Espino, Stacey - Hogtying the Cowgirl [Ride 'em Hard 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free Page B

stood there, not moving or speaking for the longest time. “Your girlfriend seems to be a bit off her rocker.” He didn’t expect the other man to refute him, not when he was standing miles from civilization with no ride.
    “She’s not my girlfriend. Angel’s just a friend, and right now, I’m not even sure about that.”
    Knowing they were just friends satisfied Clay in a way he hadn’t expected. It’s not like he was foolish enough to court a woman like Angel. He’d be better off stepping on a finishing nail than dealing with that devil of a cowgirl. Then why couldn’t he stop obsessing over her? She was an unrefined, no-apologies kind of girl. He’d like to bridle and brand the feisty little filly and ride the attitude right out of her.
    “Tell you what. If you can hang around for twenty minutes while I take a quick shower, I’ll drive you into town myself.” No sense making the man’s shame worse. Clay didn’t have to be told Angel Garner was one hundred percent responsible for the lies and surprise visit. It would be difficult for a flesh-and-blood man to refuse the blonde beauty, so he couldn’t blame Landon.
    “I suppose I don’t have much choice unless I want to spend half the day walking.” He tilted his hat in thanks and then came to sit on the porch steps.

    * * * *

    He was going to kill her when he saw her next. It was one thing to throw one of her usual tantrums, but to desert him way out here with no way to get home? He was doing her a favor, taking time off from a paying job to help her weasel some new guy out of his horse. If he had to take a side, he’d be beside the dark-haired cowboy. He seemed reasonable and even offered to drive him into town after being tongue-lashed by Angel.
    Some days he didn’t know why the fuck he put up with her, and then he remembered the sweet girl locked up behind skin as thick as old leather. She may be nice to look at, but below the surface was a turbulent mix of emotion so unsettled it could scare off even a full-grown man. The truth was she’d been there for him when it counted, which was why he stuck around. With the Garner brothers being his good friends, it was automatically his job to keep a look out for Angel. Sometimes he may have took the job a little too much to heart.
    While others couldn’t stand her abrasive personality, he saw the softer side. When she was seventeen, she came to him in tears, insisting there wasn’t another person in the world she could confide in. Always a do-gooder, she stepped in to help the Carson brothers when one of the money-hungry industrialists tried to take over their farm after their momma died. The Carson brothers still had no clue the sacrifice Angel made by agreeing to hand over her prized stallion. Her father gave her a beating to remember for supposedly selling the valuable horse, and she yearned for that black stallion ever since.
    Knowing what he did, he kept her close, maybe coddled her too much. He’d helped to create a monster, as Clay had said. Maybe it was time to take that monster by the horns, rather than permitting it to wreak havoc on everyone in its path. She’d been hurt in the past, but after five years, it was time to move on.

Chapter Four

    “So…” They drove in awkward silence over the uneven dirt roads leading into town. “How long you know Angel?”
    “All my life. We’re a small community, and most of us grew up together.”
    “She’s a hostile little thing. Cute as a button, but I still can’t see why you’d humor her.” Clay wondered what her story was or if she could even have one at her ripe, young age. It was usually folks up in years that harbored bitterness from bad life experiences. Or was Angel truly an inexcusable, spoiled brat?
    “As long as you keep on her good side, you’ll do okay.”
    “I’m a hopeless cause, then. She already hates me with the intensity of the sun.”
    They both laughed because it was true. “As long as you have that stallion, I