Texas Two-Step: Cowboy Shuffle Read Free

it.
    She took a sip, decided it was drinkable, and snapped the plastic lid into place. After glancing at her watch so she’d know about what time to expect Shooter, if he showed up at all, Ellen pushed through the lobby’s glass doors to go out to her car. She was more likely to waylay an arriving or departing employee who could possibly have jumper cables if she waited in the staff lot. Always good to have a backup plan when dealing with unreliable cowboys. If she had to, she would call Maryann back and ask her for a ride, but maybe Shooter would surprise her and come through for once. Stranger things had been known to happen.
    Ellen’s coffee hadn’t even cooled when Shooter’s truck peeled into the parking lot, windows down and radio blaring. Her brows shot up to her hairline. He’d actually come, and in a timely manner, just as promised. Miracles did happen. After stashing the cup in the console, she reached for the door handle. She was out of the car and leaning against it by the time Shooter approached, jumper cables dangling from his hand.
    “Hey. Pop the hood for me?” Black cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes, he stalked to the front of the car without making eye contact. He must be pissed off she’d called him.
    Oh well. At least he was here and she had some hope of getting home in the near future. She reached inside and pulled the hood release. Shooter had it propped open and was already fiddling with the battery as she walked to stand next to him. There was just enough illumination from the overhead parking light one aisle over for him to see to attach the cables.
    “I’m sorry I had to call you. Wes wasn’t answering and—”
    “It’s fine. I was awake,” he interrupted her explanation.
    Just as she’d figured. She had a pretty good idea why he’d been up at this time of night. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
    Still leaning over the engine, he swiveled his head to frown at her. “For what?”
    “For disturbing you.” She didn’t elaborate upon what exactly she was sure she’d disrupted him from doing.
    “I told you I was already awake.”
    “Yeah, I know you were awake, and I know she—whoever the catch of the day was—probably wasn’t too happy to have you running off in the middle of…you know.”
    He let out a bitter sounding laugh. “You don’t know everything.”
    She found herself staring at the brim of his hat as he ducked his head again and busied himself under the hood.
    “No, I guess I don’t.” She didn’t know how to jumpstart a car and she sure as hell didn’t know what was up with Shooter that he was acting so strangely.
    No flirting. No insults. No joking. He was just talking normally, which was definitely not normal for him. And he was acting kind of uncomfortable around her.
    There was a bunch of activity with him starting his truck, then her starting her car, then some engine revving on both their parts as Shooter instructed her in short, clipped sentences what to do next. Eventually her engine was running, though she didn’t dare say purring, because with her crappy car, it was more like stuttering.
    “You going straight home?” Shooter stood, hands on hips in front of her as the engine continued to run.
    He was tall compared to her, especially when he was in boots and she in the flat nurse’s shoes she wore for her shift. Ellen had to look up to speak to him.
    “Yeah.”
    Shooter nodded once. “Good. If it’s the alternator, the battery’s not going to charge while you’re driving and you’ll just have a dead battery when you try to start her up again.”
    “Great.” Ellen let out a frustrated breath. She didn’t know anything about alternators but she sure knew she wasn’t going to risk stopping anywhere—not even to fuel up—if it meant getting stuck again in the middle of the night.
    He knocked his hat back a smidge and she could see his eyes and just a bit of the wavy dark hair that was long enough to fall over his forehead beneath the brim.