The saloon sits across the street from a strip mall, the street dark and silent save for the activity flowing from the bar. I park the truck in the middle of the gravel parking lot and hop out. Clay and I head past the small crowd of smokers milling around near the front.

A shitty Carrie Underwood song I want to forget exists, blasts from the speakers. The people in the crowd of twenty and thirty somethings either sway to the beat or press around the bar looking for their next drink.

“I’m going to call my dad,” Clay says. “Let him know we got in.”

He walks across the floor and disappears into a hallway. I give the crowd a closer survey, looking for any women who might be hanging out on their own. For the most part, each woman is either with a guy or a small group of girlfriends.

I push towards the counter and get the bartender’s attention. “Two Buds,” I tell her. The second the words leave my mouth I catch sight of a small blonde woman down at the end of the bar. She looks barely old enough to drink and sits by herself. She stirs the black straw in her tumbler and stares down at the wooden bar.

I touch the bartender’s wrist. “And another round for her,” I say, nodding at the blonde.

I wait until the drinks are deposited. The blonde looks up in confusion, clocking the bar. Our eyes lock. I smile, picking up my beer, and then Clay’s. Pushing my way through the crowd, I make a beeline for her.

“How’s it going?” I ask, sidling right up to her bar stool.

Her cheeks instantly flush. She tucks some hair behind an ear and smiles uncertainly. “Good. You’re the one who sent me the drink?”

I grin. “Guilty.”

“Thank you.” Her eyes quickly flick across me as she makes a sad attempt to check me out without my noticing.

“You’re here by yourself?”

She lifts one shoulder. “It’s kind of lame, huh?”

I take a swig of beer. “Not at all. A girl shouldn’t need friends or a boyfriend to go out and have a good time.”

She smirks. “I have plenty of friends, let me just throw that out there.”

“I’m sure you do,” I toss back.

“They’re just all working or studying tonight.”

“And on your twenty-first birthday?” I tease. “Shame.”

Her nose wrinkles. “Sorry… What?”

“You look like you only turned old enough to walk into a bar about ten minutes ago.”

Her eyes roll. “I get that a lot.”

“It’s just your face that looks young, don’t worry.”

Her eyes freeze on mine. I help myself to the empty stool next to her and give her a moment to absorb the full meaning behind my words.

“Is this the spot around here?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

I tuck my chin and look at her from under my eyelashes. “I mean, is there anything else to do other than stand around in a crowded bar and drink?”

Her throat bobs as she gulps. “Not much,” she whispers. Her pupils dilate and her breathing quickens. She’s as good as mine.

“I’m just here for a couple weeks, that’s why I asked. My friend and I are staying outside of town.” I take another drink of beer and wonder just when Clay will show up. “You’d like him.”

She blinks rapidly, probably wondering whether I’m hitting on her for my own purposes or working on setting her up with my friend. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” I grin. “He’s almost as cute as me.”

“That’s good to know.”

I cross my arms against the bar and lean into them. “Come hang out with us.”

Her mouth opens slightly. She seems flabbergasted.

“I promise we’ll show you some things you won’t forget for a long time.” I stare her down, making sure the meaning of my words doesn’t get lost in the small amount of space between us.

Her face goes red. She clears her throat and adjusts herself in her seat. “That, um, sounds nice, but I don’t think so.”

I peer at her. If she’s the kind of woman I’m pretty sure she is, she’s only playing hard to get. Once Clay gets here, and she sees the two of us side by side, she’ll be rethinking her answer in no time at all.

I lick my lips provocatively. Her eyes fall down to my mouth. Her breathing hitches.

“I have, uh, plans,” she stammers.

“This late?”

“Cheyenne.”

I turn at Clay’s voice. He stands right behind me, his eyes glued on the blonde.

“Cheyenne?” I ask. “Wait. This...”

“It’s Clay,” he says, cutting me off like I haven’t even spoken.

Cheyenne smiles. “I know. I saw you earlier.”

I look between the two of them, a laugh starting to escape my throat. Cheyenne stares at me like I’m crazy. I grab my beer and take a drink to shut myself up.

“I guess you met Nash,” Clay solemnly says.

