Stealing His Heart

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Cash

The petite blonde behind the bar had a glow about her that took my attention completely. Not many women could do that for me. I wasn’t that easy to attract, but she was doing it without even trying to. “Yeah, dating is a joke.” I sipped my second beer.

“I agree.” She ran a white towel over the already clean bar. “Why go out to eat with someone to see if you’ve got something in common? I mean, we all have to eat, right? Why see if you have that in common?”

“Well, there are different tastes in food,” I argued. “Once, I hooked up with this chick, and we went back to her place. She had a fridge full of nothing but cans of tuna fish. I thought she must’ve had a cat that I hadn’t seen yet.”

“Oh, hell,” Bobbi Jo said with a wince. “Bet she didn’t.”

I nodded. “Yeah, she didn’t have a cat. What she did have was a strict diet of canned tuna. Needless to say, I didn’t stick around that night to see what that kind of diet had done for her.”

“I bet it had done a number of things for her.” She held her nose. “Including giving her that fresh out of the can scent in her nether regions.”

“Yeah, that’s what I assumed too.” I ate a peanut that she’d put out fresh for us. “I didn’t want to find out firsthand.”

“Smart.” Moving to the register, she picked up a pen and a piece of paper. “Tonight, you and your brothers are on the house. That’s how we welcome new residents of Carthage around here. And, of course, we hope you’ll come back to visit us often enough to make up for the treat.”

“Of course.” I already had a good idea that I would love frequenting the fine establishment. “We’re from Dallas. I can’t say this is the nicest or worst bar I’ve ever been in, but I can say that the bartender is quite charming.”

She looked behind her at the guy taking a bottle of Crown off the shelf. “You talking about Joey?”

The guy looked at me, wiggling his dark brows. “Hey there, mister.”

“Hi there, Joey. Name’s Cash Gentry.” I gave him a nod.

He stopped as he looked at me. “Gentry?”

“Yep.” I took another peanut.

“Like the Whisper Ranch Gentry?” he asked.

“Yep.” I had the feeling we could expect a lot of that. “You’ve heard of the ranch?”

“My uncle has the ranch on the west side of that one. The Castle Ranch,” Joey let me know. “His name is Richard. He’s a good guy. He’s about the same age as your grandfather was. He told me they’d gone to school together.”

“Cool.” Maybe I’d drop in and say hello sometime. It might be nice to know more about my grandfather.

“The Seven Pesos ranch is on the other side if Whisper Ranch,” Bobbi Jo said. “George and Lori Sandoval own it. Well, Lori now. George passed away last year. He was your grandfather’s age too. George went last year; your grandfather went this year.” She looked at Joey. “Hope your uncle keeps himself in better shape than those two did.”

Joey shook his head as he walked away to take care of other customers. “Me too. My cousins will make lousy ranch owners. They’re snotty pricks who go to college in Lubbock.”

Bobbi Jo looked back at me. “You look like you’re college age. You going to school anywhere?”

“No.” I wasn’t ever planning on going to college. “My parents didn’t have enough money for any of us to go to college. And none of us made good enough grades to get scholarships. But now, I don’t see why we’d need to go get some degree. We’re rolling in the dough.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” She gestured to my old shirt and blue jeans. “You look like a billion bucks.”

Running my hand over my T-shirt, I said, “We just got the money today, honey. There hasn’t been time to shop. But the next time you see me, I’ll be looking like I’m worth my weight in gold.”

Winking, she teased me, “Isn’t horse semen a different color than gold, Cash?”

“So you know Whisper Ranch has made its money in the horse semen market.” I had to hand it to the girl; she did know the town well.

“Racehorse semen,” she corrected me. “More than one buyer has come to have drinks here, I’m proud to say.”

“I figure all my brothers and I have to do is sit back and let the bucks keep rolling in.” I hadn’t had time to think about it much, but why bother with finding something to do if you had money coming in hand over fist already?

The slightest frown on her pretty face made me wonder what she thought about that.

“I hope you don’t become that kind of man, Cash.”

“What kind is that?” I had a feeling I knew but wanted to hear it come from her.

“A trust-fund brat.” She ran the cloth over the bar again and then I could tell that she would soon become bored with me if I were nothing more than that.

“So, what would you have me do?” I had no idea why I’d asked her that.

“Something,” she said. “Anything. Just don’t sit back and drink your days and nights way while chasing loose women. Be something. Do something. Don’t let this money go to waste. You know what I’m saying?”

“It sounds like you think I should—dare I say it?—work?” I’d barely gotten stinking rich and already the first woman I’d met after getting that way wanted me to work. “See, that’s why I don’t date or have serious relationships.”

