t I see that outfit in GQ?”
62
Reece Butler
Bryan had once skimmed through the magazine while waiting for an appointment with a lawyer. The stuff in it was so far from his lifestyle that it could be from another planet. The suit preened.
“But, I like men. Working men who smell like it, not fancy perfume. Who spend money on liniment for sore muscles instead of manicures. Pretty boys like you think a thin layer of expensive clothes can hide the garbage underneath, like veneer over rotten wood.”
The man glared at her, at the insult a small woman gave him in front of a room full of laughing cowboys.
“You might be rich.” She lifted her chest, thrusting it out like a challenge. “But you’ll never be a man.”
“You bitch,” he said, fists tight as if to hit her.
Adam tensed, ready to strike. He’d bet the bastard had backhanded many a woman. Though six inches shorter than Adam’s father, the man had the same evil glare. If the suit took one step, he’d take him down so fast…. Adam’s growl behind him agreed.
“I haven’t time for the likes of you,” she said calmly. “Go play with yourself. No one else wants to.” She sniffed a dismissal and turned away. She picked up her basket and stepped toward the revolving glass doors. “Don’t we have a storm to beat and work to do once we get home?”
Adam relaxed tense muscles, flexing his hands and shaking out his shoulders. His grin matched his partner’s.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. Heads high, they followed their magnificent woman. Some of the men doffed their hats as she sailed past like the Queen of England. Adam walked tall, as if a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders. She’d stood up for them, for men who worked rather than put in time. Better, she’d stated to the whole damn room that she belonged to them, and they to her.
“Jim. Bill.” Adam couldn’t hide his shit-eating grin. Candy was their kind of woman. By the time they got home, everyone in the county would know about their new cook, and not to call at the Cowboy Sandwich
63
Double R unless they had an emergency. He’d hoped to keep it quiet for a while, but he’d never been the type to hide.
Better to arrive a blaze of glory than to sneak home like a beaten dog.
He’d done that too often as a boy, hiding under his bed where his father’s thick arms couldn’t reach. When he was ten and Bryan eight, they’d screwed door hinges attaching the bedposts to the floor so the bastard couldn’t lift the bed and throw it into the wall to get at him.
All his life, he wore his bruises with defiance, held his head high and let no one give him crap about it. And he wasn’t changing now.
“That’s one hell of a wildcat you imported from the East. When will it be safe to visit?”
“Doc!” Adam hadn’t noticed the old man in the crow of rowdies.
“Bry, grab Candy. Doc wants to say hi.”
They waited until a smiling Candy approached.
“Doc, I’d like you to meet our new cook and housekeeper, Ms.
Candice Stevenson. Candy, Doc Secord’s birthed most everyone in the county for the last forty years.” He lowered his voice and spoke in Candy’s ear. “He knows where all the bones are buried, and keeps his mouth shut.”
“Enchantée,” said the dapper man. Candy blushed when Doc bowed over her hand, grazing her knuckles with his lips.
“Hold it, old man. She’s not for the likes of you.” Though Doc passed sixty the other year, Adam still felt uneasy when she smiled at him. It wasn’t
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