Sweet Vidalia Brand Read Online Free Page B

another round. Or two. Or all night long.
    “I wish you good luck with the, uh, The Long Branch.” She looked at his face for a long time. “You’re a charmer, Bobby Joe McIntyre. But it didn’t work.”
    “It didn’t?”
    “No. I’m gonna do everything I can do to put you out of business. Because the OK Corral is my baby. The only one that didn’t grow up and leave the nest. She’s all I’ve got in the world right now, and I’m not about to let you come waltzing into town and ruin her.”
    “I don’t want to ruin the Corral, Vidalia.”
    “This is a one-saloon town. I’m gonna make sure that one saloon is always the OK Corral.”
    He lowered his head. “All right then. If that’s how it has to be.”
    “That’s how it is.” She nodded once and started for the door.
    “Thanks for the dance,” he called after her.
    “You’re welcome.” She reached the batwing doors, pushed through them, stopped on the other side, and looked back at him. “So, um...you want to get together for lunch tomorrow?”
    He smiled real slow. “You’re damn straight I do.”
    She smiled back at him. Damn, she was one Class-A beauty when she smiled. Then she turned and walked out the door, leaving him to wonder just what the hell he thought he was doing.

 
    Chapter Three
----
     
    “I’ve been so busy with life lately, Mom. The twins and Caleb and all. I feel like I’ve been neglecting you.”
    Vidalia raised her eyebrows at her eldest daughter and continued sipping coffee from her favorite mug. It had a sexy cowboy on it, whose shirt vanished as the coffee level went down. Melusine had bought it for her last Christmas as part of the girls’ ongoing, good natured battle over who could get their mother the best present. Of course, Maya had won by delivering the twins on Christmas four years ago, and then Kara had tied her by bringing little Tyler into the family two Christmasses later. But Vidalia didn’t mind that they all kept trying. Mel’s mug certainly made the morning cuppa more interesting, and as a bonus, it discouraged that second cup Vidalia probably shouldn’t have. After all, you didn’t want to put the cowboy’s shirt back
on
.
    Carefully, she set the mug on the kitchen table. “You haven’t been neglecting me at all, hon. We see each other every day.”
    “I know, but we haven’t really talked, except about the kids.” She sipped her own coffee from a far less interesting mug, and said, “How are things with you, Mom? Anything...new?”
    Subtle, she wasn’t. “Don’t beat around the bush, Maya. You’re too old for that. Just tell me what’s on your mind.”
    Maya didn’t return her steady gaze. She looked past her instead, into the living room where the twins were playing with the plethora of toys Vidalia kept on hand, but eyeing the ornaments on the giant balsam fir tree as if they would far prefer to play with those.
    “I heard a stranger came into the Corral last night.”
    “Strangers come into the Corral every night.” She wasn’t going to make this easy on her firstborn. Vidalia was an adult woman and she didn’t need supervision from her offspring. And yes, she was feeling very defensive about this. About Bobby Joe. And for good reasons that were her own fault and not Maya’s. Still, she couldn’t help bristling a little.
    “I heard you went outside to talk to him. And that you seemed...flustered.”
    Vidalia shrugged. “I wouldn’t say flustered is the right word. And he’s not a stranger. He’s Bobby Joe McIntyre.”
    “So who is he? What’s going on?”
    “You mean you don’t remember him?” Vidalia asked.
    “No.” Maya tilted her head and frowned. “Should I?”
    Shrugging, Vidalia examined the now half-naked cowboy on her mug and thought Bobby looked better. He’d looked better then, and he still looked better to her. She’d always had a weakness for that man.
    “He used to be a local.” Vidalia shrugged as if it didn’t much matter. “He bought the old