The Cowboy Inherits a Bride by Cora Seton

Author:Cora Seton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Cowboys, Romance
Publisher: One Acre Press
Published: 2015-10-31T04:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Eleven

Cole took a steadying breath and let it out slowly while firing the Glock 30 at a target his previous rounds had already torn practically to shreds. Ammunition was expensive, and he was going through it like a house on fire, but when he’d seen his friends in Sunshine’s café, something had gone off inside him until he lost his cool. Didn’t they know what they were doing to him? Did they want him to lose?

He stopped firing when he ran out of rounds and automatically went through the precautions that had been drilled into him since childhood. Put on the safety, check the action, place the pistol on the counter before turning around. He was the only one in the range, though. Everyone else was helping Sunshine steal his future right out from under him.

If they didn’t come to shoot afterward it would be his own damn fault, too. Yelling at her like that—and at them, too.

For the first time he considered what he’d do if he lost the range. He couldn’t open a new one and what else was he good for except running a business? He thought of the tenants in the apartment buildings. What would they do? Would they find homes elsewhere or would it be the final blow to some of them that left them truly homeless?

Thirty minutes later, he couldn’t stand anymore to be alone with his thoughts. He opened the door to the front room and found his friends still lolling in the chairs around Sunshine’s mismatched tables. Several of them seemed to be on their second meals.

“Cole—you gotta try this pizza!” Ethan said.

“Pizza with fake cheese? I don’t think so.”

Ethan pulled the slice he was about to bite into away from his mouth. “Fake cheese?” He looked to Sunshine for confirmation.

“It’s not fake—it’s just not made from cow’s milk.”

“Sounds pretty fake to me.” Cole came out from behind his counter and approached the table. “How much other fake food have you served my friends?”

“None of it is fake.” Sunshine came out from behind her counter too. “It’s alternative.”

“An alternative to eating real food.” He spotted Jamie’s plate. “What the hell is that?”

“Zucchini. It’s a vegetable.”

“I know it’s a vegetable.” Was he even having this conversation? The closest thing to a vegetable he could ever remember seeing Jamie eat was the French fries at the Burger Shack.

“I’ve got artichokes on my pizza.” Ethan held one out.

“My cauliflower ain’t half bad, either. Sunshine did something lemony to it.”

She’d gotten the sheriff to eat a vegetable? Cole’s anger was building again. He knew why all his friends were following her lead like puppies; that slinky outfit she was prancing around in had mesmerized them. Every curve of hers was on display and all that long, blond hair. It was enough to drive a man wild.

His gaze landed on a makeshift banner she’d hung on the wall. “What’s that?”

“It’s my Scones and Six Packs contest.”

His fingers bunched into fists. No way. She wouldn’t.

“It’s awesome. All

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