Bad News Cowboy by Maisey Yates Page A

curled into a tight hissing ball. She did
not
like that.
    â€œI can’t take much credit,” Jack said. Except he really should have been taking all the credit.
    â€œI’d love to participate in a barrel racing event,” Sierra went on.
    Jack cleared his throat and took a step away from their little huddle. “Well, just give Kate a call about it and she’ll add your name.”
    â€œAnd anything else I can do to help...”
    â€œWe’ve got it,” Jack said.
    Sierra looked confused at Jack’s short reply, as though no man had ever turned down the opportunity to spend extra time with her. “Okay. I will...call Kate, then.”
    Jack nodded, his jaw tense. And Kate was perversely satisfied by the fact that Jack didn’t seem at all enticed by Sierra’s clear interest.
    On the heels of her satisfaction came annoyance at said satisfaction. Jack could do what he wanted with whoever he wanted.
    Though Sierra was one of her few female friends and she had to admit it would be weird if the other woman was sleeping with someone Kate was so close to.
    Jack. Sleeping with Sierra.
    Immediately, she pictured a messy bed and a tangle of limbs. Jack’s big hands running down a bare back. Long hair spread out over a white pillowcase. Only, for some reason, the woman in her vision wasn’t a blonde with a riot of luxurious curls. Instead she had straight dark hair...
    Kate bit down on the inside of her cheek. “Yes,” Kate managed to force out, “call me.”
    â€œHey, some of us are headed to Ace’s,” Sierra said. “You want to come?”
    â€œI came with Jack...”
    â€œThat’s fine,” Jack said, cutting her off. “She can go. We’ll both go.”
    â€œGreat.” Sierra smiled brightly. “See you there.”
    Kate rounded on Jack, the tension from earlier taking that easy turn into irritation. “Did you just give me permission to go somewhere?”
    â€œI’m your ride.”
    â€œYes. My ride. Not my dad.”
    He chuckled. “Oh, honey, I don’t think for one second that I’m your dad.”
    â€œStop calling me that,” she said, ignoring the rash of heat that had broken out on her skin when he’d spoken the endearment.
    It made her angry because she was not his honey. Not now, not ever. She clenched her teeth and her fists, turned, and walked out of the room, headed out into the warm evening air.
    â€œI can’t call you honey, I can’t call you Katie. I can’t win,” he said, his voice coming from behind her.
    She turned around to face him. “You could call me Kate. That’s my name. That’s what everyone calls me.”
    â€œConnor calls you Katie.”
    A strange sort of desperation clawed at her chest. “Connor is my brother. If you haven’t noticed, you aren’t. Now let’s go to Ace’s.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    J ACK WAS FEELING pretty irritated with life by the time he and Kate walked into Ace’s. He was pretty sure his half sister had attempted to make a pass at him, and Kate was acting like he’d put bugs in her boots.
    He also couldn’t drink, because he was driving.
    Irritated didn’t begin to cover it.
    He was getting pretty sick and tired of Kate’s prickly attitude and now he’d gotten himself embroiled in a whole thing with a woman who was the human equivalent of a cactus.
    He really needed the drink that he couldn’t have.
    Though maybe if Kate had one, she would calm the hell down.
    â€œCan I buy you a drink?” he asked.
    â€œA Coke,” she said.
    â€œYou want rum in that?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œBecause making an ass out of myself in front of a roomful of people is not on today’s to-do list. I’m a lightweight.”
    He laughed. “Okay, I’m a little bit surprised that you would admit that.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œYou’re the