Her lashes flutter as she looks back at me. “Not formally.”

I extend my hand for a shake. The second her fingers touch my skin electricity jumps up my arm.

Yep. I’ve got to have this one.

The fact that Clay and I were just talking about her makes me even more sure. I don’t believe in destiny in any sense of the word, but if life throws something at me, I’m not a dumbass. I take the hint and seize whatever opportunity is there.

“He’s in the rodeo too,” Clay says.

Cheyenne studies me with more interest. “Oh yeah. I think I did see you out there tonight.”

“You think?” I grumpily ask, not pleased she came to the rodeo and overlooked me.

“You still living on Ello?” Clay asks her, the most intense look on his face. He looks a heartbeat away from bending this barely legal-looking woman over and fucking her on the end of the bar right here and now. I want to slap him over the head and tell him to play it cooler. If he doesn’t watch it, he’ll scare her away.

Several expressions rush across Cheyenne’s face, all of them too quick to catch and name. “Yeah, I am. Staying there makes it easier to help my mom out.”

“How’s your dad?”

Her lips purse slightly. “He’s good. He doesn’t leave the house much anymore, and that’s kind of...” She trails off. “It’s been interesting. What about your dad?”

Clay grins slightly. “I think you might know better than me.”

She looks at her drink. “Yeah. Perhaps.”

“Nash and I are staying at the ranch. For two weeks.”

“Oh,” she says in a small voice. “That’s, uh, that’s nice.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, staring her down. “It is.”

I clear my throat. “You know, it’s funny. Clay and I were just talking about you on the way over here.”

She looks at Clay in amusement. “Oh, really?”

He nods and edges himself closer towards her. “Really,” he huskily answers.

Cheyenne’s chest rises sharply. With Clay and me on either side of her, she’s boxed in. There’s nowhere to go.

“I was wondering how you’ve been doing,” Clay softly says.

“It was more than that,” I chime in. “He was actually telling me all about the beautiful girl who lived next door to him.”

Cheyenne’s eyes move from my eyes to my mouth. She slowly licks her lips, probably not even aware of what she’s doing. The girl is hooked. She might have been trying to play hard to get earlier, but the facade is quickly melting away. Clay showing up probably has a lot to do with it, but I’m not jealous. The two of us, well we can be competitive over a lot of things, but it ain’t the case when it comes to women. We figured out long ago that we like to share, and we’re good at it. We’re fair.

And very, very, generous.

Which is something the woman in front of us is about to find out.

“Hang out with us,” I say.

Cheyenne’s mouth twitches. She looks back at Clay.

“We won’t bite,” Clay answers.

“Not hard anyway,” I softly add.

Her eyes go wide. Cheyenne looks alarmed. She loves it too, though. Her fingers grip the edge of the counter, and her breathing gets even heavier.

I signal the bartender for the bill.

A phone starts to ring. Cheyenne grabs the purse swung over the back of her chair and pulls her cell phone out. She reads a text and makes an exasperated noise.

“I have to go,” she announces, already standing up.

“Where?” Clay asks, looking just as surprised as I am.

“Home. Well, to the pharmacy and then home.”

I stand as well. “We’ll drive you.”

“No,” she sharply says, the word slicing through the air. A second passes. She speaks again, her voice is softer. “Thank you, but I drove here myself. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Without looking at us again, she hurries out of the bar.

Clay and I stare at each other.

“What did you do?” he asks.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Things were going great until she answered her phone. Don’t blame this on me.”

He sighs and takes Cheyenne’s vacated seat. “You’re right.”

“Damn straight I’m right. She’s just as sexy as I thought she’d be, by the way.” I whistle low. “I mean, damn…”

“I know.”

“So, what now?” I scan the bar. Two chicks in cowboy boots, short shorts, and t-shirts sit at a nearby booth. One of them catches my eye and grins. I nod back at her but then quickly look away. At another time, she might have held my interest, but watching Cheyenne walk out makes me not easily satiated.

“We get Cheyenne,” Clay says. “I already know there’s no other girl in the Town of Cody who we want as much as that little lady.”

I raise my bottle. “Glad we’re in agreement.”

He knocks the neck of his bottle against mine, the clink of glass the sealed deal.