Brokedown Cowboy

His brother’s girlfriend looked up at him, the expression on her face comically innocent. “I came bearing gifts, Connor. Is that any way to greet a guest with presents?”

“You brought Beavers paraphernalia into my house. OSU fans can stay out on the lawn. We worship at the temple of green and gold here.”

Jack, who was already sitting at the table, thumped the side of the green ice bucket, proudly displaying the large University of Oregon O. “This is Duck country, sweetheart.”

Sadie batted her eyes. “I had no idea. I just found this bright orange bowl and thought it would be a great bowl to bring black and orange M&Ms in.”

“She’s a witch! Burn the witch!” Jack chanted from his position at the table.

“Light anything else on my property on fire and I will roast you over the flames, Monaghan,” Connor growled.

“Sorry, Con,” he said. “Bad joke, all things considered.”

Connor supposed it was. But then, if you couldn’t laugh at life’s shit, you might as well lie down in it and die. Which...he was closer to doing some days than he’d like to admit.

Sadie ignored him and walked into the house, putting her giant orange bowl on the table, an ugly blot near his hallowed Ducks ice bucket. “Eli should be by later. I invited Kate, too.”

This elicited a groan from Jack, and, he realized after the fact, from him, too.

“What?” Sadie asked. “Kate is my friend, and I want her here.”

“She’s my little sister,” Connor said.

“And I have to watch my mouth when she’s around,” Jack said.

“But you don’t,” Sadie said, arching her brow. “Anyway, your boys club gets stale. The testosterone is so thick a girl can hardly breathe.”

“Hey,” Connor said. “What about Liss?”

“She is an excellent source of estrogen, but firmly on your team,” Sadie said, reaching into her godforsaken bowl and taking out a handful of candy.

He supposed he couldn’t argue that point. Liss was his friend. And had been for years. She’d stuck by him almost as long as Jack. And she wasn’t obligated by blood the way Eli was. Considering that, he definitely owed her an apology for being such a jackass this morning. But hangovers were not his friend.

Considering that, he spent way more time with them than he should.

“She’s coming, right?” Sadie asked.

“Yeah, I’m surprised she’s not here yet.”

As if on cue, the door burst open and Liss all but tumbled into the room, dropping her purse on the wooden floor and letting out a frustrated growl. “My damn car wouldn’t start.” She straightened and pushed her dark, coppery hair from her forehead, her hazel eyes telegraphing her evil mood with supreme effect. “I tried for twenty minutes in the parking lot at work, and then when I was getting ready to call a tow truck, it started for no apparent reason. That’s not a good sign.”

Sadie closed the distance between herself and Liss and picked Liss’s purse up from the floor, not because Sadie was big into neatness, but because she seemed to like picking up after people. A therapist before she’d come back to Copper Ridge to open her bed-and-breakfast, Sadie liked fixing other people’s problems more than she liked just about anything else.

Except antagonizing them with sports rivalries, apparently.

“That sucks, Liss,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair, his eyes on the forbidden bowl of candy.

“Eat the candy, Jack,” Connor said, keeping his eyes on Liss.

She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on this morning, a pair of black dress pants and a blue button-up shirt, her hair hanging loose around her shoulders. She looked flustered, which was unusual for Liss.

“Just one more thing I don’t need,” she grumbled. “Something smells good.”

“Frozen pizza, à la me,” Connor said.

“Yum!” Liss said, her crabby expression lightening. “Anything else?”

“I brought pizza rolls,” Jack said.

“Anything else?” Sadie asked.

“There’s cheesy garlic bread in the oven. And marinara sauce to dip in,” Connor said.

“So,” Sadie said, “pizza, pizza that’s folded in on itself and deconstructed pizza.”

“Pretty much,” Connor said.

“Any vegetables?” Sadie asked.

“It’s like you don’t know us at all,” Jack said.

“I’m on board with your choice of menu for the evening,” Liss said, sitting down at the table across from Jack and immediately snagging a beer from the Ducks bucket. “I require carbs, cheese and grease to deal with my mood.”

