Red's Hot Cowboy(4)
“Who in the hell is Delilah anyway, and what’s she got to do with all this commotion?” he asked in a deep Texas drawl.
“Delilah is my cat,” Pearl said.
“That is a good name for a she-devil like that thing. You got any rooms left for tonight? It looks like the parking lot is full, but the sign is still on.”
If only he could have had a high squeaky voice, but no, he had to be the complete bad boy package with that Texas drawl. And Pearl had run from bad boys ever since she was seventeen. Her mother had been right about Vince Knightly. He’d been a double dose of rebellious bad news riding a motorcycle.
Pearl picked up the card that had fallen on the floor in the middle of the cat and dog fight and laid it on the counter. “I’ve got one room.”
“You got a problem with Digger stayin’ in the room?”
“Not if he’s housebroke,” she said. “He makes a mess, I’ll charge your credit card triple for the room.”
“Digger’s a good dog. He wouldn’t make a mess on carpet if he exploded. I should’ve gone on up to my friend Rye’s in Terral, but I’ve got chores in the morning. I would’ve if I’d known me and Digger would have to fight our way through hell to get a room.”
“Rye O’Donnell?” Pearl asked.
“That’d be the one. Know him?”
“He married my friend.”
“Luck of the Irish,” the cowboy said as he filled out the card.
“What?” Pearl asked.
He pulled the card across the countertop toward him and laid down a bill. “I don’t use credit cards. If Digger makes a mess in your precious room, I’ll pay for it in cash. I said the luck of the Irish, and I was talkin’ about Rye. Man had to be lucky to get a woman like that.”
Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, darlin’. I’m at Kayla’s party and I don’t see you here. I miss you. Are you sick?” Tyler asked.
She shut her eyes briefly and saw him… tall, blond, dimples, and damn, but he could kiss good. She sighed as she rang up the money.
“I’m working. I’ve moved to Henrietta and I’m running a motel. No party for me tonight,” she said.
“Ah, sugar, that stinks,” he said. “I’ll call later in the week. Maybe we can meet up in Dallas for a weekend?”
“Don’t hold your breath. Tell Kayla hello for me.” Pearl handed the cowboy a key to room one and a nickel in change and watched him fill out the card. His sexier-than-hell eyes were topped with black brows and set off by ultra-thick black lashes. His high cheekbones and black shaggy hair left no doubt that there was some Native American blood in his gene pool. His angular face was softened by a lopsided dimple on the left side when he took time away from the card to smile at his dog.
Yes, the whole bad boy package down to the smile, which reminded her too damn much of Vince, and that was one place she was not going on Christmas Eve.
A man who likes dogs can’t be all bad, and dammit he’s hot, her heart said.
His dimple deepened. “So you got to work instead of play. Too bad. You look like someone who’d rather be at a party.”
“That’s called eavesdropping,” she said.
“I wasn’t listening in on your conversation. Couldn’t help but hear a man who’s yelling above the crowd when he talks.”
She shot him a go-to-hell look, which worked the reverse when she realized just how sexy his eyes were.
What in the hell is the matter with me? Probably the fact that I haven’t had a date in weeks, haven’t been to dinner or a movie. Hell, I haven’t even been to the ice cream store with a man in forever. No one told me being an entrepreneur in a little bitty town took away every chance for a date. I want a date with a hot cowboy that looks like this for my Christmas present. The thought startled her so bad that she almost blushed.
“You stay away from that man,” her mother’s voice said so close that Pearl looked over her shoulder to see if she’d snuck into the lobby through the back door.
She willed herself to think about all the cleaning she’d have to do the next day to get the thoughts and her mother’s voice out of her head.
“So when did Pearlita hire you? Last time I was here she was still runnin’ the place by herself,” the cowboy asked as he signed his name to the bottom of the card.
“Pearlita was my aunt. She passed away and I inherited the place,” Pearl said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said softly.
“Thank you,” she said as she reached under the counter and flipped the light switch to add the word NO to VACANCY. “Sleep well. I’ll lock up behind you.”