Read Online Tall, Dark and Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy - Free Book Online
Authors: Joanne Kennedy
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really help.”
“We’re a team.”
He shifted away. “Krystal, we’re not…”
She didn’t give him a chance to finish. “Don’t worry. One of these days, it’ll get a lot easier.” She gave a perky nod. “I figure once we get that Toyota dealership, you won’t have to raise cows anymore and you can get a place in town.” She hopped up and headed over to the grill to flip the steaks. “Then all you’ll have to do is mow the lawn, ’cause I never mind cooking.”
If he hadn’t already known the two of them didn’t have a future, he’d know it now. Giving up his dream would be moving up to her. She wasn’t the least bit interested in sharing anything but his checkbook. He looked at her spiky manicured fingernails and remembered Lacey’s pink-painted toenails.
She was probably the same way.
Chapter 8
Lacey picked her way over the pitted sidewalk in her high-heeled sandals, lagging behind the suddenly energetic Sinclair as the sky beyond the brick buildings on Main Street blushed pink with morning light. The dog checked out every post and parking meter, sniffing delicately as a wine connoisseur and cocking his leg to mark his progress. She had no idea how a creature so small could hold such a seemingly inexhaustible supply of pee.
“Good boy, Sinclair,” she said. “Keep it up. You’re going to own this town.”
As she passed a dark shop window, Lacey glanced at her reflection. She still looked like the woman who’d left Tennessee five days ago—poised and perfectly coiffed, with fashionable clothes and the mincing walk demanded by her pretty but totally impractical shoes. No one would ever guess the woman in the window had plummeted from trophy wife to transient in the space of six months.
She knew she ought to feel discouraged. Hell, she ought to feel suicidal. She was stuck in the middle of Wyoming with no money, no transportation, and the ugliest dog in the universe. The town was a backwater, with half a dozen boarded-up buildings interspersed with a few mom-and-pop businesses—a discount clothing store, a gift shop, and a Quick Lube oil change garage.
Hopefully she wouldn’t be stuck here more than a day. She needed to move on. Once the car was fixed, she’d stock up on supplies with the credit card, get a nice cash advance, and find a place in Denver she could rent by the week. There would be a lot more job opportunities in Denver, and the whole hiding-in-a-small-town plan was stupid anyway. It would be a lot easier to disappear in a city.
She hummed a few bars of “Footloose” while Sinclair watered a wall, then headed back to the motel, moving a little more efficiently now that the dog had laid claim to most of Main Street.
“You’re going to have to stay in the room,” she said, unlocking the door. “No barking, okay?” Dumping a cup of kibble onto a paper plate on the floor and hooking the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doorknob, she trotted down the steps and across the street to the café.
Judging from the homespun ambiance and the heavenly scent of bacon, she’d found the town’s breakfast mecca. The long, narrow space was simply decorated and very clean, with old-fashioned vinyl booths lined up against the windows and a long Formica-topped counter. It was empty except for a heavyset waitress in a salmon-colored dress and crisp white apron who greeted Lacey with a smile that lit up her ordinary features into glowing, homespun prettiness.
“Oh my God . Lacey Bradford .” The smile widened, and the woman’s eyes gleamed with something that looked suspiciously like tears.
Happy tears.
How did this woman know who she was? And why would anyone be that glad to see her? Lacey did a quick double take, covering her confusion with the all-purpose mask she’d worn at Trent’s cocktail parties. The woman swiped at her eyes, and suddenly recognition dawned.
“Pam,” Lacey said. “You’re Pam Caldwell. Did you come out here with your brother?”
“I came out
“We’re a team.”
He shifted away. “Krystal, we’re not…”
She didn’t give him a chance to finish. “Don’t worry. One of these days, it’ll get a lot easier.” She gave a perky nod. “I figure once we get that Toyota dealership, you won’t have to raise cows anymore and you can get a place in town.” She hopped up and headed over to the grill to flip the steaks. “Then all you’ll have to do is mow the lawn, ’cause I never mind cooking.”
If he hadn’t already known the two of them didn’t have a future, he’d know it now. Giving up his dream would be moving up to her. She wasn’t the least bit interested in sharing anything but his checkbook. He looked at her spiky manicured fingernails and remembered Lacey’s pink-painted toenails.
She was probably the same way.
Chapter 8
Lacey picked her way over the pitted sidewalk in her high-heeled sandals, lagging behind the suddenly energetic Sinclair as the sky beyond the brick buildings on Main Street blushed pink with morning light. The dog checked out every post and parking meter, sniffing delicately as a wine connoisseur and cocking his leg to mark his progress. She had no idea how a creature so small could hold such a seemingly inexhaustible supply of pee.
“Good boy, Sinclair,” she said. “Keep it up. You’re going to own this town.”
As she passed a dark shop window, Lacey glanced at her reflection. She still looked like the woman who’d left Tennessee five days ago—poised and perfectly coiffed, with fashionable clothes and the mincing walk demanded by her pretty but totally impractical shoes. No one would ever guess the woman in the window had plummeted from trophy wife to transient in the space of six months.
She knew she ought to feel discouraged. Hell, she ought to feel suicidal. She was stuck in the middle of Wyoming with no money, no transportation, and the ugliest dog in the universe. The town was a backwater, with half a dozen boarded-up buildings interspersed with a few mom-and-pop businesses—a discount clothing store, a gift shop, and a Quick Lube oil change garage.
Hopefully she wouldn’t be stuck here more than a day. She needed to move on. Once the car was fixed, she’d stock up on supplies with the credit card, get a nice cash advance, and find a place in Denver she could rent by the week. There would be a lot more job opportunities in Denver, and the whole hiding-in-a-small-town plan was stupid anyway. It would be a lot easier to disappear in a city.
She hummed a few bars of “Footloose” while Sinclair watered a wall, then headed back to the motel, moving a little more efficiently now that the dog had laid claim to most of Main Street.
“You’re going to have to stay in the room,” she said, unlocking the door. “No barking, okay?” Dumping a cup of kibble onto a paper plate on the floor and hooking the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doorknob, she trotted down the steps and across the street to the café.
Judging from the homespun ambiance and the heavenly scent of bacon, she’d found the town’s breakfast mecca. The long, narrow space was simply decorated and very clean, with old-fashioned vinyl booths lined up against the windows and a long Formica-topped counter. It was empty except for a heavyset waitress in a salmon-colored dress and crisp white apron who greeted Lacey with a smile that lit up her ordinary features into glowing, homespun prettiness.
“Oh my God . Lacey Bradford .” The smile widened, and the woman’s eyes gleamed with something that looked suspiciously like tears.
Happy tears.
How did this woman know who she was? And why would anyone be that glad to see her? Lacey did a quick double take, covering her confusion with the all-purpose mask she’d worn at Trent’s cocktail parties. The woman swiped at her eyes, and suddenly recognition dawned.
“Pam,” Lacey said. “You’re Pam Caldwell. Did you come out here with your brother?”
“I came out
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