“I’m sure Jake will take a look at your car,” Connor said, referencing Copper Ridge’s new mechanic. Jake was still building a client base, and he was counting on word of mouth to help do that.

“Probably. But I don’t really want to go begging for free work. Anyway, as long as it’s a minor issue I can afford to deal with it. But I am not in a position to buy a new car.”

Jack snorted. “Who is?”

“Probably you,” Liss said.

Jack just shrugged. Jack might be in the position but Connor certainly wasn’t. Not with his barn reduced to ash and charred ranch equipment. Though, truly, he supposed that was a fixable problem. But somehow, every time he went to fix the paperwork the insurance place had sent over, he got distracted and ended up doing something else. So the changes never got made. And the paperwork never got fixed. And his bank account stayed empty. And his barn stayed ash.

Damn, he needed a beer.

He took one out of the bucket and rested the bottle against the corner of the table, pulling it down as he slammed his hand on the top of it.

“Show-off,” Sadie said.

He shrugged. “Yeah, I just figured I’d put all my skills out there tonight. Putting frozen food in the oven, popping beer tops without a bottle opener. I’m a badass.”

“A superepic one,” Liss said, taking a drink of her beer. “And after I’ve had this entire bottle, and possibly another, I might even upgrade you.”

“To what?” he asked.

“Superepic rock-star badass.”

“I like that. But I think cowboy should be in there somewhere.”

Jack winked. “You’re not a real cowboy, though, Connor. When was the last time you rode a bucking bronco?”

“No, asshole, you’re confused. You’re not a real cowboy. You just play one in the ring,” Connor said.

Sadie started humming “Rhinestone Cowboy,” and Connor decided he liked her a little more than he had a few moments ago.

The oven timer went off and Connor crossed the living room and went to the kitchen, getting some hot pads and taking the bread and pizza out of the oven. The pizza rolls were sitting in a ball on the counter, and he stacked the pan laden with the real pizza on top of the bowl and carried the tray of bread in his other hand, taking it all into the dining area.

He set the food down in front of Liss and Jack, and Sadie gleefully reached for a plate, hovering near the bowl of pizza rolls.

“Next time, I promise to bake something,” Sadie said. “Quiche. That might elevate this a little bit.” Although her expression said she didn’t really mind slumming it with their subpar pizzas.

“Sure, Sadie, you could do that,” Connor said.

The door opened again, and Kate burst through it, followed by Eli, who was still in his uniform. Everything a stranger might want to know about his two younger siblings was conveyed by the way they walked into his house. Kate was exuberant, her footsteps loud, her grin irrepressible. Eli’s steps were measured, cautious. And when he saw Sadie, the slow, subtle smile that spread across his features expressed a depth of happiness that made Connor’s bones hurt.

That had been him once. At least, that was how he remembered it.

When he’d walked into a room, there had been only one place his eyes had gone. Jessie. She had been his focal point, his North Star, from the time he was eighteen years old. And then suddenly, she was just gone.

And so was his star.

He cleared his throat and took another drink of beer. There was no point in following that train of thought. No point in thinking about her at all. Except it was hard on nights like this. On the one hand, he depended on these get-togethers. They were his one opportunity to smile. To laugh. But when everyone was together like this, it was impossible to ignore the fact that it wasn’t everyone. And it never would be again. Jessie had always sat next to him when they played poker. And sometimes she cheated, and he pretended he didn’t notice.

He hadn’t played a hand since without wishing she was there to look at his cards.

Still, it was better than drinking alone.

Liss sat next to him now. And he figured if he couldn’t be with his wife, he should be right near his best friend.

Eli winced and reached into his jacket pocket, producing a vibrating cell phone. He let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’ve got to take this. Campaign stuff.”

“It’s fine,” Sadie said, answering for all of them.

“I’ll turn it off for the game.”

“It’s fine,” Connor reiterated.

Eli waved a hand and walked back outside, the phone pressed to his ear. Sadie was smiling dreamily after him.

“He’s so sexy when he’s doing political stuff,” she said.

Connor and Kate groaned. Then Kate moved farther into the room, offering her greetings.