She seemed puzzled. “Because a woman would expect more out of you? Shallow man. I didn’t see that coming.”

“You’re not typical, Bobbi Jo.” I took a long drink of the beer as I watched her out of the corner of my eye.

“I try not to be.” She pulled her jacket off, revealing tight and toned arms. “See, I’m a lot more like you than you think, Cash. I don’t like relationships either. I think they stifle people.” She flexed one bicep. “I like to work out when I’m not working. I’ve got my own gym in the garage at home. Men don’t like women who are stronger or tougher than they are.”

“You are absolutely right.” I winked at her. “How about a refill, doll?”

With a heavy sigh, she got me a refill then slid it to me. “See, the thing is, I don’t care if men don’t like me.”

“Because you like girls?” I teased her. I didn’t see her as that type.

“You’re a riot.” She snapped the bar towel at me, catching me on the wrist. “I enjoy the company of men—just not for extended periods of time.”

“So, you’re a confirmed bachelorette then?” I asked as I’d considered myself a confirmed bachelor since puberty.

“Confirmed?” She tapped her chin. “I guess you could say that. I’ve got no intention of finding Mr. Right and making babies, taking care of a house, and driving a minivan. But having a little fun isn’t a thing I’m against.”

“Me neither.” I held up my mug. “To you, Bobbi Jo, a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid of what anyone thinks about that.” I had to respect that about the girl.

A blush covered her cheeks for only a moment as she ran her hand through her blond ponytail. “I guess I am coming off kind of strong. I’m not a man-hater by any means. “

“Nor am I a woman-hater.” But I wasn’t looking for anything serious. “I’m glad you and I have put ourselves out there. I don’t like to guess what a woman wants. I bet you don’t like to guess what a man wants either.”

“What’s to guess?” she asked. “Men want simple things. A woman who will dote on him, cook for him, care for him, give him what he wants, when he wants it. I’m just not into giving anyone what they want when they want it.”

“Hey, how about another round over here, Bobbi Jo?” a guy called out.

Nodding, she went to grab some more beers for the table. “Maybe it’s my job of having to give people what they want when they want it that makes me the way I am.”

“Who knows for sure?” I took another drink as I watched her. The way her tight little a*s moved when she hurried to give the beers to the table of men took my attention. It was a great a*s after all. And her t**s were pretty perky and plump too. She had that cute little hourglass figure that most women only dream of having.

When she came back behind the bar, I heard her stomach growl. “Oh, crap. I’ve gotta call in something for dinner. If I don’t eat three times a day, I get extremely moody. How about you, Cash?”

“How about me what?” I had no idea what she meant.

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” I thought she was sweet for asking.

“I did. We have a home chef. He’s the best. He made chicken fried steaks, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was the bomb. Better than I’ve ever had before.” Even recalling the meal had my mouth watering.

“Damn. That sounds good.” She pulled her cell out of the pocket of her blue jeans. “Maybe you bring me your leftovers from time to time, and I’ll treat you to free drinks. For now, though, it’s the Dairy King to the rescue.”

“I’ll make that deal with you.” It didn’t matter that I had more money than I’d ever imagined. If anyone wanted to trade food for alcohol, I was in. “Any requests? I think I can get him to cook whatever I want.”

“I bet you can, seeing as you and your brothers are his new bosses.” She texted her order to the place she’d spoken about. “For the record, I love steaks. All kinds of steaks. And I like them rare.”

“Me too.” I liked that about her. “People who overcook their steaks piss me off. I’m like, a cow died for you, b***h. Don’t ruin what it gave you.”

Her laughter sounded musical, and I couldn’t help the smile that took over my face. “I’ve literally said that before. My cousin Gina and I went to this steakhouse once, and she ordered her steak well done. I was like, why would you ruin your steak? That cow died for us.”

“Seems we think alike.” I hadn’t ever had a girl who was just my friend. I’d never liked any girl that much. But Bobbi Jo wasn’t like any girl I’d ever known. Most of them were so worried about attracting me that they watched every word that came out of their mouths.

“I highly doubt that.” She jerked her head at some girls who came in the door. “I bet you and I are thinking totally different things about those girls there.”

Looking at them, and seeing them look back at me, I nodded politely. “I see four young women who work together at what I’d bet is a bank.” The fact was, I’d seen them at the bank we’d been at earlier when our lives were forever changed.

“Did the nametags clue you in?” Bobbi Jo asked, then laughed. “Too easy, Cash. Way too easy.”

Yeah, just like being with you is.