Page 117 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys

I roll the cold glass between my hands while a bee bumbles past us toward the flowers.

“You’ve been asking a lot of questions about babies and settling down.”

I smile over the rim of my jar. “I’m nosy. I like collecting other people’s stories.”

“You’ve made a career out of it.”

“I have.”

She studies me for another sip before asking, “You’re still planning to leave once your Silver Bit gigs are over?”

I tip my head from side to side. “I was.”

Her eyebrows lift. “Was?”

I let out a small laugh. “Listen to you catching one word.”

“You picked it.”

“I know.”

She grins. “So?”

I glance out across the flowers before looking back at her. “I’ll be leaving at some point. I mean, I’ve stayed longer than I usually do.”

Abilene smiles over the rim of her jar. “You’ve also spent most of that time at Dusty Spur.”

“I like the food.”

“I’m sure that’s the only reason.”

I grin. “Sadie has a habit of making plans that somehow involve me. And the horses don’t exactly hurt either.”

She tips her head. “Funny. I would’ve guessed the cowboys ranked somewhere above the horses.”

I laugh into my drink. “The bonfires are nice.”

“They certainly are.”

I narrow my eyes at her while she fights a smile. “You’re having way too much fun with this.”

“I’ve barely started.”

I shake my head and laugh into my lemonade. “You’re impossible.”

“So I’ve heard.” Abilene smiles, taking another sip before adding, “You’ve done a remarkable job talking around Dusty Spur without mentioning the men who live there.”

Heat creeps into my cheeks. “I slept with Red the first night I got here.”

She nods like I’ve just told her I stopped for coffee on the drive into town. “I had a feeling.”

I pick at the label wrapped around my jar. “Then Willy happened.” A grin tugs at the corner of her mouth, but she keeps it to herself. “And then Emmett.”

That finally breaks her composure, and she laughs into her lemonade before setting the jar on the grass. “Oh, sweetheart.”

I cover my face with one hand. “Please don’t look at me like that.”

She blinks innocently. “Like what?”