Page 22 of July’s Cowboy Dallas

Dallas, mercifully, had moved toward the back to grab something else and didn't seem to have heard. Or he was pretending not to.

Either way, I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

Because the worst part wasn't Ruby saying it in front of half the town. The worst part was how much I wanted it to be true. And how careful he'd been with me all morning, like yesterday was a door he'd already closed.

I found the few things I needed, then returned to the counter and emptied my basket.

Ruby rang me up, her expression pleased as punch.

“Have you ever heard of Cedar Draw?” I asked, desperate to shift the conversation from my love life to something I could use.

Ruby's hands stilled on the register. “That's a name I haven't heard in years.”

“What was it?”

“Not a ranch, exactly.” She tore the receipt free and held it between her fingers. “More like a name folks used when they didn’t want their own on the paperwork. It showed up on feed receipts, supply orders, county fair entries, stock transfers. Things like that.”

“Why?”

Ruby looked at me over the top of the register. “Because sometimes a person wants to move cattle, buy supplies, or settle a bill without making it too easy to trace back to who was really behind it.”

Addison glanced over. “I saw that name. On one of the old boxes Morgan asked me to sort for the heritage display.”

I frowned. “You’re sure?”

“Pretty sure. There were old photos, ribbons, county fair entry forms, some regional rodeo stuff. I think there might’ve been a ledger or an album too.” She picked up a tube of lipstick, then set it right back down. “Want me to look again?”

“Don't worry about it. You've got enough⁠—”

“I'm a rodeo queen, Sadie. Looking pretty while carrying six impossible things is half the job.”

Ruby chuckled. “She's not wrong.”

Addison paid for her supplies and tucked her receipt into her purse. As she did, she knocked an envelope onto the floor. I reached down to pick it up, but she beat me to it, shoving it down into her purse like she had something to hide.

Hades lifted his head. Not toward Dallas this time. Toward Addison.

She stiffened, her smile never slipping.

“What was that?” I asked.

“What was what?”

“The envelope.”

“Fan mail.” Her voice stayed light. “Comes with the crown.”

I didn't buy it. Ruby didn't either, judging by the look she gave Addison.

Still holding her purse close to her side, Addison headed for the door. “See you tomorrow, Sadie. Try not to pull the entire rodeo before Friday.”

She stopped at the front window to dig her keys out, and Hades tracked her the whole way, his head swiveling to keep the purse in view through the glass.

The door chimed shut behind her.

Ruby didn’t say a word, but something wasn’t sitting right with her.

Dallas reappeared with a case of sports drinks and a bag of ice, his gaze moving between us like he knew better than to ask.