“Hey, Jack. Hey, Sadie, Liss,” she said, walking over to the table and taking a big piece of pizza off the pan, not bothering to use a plate. No greeting for him, but whatever. That was what younger sisters were for. “Did you sort out the rental situation?”

It took him a moment to realize that Kate had directed the question at Liss. “What rental situation?” he asked.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize you hadn’t told everyone,” Kate said, her expression sheepish.

Liss looked slightly embarrassed. “Oh, no, it’s not a big deal. Anyway, no, not yet. But I will.”

“Wait a second, what rental thing? Is something happening with your house, Liss?” Connor asked, feeling annoyed now, because his little sister knew something about his best friend that he didn’t.

Liss let out an exasperated breath. “I’m dealing, Connor. Put away your duct tape and superglue. You don’t need to fix this.”

He almost opened his mouth to say he hadn’t offered to fix a damn thing. Because it was true; he hadn’t. He hadn’t offered to fix a damn thing in years.

There was no one around to complain if he didn’t. So sinks stayed leaky, windows stayed drafty and...well, he got drunk while his friend was having a problem, and motherfucker, he didn’t like that at all.

“Well, maybe I want to fix it if I can,” he said.

“That’s nice of you, Connor, but I don’t think you can. Unfortunately, I’m uncovering a lot of damage Marshall did to my credit when he took off a couple of years ago. Some of it was obvious and came to my attention pretty quickly. Some of it has been less so. There were other credit cards, an additional car loan, plus what I already knew about. Basically, even with the credit bureaus correcting some of it, I can’t get a new rental easily. And now that my landlord is selling...”

“That’s not fair!” Kate said around a mouthful of pizza. “Most everybody here knows you, Liss. And a lot of us knew Marshall. So we kind of know he was an ass.”

“If you had always known that, Kate, you might have let me in on it,” Liss said, smiling ruefully.

“I think I did tell you that,” Connor said through clenched teeth. “Repeatedly.”

Liss tightened her lips into a bud, and Connor could tell she was holding back a deadly reply. He didn’t really care. She’d been warned. She didn’t listen. And while he didn’t hold it against her, he had pretty much told her so the minute she’d shacked up with that idiot who was, well, an idiot.

Of course, Connor’d had to acknowledge, just to himself, that he might’ve been being unfair, because no man seemed good enough for Liss. Kind of like how no man would ever seem good enough for Kate.

But in the end, his instincts had been right on. Marshall had been a loser. Marshall had run off with Liss’s money and the truck they had just bought. And now this.

“That’s beside the point,” Connor continued. “How long do you have to move out?”

“Legally, I have thirty days. But it’s a private sale, and everything is moving really quickly. I figure I’m going to be out on my rear one way or the other. I mean, if it’s that or going to live with my mother, then I will stay until the very last second, but...”

“You should stay here,” Kate said.

Liss’s eyes widened, and he felt his own mouth fall open. “Here? As in...here here?”

“Well, Sadie has the B and B.”

Sadie winced. “I’m booked solid through Christmas. People coming to visit family, combined with the off-season discount, created a deluge of reservations.”

“Your bed-and-breakfast is your livelihood, Sadie,” Liss said. “I’m not going to take advantage of that. No one would expect me to do accounting for free.”

“I wouldn’t do accounting for money,” Jack said.

“You probably couldn’t do accounting for money, either,” Liss returned.

“I’m wounded, Liss,” Jack said. “However, speaking of all that, maybe somebody has a room and could use your services?”

Connor thought about all the paperwork he had left to do for the insurance. No, it wasn’t accounting, but he had accounting to do. Though Liss already did it for him. And he even paid her. It was one of the few administrative things that still got done on time and well, because he paid for the service, rather than pretending he would do it himself one day. And Liss had brought him groceries this morning. In exchange for nothing but a bowl of cereal. He used her services already, many of them, and gave back very little in return these days.

“You can stay with me, Liss,” he said, before he had time to fully process the implications of what he was offering.

“Really?” She looked shocked, and that made him feel even worse. Because why should she be shocked that her best friend was offering basic hospitality to her in her time of need? She shouldn’t be.

He was clearly an asshole.

