Secret Confessions: Down & Dusty — Clarissa Read Free Page A

announced she was something more than the woman who signed his pay cheque every fortnight. A woman who evidently hadn’t stopped at one gorgeous man. It was damn lucky the hotel had very few patrons tonight after a full-on rodeo weekend.
    Still, Lucky’s eyes popped wide open, before she visibly pulled herself back to together with a twitch of her lips. ‘Great choice. And what about for yourself?’
    ‘A Coke will be fine. I’m driving.’
    The publican nodded, her lips curling into a real smile when she said, ‘Such a responsible, dependable man. I always say you’ll make a fine husband one day.’
    Clarissa smothered a sigh. Lucky liked to harp on about all the lip-smacking testosterone on her station going to waste. And now with Brandon’s ‘dinner date’ comment, she was certain Lucky would go on ten times harder.
    Adam nodded at Lucky as she handed him a frothing beer. ‘Ma’am.’
    Lucky eyed the man with something between distrust and sharp interest. ‘Fuck me, a real-life gentleman. I don’t believe we’ve met.’
    ‘Then you’d probably be right,’ Adam said easily.
    Clarissa added, ‘Unless you love the rodeo.’
    Sincere curiosity lit up Lucky’s stare, highlighting the glossy brown of her hair pulled back into its usual ponytail. ‘Who doesn’t love the rodeo? Best time of the year.’ She gave Adam a suggestive wink as she pulled a pot of beer.
    The local copper sitting further along the bar sent them a dirty look.
    Interesting. Was there something Lucky wasn’t telling her? Come to think of it, the publican had a special glow about her tonight, a just-fucked look that Clarissa was especially attuned to right then.
    Adam chuckled, drawing Clarissa’s attention back to him. The bull rider gave Lucky a lazy shrug. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
    Lucky turned to her huge glass-fronted fridge and selected a bottle of champagne, answering over her shoulder, ‘Huh. I doubt you’d take it any other way.’
    If anything, Adam looked amused. ‘Guilty on all counts.’
    Pouring the champagne into a flute, and using the Coke-on-tap to fill a glass, Lucky put their drinks onto the runner of a polished wooden bar and asked Adam, ‘I’m guessing you’re the hot-shot bull rider who won the purse?’
    Adam’s smile widened. ‘I guess word travels fast.’
    She shrugged. ‘And I guess you probably don’t stick around long enough to hear small town gossip.’
    ‘That looks to change now.’ He winked. ‘I’m here to fix whatever Clarissa needs fixing.’
    Clarissa smoothed her hair back with an unsteady hand, astute enough to know exactly how her friend would interpret Adam’s response.
    As predicted, Lucky smirked. ‘And I reckon you’re just the man for the job.’ The publican glanced toward Brandon. She cleared her throat and said decisively, ‘Correction. Men for the job.’
    The men didn’t deny or even add anything further to the discussion and Clarissa inwardly fluctuated between outrage and a growing hunger that was wholly unrelated to food. Brandon paid for their drinks and the three of them moved away from the bar’s constant activity and noise, and into the quiet of the dining room.
    She couldn’t help but smile and relax a little when both men pulled out a different chair for her at a small, intimate table, where a large pot plant shielded them from two other couples who were already eating.
    ‘This one,’ she quipped, helping herself to the only other seat the men hadn’t offered her.
    As the men took their own chairs, she took a big sip of her champagne, the bubbles tickling her nose and filling her with even more warmth.
    ‘So what’s the grub like here?’ asked Adam.
    Clarissa handed him a menu from the middle of the table. ‘It’s good, wholesome food. I already know what I want.’
    Lucky wouldn’t even need to write down her order. Clarissa had been a regular at the hotel for many years and loved the beef and lamb lasagne with steak fries and