The Rancher's Proposal by Paula Altenburg

Author:Paula Altenburg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781951190460
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

It was a Friday night and Lou’s Pub was bustling.

Zack pushed his way through the crowd. His friends had gathered in the center of the room. Andy—a fit, attractive blonde with all the confidence of the sharpshooting weapons expert she was—stood on a table. She had a row of shot glasses lined up at her feet and was systematically working her way through them to the cheers of her audience.

Zack suddenly felt old. He liked Andy. He liked everyone here. But this was the kind of thing they would have done when they were eighteen, not hovering near thirty. He’d aged so much in the past few months. His family—his niece and nephews—were his highest priority, not seeing how fast he and his friends could down shots. He began to worry about asking Posey to join him. He couldn’t imagine her enjoying herself. He didn’t want her to think this was his idea of fun.

He would have happily sat with her on her front porch.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m surprised you could make it,” Dan said in his ear. Overhead speakers blared southern rock, making conversation a challenge, but not impossible. “You’re usually sitting on your neighbor’s front porch about this time most nights, aren’t you?”

There were no secrets in small towns.

“What a waste of taxpayers’ gas, driving around at night spying on people,” Zack replied. “Shouldn’t you be writing parking tickets or something, instead?”

“Check your windshield. I got your truck on the way in. But don’t worry—the county takes credit cards for payment, now.” Andy leaped off the table onto a sea of upward-stretched hands. Dan’s jaw flapped on its hinges. “Is she actually crowd surfing?”

The crowd deposited her in front of the two men. She’d had enough to drink that her eyes took a second to focus, and she was a little unsteady on her feet, but while she’d never pass a breathalyzer, she wasn’t yet drunk.

“Zack!” She flung her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you came!”

Back when they were in school, he’d had a semi-serious crush on her. She’d been wild, and beautiful, and exciting. They’d never progressed beyond friendship, however. She’d dated older men. Much older, as he recalled. Then she’d enlisted, they’d lost touch, and now, here they were.

Andy’s gaze drifted past him to settle on Dan. Her eyes narrowed and cooled. “Don, isn’t it? I barely recognized you. You’ve put on weight since the last time I saw you.”

Dan raised his beer bottle to his lips and took a slow swig. He gave her a long, thoughtful perusal from head to toe. “You haven’t changed a bit, Andy. You’re as pretty as ever.”

Andy tossed her head, flipping her hair over one well-toned shoulder, and moved on.

Zack eyed his friend with new respect.

“So, Don. What was that all about?” he asked.

“You aren’t the only guy with a weakness for women with issues,” Dan muttered. “Some of us know when to give up on them, though.”

And yet Dan had come to Andy’s sendoff.

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