“Yes, really. This house is huge. And I’m here all by myself. I’ve got three completely empty bedrooms, plus office space I never use.” Jessie had used the office to manage ranch staff, but he never had. It felt weird offering her space up. But she was gone, and Liss was here. Liss needed him, and he was going to help. “Anyway, it would just be until you can figure out a way to get a place of your own. Until you can find somebody who’s willing to go outside the box for you. Or until your credit improves, or whatever. And you can save up for your deposit and first and last month’s rent and all that.”

“Connor, I can’t stay here for free.”

“No, you’ll be staying here in exchange for groceries.” She already bought them for him, anyway. “Plus, I might need a little bit of help with my organization.”

Jack snorted. “You think?”

“We don’t all have obsessive-compulsive tendencies like Eli,” Connor said drily.

Eli, of course, chose that exact moment to walk back in, looking as if he was willing and able to lay down a little law and order. Sure, Eli was younger, but the two of them had banded together at a very young age to take care of the ranch and raise Kate. He’d had to start seeing Eli in a new light very quickly. There were only two years between them, anyway, but Connor had begun viewing him as an equal from the moment Eli had taken on household responsibilities.

And now that Connor lived alone in the big house, barely able to clean up after himself, he really appreciated all that Eli had done to make their lives better when they’d been kids.

Since then, Eli had gone from protecting the family to protecting the entire town. And while Connor didn’t go around gushing about it, he couldn’t be prouder. Even when Eli looked at him like he was a lost cause. Much like he was doing now.

“What did I miss?” Eli asked.

“Connor is defending his lack of housekeeping skills,” Jack said.

Sadie crossed the room to Eli and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply as though they hadn’t just greeted each other a few moments ago. “Hey, Sheriff,” she said.

“Not yet,” he said. “Don’t jinx it.”

“I’m not a jinx! I’m the human incarnation of a lucky rabbit’s foot!”

“Are you?” he asked, cocking his head to the side, the whole interaction way too cute for his formerly stoic sibling.

They separated slowly, Eli’s hand sliding over her hip before resting there. Connor’s stomach twisted.

“Connor isn’t just defending his housekeeping,” Sadie said. “He’s offering Liss a place to stay until she can find a new rental.”

“What happened with your old rental?” Eli said, frowning deeply.

Liss sighed. “I should have known that once the Garrett family got involved this whole thing would get epic. Long story abridged, my credit sucks because of Marshall, and my landlord is selling.”

Eli’s breath hissed through his teeth. “That’s a bad combination.”

“But it’s going to be fine,” Connor said, his tone insistent. “Because she can stay with me until she figures something out. I have plenty of room here. Anyway, she’s here every night as it is. And she already brings me groceries.”

“You’re a little too attached to the grocery thing,” Liss said.

He shrugged. “Hey, it’s your rent. A small price to pay for a bedroom at Chez Garrett.”

* * *

LISS FIDGETED, LOOKING AROUND the room at all the expectant gazes. The Garretts were her surrogate family, so it was no surprise they had all rushed to her aid. But she hadn’t told Connor for a specific reason. She’d found herself talking to Kate today during her lunch break, when they’d run into each other at the Crab Shanty during lunch hour. She should have known that the youngest Garrett wouldn’t employ discretion.

Anyway, this was a solution, and she did need a solution. It was just the idea of living with Connor was sort of a loaded one. For a variety of reasons.

Though resisting would be...well, stupid. Because it was this or living with her mother, and she could genuinely imagine nothing worse than living with her mother. Except, maybe, living under a bridge. Actually, though, the bridge might be preferable.

But Connor had a point. This was a huge house. She spent a lot of time here, anyway.

Though, under normal circumstances, she would’ve wanted a little bit of time to think it over. Just because it was a change. Just because any commitment to move was kind of a big deal. But with the Garrett clan, Sadie and Jack all staring at her as if she had to issue a formal statement now, she felt as though she could hardly leave them waiting.

So she just ran through a quick laundry list of excuses and drawbacks, to be on the safe side:

Connor’s house was farther from work.

She had never been that into the rustic look. Which his place had in spades.

She would have to put some of her furniture in storage.

