Lonesome Ryder: Lonesome Ryder / Restaurant Romeo. Carol Finch

      Wade fell asleep with a grin on his lips.

      SATURDAY NIGHT, BORED nearly to death, Wade sat in his recliner, surfing the TV channels and finding not one decent program to watch. When an unexpected knock rattled the front door, Wade glanced sideways. “It’s open!”

      His curious gaze transformed into a sour scowl when Kevin Shelton, the history teacher, walked inside. Brown hair neatly clipped and styled, Kevin stood there on two good legs, his hands tucked in the pockets of his khaki slacks. His trendy clothes and good looks caused Wade to mutter under his breath. In comparison to Mr. Teacher of the Year, Wade felt like a beat-up old geezer.

      “Hi, Wade,” Kevin said. “Is Laura ready?”

      “Probably not,” Wade grumbled. “She’s a woman, after all. Isn’t it indigenous of the gender to always be late?”

      “Hi, Kevin,” Laura called out—proving Wade wrong about her punctuality. She emerged from the hall, looking all too seductive in a tight-fitting miniskirt that emphasized the length and feminine curve of her legs and thighs.

      “Well, isn’t this cute?” Wade said under his breath. “Here’s Ken and Barbie, decked out for a night on the town.”

      He stifled the feelings of possessiveness that roiled through him. He didn’t want Laura to go out with Kevin, but he had no right whatsoever to object. “You better have her home early,” Wade demanded before he could stop himself.

      Laura’s sculpted brows elevated in surprise as she glanced over her shoulder to stare curiously at Wade.

      “Sure thing,” Kevin said, smiling awkwardly.

      “She punches the clock at seven sharp in the morning. I don’t want her dragging butt when there’s work to do.” God, he sounded like a grumpy idiot. Jealousy was gnawing at his male pride and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

      “Not to worry, boss.” Laura slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder, causing the clingy fabric of her knit top to strain against her breasts. Wade glowered when he noticed Kevin’s attention had dipped to her bosom. “My duties won’t suffer, you can count on it,” she assured him.

      Wade crooked his finger at her, summoning her to him. When Laura walked toward him, his male hormones started bouncing around like a pinball. He willfully ignored the drastic effect she had on him.

      “What do you know about this guy?” Wade asked quietly.

      “Not much, but Annie likes him,” Laura reported.

      “Then maybe Annie should date him,” Wade muttered. “For all we know he might be the modern version of the Boston Strangler and Jack the Ripper rolled into one.”

      Laura snickered. “That should make you happy. If he murders me and dumps me in the nearest river you’ll be rid of me without dirtying your hands with the dastardly deed.”

      “Hadn’t thought of it that way,” he said, just so she wouldn’t get the idea that he cared what happened to her.

      “Anything else, boss?” she asked when she noticed Kevin had shifted impatiently from one well-shod foot to the other.

      “Yeah, if he drinks, you drive home,” he instructed. “He’s probably a lush in hiding.” He shot Kevin a black look. “And if he gets fresh, let me know and I’ll send my cousins over to kick his preppy butt.”

      She grinned outrageously. “Maybe I want him to get fresh. Maybe I’m looking for a little action. Ever think of that? It’s my life, you know, and I’m broadening all my horizons.”

      Wade went into a slow burn. Envy and jealousy ate at him like battery acid. “If you aren’t home by midnight I’m coming to find you, broken leg or not. Got it?” He flashed Kevin another thunderous glare for good measure. If Mr. Teacher of the Year wasn’t on his best behavior, Wade wanted it understood that there’d be hell to pay. When Kevin squirmed beneath the piercing stare, Wade was pretty sure he’d gotten his silent message across.

      “Just stay on guard, Seymour,” Wade cautioned. “You’ve broadened your horizons enough for the week.”

      “Your concern is touching,” she said, grinning. “That’s really sweet of you, Ryder.”

      “I’m anything but sweet and you know it,” he grumbled before she sauntered over to join her handsome date.

      When the door closed behind them Wade swore ripely. He knew Kevin Shelton was closer to Laura’s age and more her type, but that didn’t stop him from wishing that blond knockout was on his arm tonight.

      Frustrated, Wade switched to the Discovery channel to watch the next exciting installment on baboons that got liquored up on fermented fruit in the jungles and awoke with hellish hangovers.

      5

      WADE HOBBLED DOWN THE HALL to complain about the fact that it had been two days and Laura still hadn’t moved the furniture back to its normal arrangement. Also, she’d flung the drapes open wide—again—after Duff had driven him into town for a doctor’s appointment and a haircut. Even with the new walking cast the physician had wrapped around his leg and the lack of the sling on his arm, Wade had nearly tripped and fallen as he rounded the corner to the kitchen—again. He’d conked his head on that blasted hanging plant Laura had placed near the front door on the porch. She’d spaded up the unattended garden that encircled the front porch, planted scads of colorful flowers that attracted butterflies and humming birds. You couldn’t walk outside without getting slapped in the face with sweet scents or winged insects.

      Damn it, she was turning his house into a jungle and decorating the place in a girlie manner. There were baskets of potpourri and scented candles taking up space on the end tables and coffee table. The house smelled…well, sissified. It offended his masculinity. If this kept up he wouldn’t recognize the place. The woman had definitely gone too far! He had to put a stop to it.

      Already, he barely recognized Frank! Now that Laura had allowed the cow dog in the house—against his orders, he might add!—the canine rubbed up against his leg, shoved his snout under Wade’s hand and demanded to be petted. The dog was getting soft, lounging around the house instead of chasing rabbits, possums and raccoons that tried to overrun the place. Frank had been perfectly satisfied with his lot in life as a cow dog until Laura started fawning and fussing over him, feeding him doggie treats and taking him with her on long evening walks and horseback rides. Another month of this and Frank wouldn’t be worth shooting!

      As for Duff, he was so besotted with “that little gal” that he’d yakkety-yakked all the way to Hoot’s Roost and back. He’d reported that Laura had been showing up on his doorstep with covered plates of roast beef, fried chicken and gravy, and stayed to polish her poker skills or practice the two-step. Wade, however, sat alone on his leather recliner, watching the boob tube and listing the reasons he should keep his distance from that woman.

      Then, of course, there were Quint and Vance whose recent prank involved leaving cutout hearts made of red construction paper on the pickup seat. Earlier in the week Vance had disguised his voice and phoned to tell Wade that he’d won an all-expense-paid honeymoon vacation to the Bahamas. Wade scowled. His life was out of control and it was Laura’s fault.

      Wade pulled up short in the hall when he heard Laura’s cell phone ring while she was putting away his laundry.

      “Hello, handsome,” she said cheerily. “How’ve you been?”

      Handsome? Who the hell was she talking to this time? He’d heard Laura answer her phone the previous day with: “Hi, gorgeous? How are you, Jerret?” How many men did this bombshell keep on a string at one time?

      “My job is going fine. I figured you’d call as soon as you got my postcard from my new residence in Oklahoma,” she said, then paused when the man—obviously—on the other end of the line inserted a comment. “Who? Wade Ryder? The old rancher