Page 2 of Ruby

I study him for another long moment. “I’ll sleep better tonight knowin’ that.” I’m sarcastic by nature. Someone once told me if there was a gold medal in sarcasm, I’d win it hands down.

“I’ll bet you will.” Something in his tone is confident, not that I mind, but he has to be ten years younger than me. He looks at me almost expectantly. There ain’t no way that’s happening.

“So, you’re not from around here, you have no name, and you’re an unpaid security guard?” I press. I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason he seems familiar.

“Didn’t say I had no name; you never asked for it.”

“Let’s hear it.”

His gaze meets mine once more, and I feel it in my lower belly. I should not be feeling it anywhere, but the heated way he’s looking at me spells trouble.

“Lover boy. Pretty boy. Cabana boy—I’ll pretty much answer to anythin’.” He winks. Fucking winks.

I arch a brow. “Does that line usually work?”

“Don’t need lines, chicks dig the dimples.” He smiles to show said dimples, and I can’t resist an eye roll.

“Cute, but you’ve got enough confidence to choke a horse.”

“You’re from the South.” It isn’t a question.

“You’re quick.”

“Whereabouts?”

“Nosy little shit, aren’t you?” I quip, then add, “Tennessee.”

“I was born in Kentucky.”

“You’re a ways from home, Blondie.”

He smirks. “I live in Texas now. You married?”

My eyes almost bulge out of their sockets. “Why? Do I look married?”

“Beautiful woman like you, wanderin’ around in a place like this⁠—”

“Watch it, I’m part owner. And for the record, I don’t need a man to swoop in and save me, hot shot. The women in Saddle can mind themselves just fine.”

“Fiery,” he mutters, then glances at my patch. “I like it, Ruby.”

Most men ask about the patch if they’re from out of town. You get the surprised looks; some scoff, some laugh out loud. Rarely do you get respect.

“You just gonna keep flappin’ your jaws, sweetie pie, because you’re fixin’ to get whupped.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Like an ass whuppin’?”

“Exactly.”

His lips twitch. “You gonna be the one to do it, princess?”

I realize what I just walked into and try to play it off with a scoff. “Please, honey, you’re gettin’ a little too big for your britches. You don’t want any of this.”

“Why, do you shoot silver bullets?”

My, how the mighty have fallen. This man is making me believe his charming bullshit, which just goes to show how long it’s been since I had a man in my bed. It’s clearly affected my cognitive function. I need to get out of here.

I lean toward him. “This ain’t my first rodeo.”