Being in close proximity to Connor might make her loins burst into flame, starting another fire, leaving him homeless as well as barnless.

Yes, that. That was a problem. But then, she had done a lot of work in the loin department where Connor was concerned. She should be able to handle it. Honestly, she had been friends with the man for more than fifteen years, so her coping skills where he was concerned should be more refined. They were possibly even more refined than she realized. High exposure to Connor might actually help. If so, things like this morning, and that intimacy she had felt in the moment, would seem more commonplace.

So, there was a theory. And it was helping with her attempt at a snap decision.

“Thank you, Connor. I... Thank you. I really appreciate the offer. But we’re going to have to talk about logistics, because I’m not just going to stay here and sponge off you.”

“I’m not worried about that. Honestly,” he said.

“Well, I am. I don’t want to take advantage of you or our friendship.”

“You won’t,” he said, his tone carrying a note of finality. “If anyone has been taking advantage over the past few years, it’s been me. I didn’t even realize you were going through something. You didn’t tell me. That says a lot.”

“Connor,” she said, her voice quiet, “I just didn’t want to pile on.”

“That’s the thing. You sure as hell should not be thinking of sharing things with me as piling on. I’m your friend. Yeah, I’ve had my share of bullshit going on for the past couple of years, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep all this to yourself. I should’ve made that clearer.”

Liss’s chest tightened. She didn’t like putting her crap on other people. Especially not someone who was already going through so much. Regardless of what he said, it did matter. She didn’t like to be a burden to people. Least of all people she cared about. Why would anyone keep her around if she was taking more than she was giving?

“You should definitely stay here, Liss.” It was Eli’s turn to give his two cents. Apparently.

“I’m going to. Thank you.”

Jack took another piece of pizza off the tray and leaned back in his chair. “Are we going to play cards, or are we going to stand around debating living situations? Not that you asked, Connor, but I might like to come and stay here, too.”

“Why would you do that? Your house is nicer than mine.”

“Yes, but Liss is going to be in your house, buying groceries. I’m assuming she might even cook some of those groceries.”

“I never said anything about cooking,” Liss said. “And even if I were going to cook, I would not be cooking for you. I will, however, kick your ass at poker.”

Jack spread his arms wide. “Bring it on.”

Everyone jostled and started taking their spots at the table, Eli reaching out to the center of it and grabbing a deck of cards. “It’s about to be brought, Monaghan,” Liss said.

And for a moment things felt normal. Things felt sane.

Pretty soon all of that would change, but for now they were just going to play some cards.

CHAPTER THREE

“HEY, LISS,” CONNOR SAID, following her out the door to his house and down the steps of the porch. The poker game was done, and Jack had already gone home, while Kate was in the dining room lingering over the bowl of pizza rolls, and Eli and Sadie were just sort of happily sitting in the same chair.

Liss was ready to go, blaming an early work schedule, but they still had some things to figure out as far as Connor was concerned.

It was dark outside, cold enough that Connor could see his breath as he exhaled, the sharp bite of air in his lungs a signal that fall was fleeting and winter was biting at its ankles.

“We need to talk just a little bit before you go,” he said.

Liss paused and turned on her heel, the gravel crunching beneath her feet. “Do we need to talk tonight?” She sounded tired, and he couldn’t blame her. Had she sounded tired this morning? Had she sounded tired for longer than that? What else hadn’t he noticed?

“It’s not going to be long and involved, I promise. I just want to get a few things straight. You’re not paying me rent.”

“I’m going to have to compensate you somehow.”

“Sure you are. You will bring me food, like you already do, and I will actually give you something in return.”

“Connor, don’t be difficult about this. At least let me go over some of the paperwork for the ranch. Get things organized. And maybe the house, too. If I’m going to be living in it, then I need things at a slightly higher level of cleanliness.”

“Fine. Done.” He ignored the tightening in his stomach. All of these offers of payment sounded very...domestic. Which was fair, he supposed, since they would be sharing the same house.

“Good,” she said, nodding. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

Something about the situation struck him as funny then, loosening the knot in his gut. “I feel like we should shake hands or something.”