Two Times as Hot by Cat Johnson Page A

before he joined the military.”
     Tara’s voice took on a faraway quality. “When we were younger, Logan was always in
     jeans and a cowboy hat. He had this old pair of boots that he loved. He said he’d
     never find a pair like them again so he wore them until the sole flapped when he walked.
     Even then he didn’t want to part with them. He nailed the sole back on and wore them
     until his mother made him stop.”
    Instead of the country song blaring out of the jukebox, Emma wouldn’t have been surprised
     to hear a sappy soundtrack to accompany Tara’s memories. Violins or maybe a harp,
     like the background music from a television show dream sequence.
    It was obvious the girl was lost in the distant past. Her crush on Logan had apparently
     been the result of a surge of prepubescent hormones. Tara wanted the Logan of her
     youth back. The young cowboy version, not the mature adult soldier he was now.
    In Emma’s opinion, Tara was barking up the wrong tree. Logan had to be in his mid
     to late thirties, so he was obviously a career military man. From what Becca had told
     her, he was an officer. He wasn’t going to up and retire to hang around in holey boots
     with Tara.
    Or maybe he would. Considering Emma’s bad track record with men, she might not know
     as much as she thought she did. After all, she never would have guessed Jace, or any
     living breathing man, would have given up a night of sex to change a flat tire.
    That depressing thought left Emma torn between calling it a night and ordering more
     drinks so she could get drunk enough to forget about this day. All of it. Every bad
     decision she’d made. Accepting Jace’s invite when her gut told her it was a bad idea.
     Noticing Logan when Tara was obviously already in love with him. And now, going out,
     just the three of them.
    “Hey. What did I miss?” Becca finally returned from the bathroom.
    About damn time. Becca had taken long enough that Emma regretted not going with her,
     but even as much as Emma had hated their conversation, it would have been rude to
     leave Tara sitting alone at the table.
    Emma let out a sigh. “Nothing. Just talking about boots.”
    Becca sat. “You must be in heaven. You love boots.”
    “Not this kind.” The flat tone of Emma’s reply had Becca glancing at her.
    “Oh. Um, so, any interesting scenery show up while I was gone?” Changing the subject.
     Smart girl. Her sister knew Emma well enough to know when something was up.
    “What kind of scenery are you looking for?” Tara asked Becca.
    “Not for me, it’s for Em—” The kick in the shin under the table shut Becca up.
    Becca glared at Emma, who opened her eyes wide and mouthed, “Shut up.”
    Becca frowned and continued, “Um, you know. Just some authentic western scenery. Like
     farmers or . . . stuff. I want Emma to get the full Oklahoma experience while she’s
     here.”
    “Then you should take her to a rodeo. Logan used to take Tuck and Layne to rodeos
     all the time, back when Tyler and I were so little we had to fight to go along and
     not to be left home with Ma.”
    If this girl said the name Logan one more time . . .
    Emma gritted her teeth. “That sounds fun.”
    Becca shot Emma a glance and then turned to Tara. “Ah, we’ve actually both been to
     a rodeo. It’s where I met Tucker last year.”
    “Oh, that’s right. I heard that story. I’d forgotten because I assumed when I heard
     where he met you that you were a buckle bunny. Then when it turned out you weren’t
     . . .” Tara shrugged and let the sentence trail off.
    After that strange comment, Emma wasn’t sure whether to feel insulted on Becca’s behalf
     of not.
    Tara wrinkled her nose as she glanced at the collection of men gathered there. “You’ll
     find more guys at the bar on the other side of town. The one with the pool table.
     There are a few cowboys in here tonight. No one as cute as Logan, but at least there’s
     some authentic western scenery for you.