Spurs 'n Surrender (Operation Cowboy Book 2)(5)

He twisted away and went back to clearing the lot. There was no reason to get worked up over a pretty face. Not when he couldn’t get a clear view of it from this distance anyhow.

“Whattaya say we go into the city for a beer after this?” he asked Garrett.

Blondie got back in her truck and drove the Airstream toward them. “I think we might want to put that idea on hold, Hard Ass. Looks like we’ve got company.”



*



Anya’s heartstrings were almost tugged out after meeting the pastor and his family. They were all smiles despite living in tents and cooking and washing clothes the old-fashioned way. They’d made Anya feel welcome and when she’d told them why she was in Los Vista, they’d pointed her toward two men working to clear a lot.

Now that she got out of the truck and approached, her stomach knotted. They were big—and one looked mean. Both wore cowboy hats and worn jeans. The mean one sifted through the rubble of a house and didn’t even glance up as she neared.

“Howdy.” The closer man came forward with his hand outstretched. She took it and looked into his gray eyes fringed with thick black lashes.

“Hi. I’m Anya Carter.”

The man in the ruins of the house straightened and looked right at her.

Into her.

His piercing stare raised an internal quiver. He was the guy from the interview, but he didn’t look the same to her. He seemed bigger, bulkier with muscle. And he looked less approachable.

She gave him a slight nod in greeting before turning her attention back to the man in front of her.

“I’m Garrett, and that ugly lug’s Wydell.” Garrett jerked his head toward his buddy.

As if finally finding his manners, Wydell came forward, but he didn’t remove his dusty gloves before offering her his hand. She shook it regardless, gritting her teeth. What kind of Neanderthal would shake hands with a woman wearing dirty old gloves? When he locked his fingers around hers and looked into her eyes again, though, she forgot all about contamination.

His eyes were a strange mix of blue and green. She swore she could see the sky reflected in them. Or maybe that was just her imagination.

She pulled away from his grip.

“What brings you to sunny Los Vista, Mrs. Carter?”

“Miss,” she corrected, but Wydell’s eyes flashed to her left hand as if checking for a ring. Irritation rolled over her. “I saw a television interview you gave. The one where you mentioned vacation homes.”

“You’re here too early.” His drawl had a condescending tone that riled her further. He stretched a hand over the land he was clearing. “Haven’t exactly built any yet.”

“I realize that. I’m not here to buy,” she said through her tight jaw. She’d been getting the same treatment since her grandparents’ private plane had crashed six months ago. Nobody believed she had a brain in her skull, let alone the ability to make sound financial decisions.

Wydell peered at her from under the brim of the same straw hat he’d worn during the television interview, except it was a little more battered around one side.

Probably from him touching it.

The thought felt a little too intimate, so she tossed it from her mind. Besides the hat, she wasn’t certain she would have recognized him. He was definitely more bad-boy in person. With black scruff on his square jaw and sweat coating his throat, he reminded her of some pictures she’d seen in childhood of men clearing roads through a jungle. One had been crouched beside a panther he’d killed, and he’d worn a similar predatory expression as Wydell.

When he swung to look at her truck and trailer, she sucked in a breath. His left arm was covered in twisted, burned skin. What had happened to him?

He gave a low whistle. “You’ve got a fancy setup there. Is that one of those new Silverados?”

“Yes.” The pretty blue truck had been purchased new just to make the trip to Los Vista. She couldn’t have towed the Airstream with Granddaddy’s Ferrari.

“And the Airstream. Is that restored?”

She prickled at his tone and steeled herself for another money conversation. Even though nobody knew her in this town, they recognized her money. “Yes, if you must know. It was my grandparents. It’s been fully restored and equipped with modern necessities.”

“I see.” His tone stomped her nerves like an ant under a boot heel. Wydell’s attention lighted on her once more. “So how can we help you, Miss Carter?” His drawl was so falsely syrupy sweet, she was on high alert all over again.

Maybe she didn’t want to go through with this, after all. She could turn around and drive out of town without even proposing her idea to this insufferable cowboy.

“Anya,” she corrected. “And I’m here to discuss your plans for the vacation houses.”

When he cocked his head at her, a dark thrill settled low in her belly. Too low to be called disgust.

“Why don’t we sit down and discuss what I have to offer?” She waved at the Airstream off the side of the road, though she could have left it parked pretty much anywhere. Nobody was coming. The world was still. No sounds of children playing or lawn mowers. Los Vista really was abandoned.

“Sure, I’d love to.” Garrett’s enthusiasm restored her own.

She grinned at him and gave a wave for him to follow. Then she bounced to the trailer and unlocked the door. Inside was much cooler than the Texas afternoon, and she breathed a sigh as she went to the mini kitchen.