“He already has four of the best father figures I could ever ask for. I’m not worried about filling that role in his life. I doubt anyone could, anyway.”

“All right,” Emily said, taking a step back from me. “I’m done. Take a look and tell me what you think. But no making faces.”

If she had to warn me not to make a face, I could only imagine how bad I must look. Bobbie Jo was smiling, though, so maybe Emily had used clown makeup. I stood and walked over to the full-length mirror in my bedroom and gazed at… Oh!

I didn’t recognize the woman in the mirror. Stunned, I turned to face Emily. “Holy crap! You’re a magician.”

Bobbie wore a huge grin. “Look at how your blue eyes pop. And I love all the sexy red curls framing your face. Anna, you look beautiful.”

Emily smiled proudly. “See? You’re a total hottie! Now I’m going to have to dare you to do something crazy. Prepare to get wild tonight,” she said with a saucy grin.

Bobbie Jo rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to her. Ever. And for God’s sake, don’t take her up on any dares. The last time Emily accepted a dare, she ended up in Witness Protection.” Bobbie Jo wrinkled her nose playfully. “And we’re all still paying for that one.”

Emily laughed. “Hey! Don’t make me go back to calling you Bobbie Jugs again.” She glanced over at me. “Did Bobbie Jo tell you that she and I haven’t always gotten along?”

No, but I could imagine why. “Not exactly.”

“Oh, yeah,” Emily said, nodding. “As far as I was concerned, Miss Cheerleader could’ve taken her pom-poms and shoved them.”

I looked at Bobbie Jo for confirmation. “Really? That bad?”

Bobbie Jo smiled. “True story. But I didn’t take it personally. I knew it was only because Emily was jealous that I had dated Jake before her.”

“Well, I knew that much,” I said, remembering our days at camp. “I always thought Bobbie Jo and Jake were the perfect couple.” Bobbie Jo laughed before I even realized what I said. “Oh my God. Emily, I’m so sorry. Forget I said that. I don’t always think before I speak.”

Emily grinned, as if she wasn’t the least bit concerned with my verbal blunder. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. I do it all the time.”

“That’s no lie,” Bobbie said.

As I turned to smile at her, my gaze touched on the mirror. In the reflection, I caught a glimpse of the window…and a shadowed face staring back at me. I gasped and spun around so quickly that both women jolted from their seats.

“What’s wrong?” Bobbie Jo asked.

I glared at the window, but there was nothing there. “I, um…sorry. For a second, I thought I saw something outside.”

Emily picked up her cell phone. “Do you want me to call Jake? He could come over and take a look around.”

“No, it’s okay. I think my nerves are just getting to me.” Which I’m sure is exactly what the Barlow boys were hoping for. Those bastards.

Chapter Eleven

It was sometime after midnight when Cowboy entered The Backwoods. I would’ve known the exact time, but I had stopped checking my watch every five minutes, figuring he wasn’t going to show up after all. Leave it to him to prove me wrong.

His gaze swept over the crowd until finally landing on our group hanging out near the end of the bar. The girls sat at the small round table while the men leaned on the nearby bar. Cowboy’s eyes met mine and he smiled as he headed in my direction. But just as he reached me, a fresh drink slid in front of me and a large hand suddenly rested on my shoulder, snaring both of our attention.

Bubba Ray stood next to me, grinning sinfully at Cowboy. At first, I was puzzled by the odd behavior of the guy Judd had tried to set me up with, but then quickly realized that the methodically placed, proprietary hand on my shoulder and the shit-eating grin was done in an eat-your-heart-out manner. Bubba Ray was claiming me as “his.”

As if.

Bubba Ray stood next to me, closer than I was comfortable with¸ but not violating any personal space treaties…as of yet. Though the way he’d been flirting relentlessly with me, I had already figured that by the end of the night I’d have to explain my hands-off policy to him.

With a scowl, Cowboy veered toward Jake and leaned on the bar next to him, motioning to the bartender.

Jake glanced up at him. “You’re late,” he said, loud enough that I could hear him over the lively country tune blaring from the overhead speakers.

“And you’re funny-looking. So what?”

Jake smirked. “Need a dancing partner?”

“You’re my boy and all, Jake, but I’m not dancing with you.” Cowboy picked up the bottle of beer placed in front of him by the bartender and took a swig.

“Not with me, jackass. With Anna.”

Cowboy glanced back at me and his mouth tightened into a firm, thin line. “So she decided to come watch the sinners eviscerate themselves, huh?” His tone was callous and he said it as if he hadn’t known I’d been there all along. Then he shook his head and told Jake, “Nah, I’m good.”

Jake gave him a strange look, but didn’t say anything.

Cowboy hadn’t even said hello to me when he walked up and now he was shunning me, which only made me feel more awkward and uncomfortable. So when Bubba Ray asked me to dance with him, I jumped at the chance to get away from the group…and Cowboy.

After a few laps on the dance floor, Bubba Ray and I took a break and passed by six of his buddies sitting at a table across the room. They invited us to have a drink with them, and since I was in no hurry to return to my own group, we sat down.

For a moment, I worried about sitting at a table surrounded by seven hulking men. But they were sweet and made me laugh. Apparently not all men were cocky asshats. Nice to know. But just as Bubba Ray put his hand on my arm and leaned over to whisper into my ear, someone snared my hand and yanked me out of my chair.

My eyes flickered up, meeting Cowboy’s direct, unwavering gaze. But the controlled intensity in his eyes had nothing on the contemptuous expression he wore on his face. “Come on. I need a partner.”

He dragged me toward the dance floor as I stumbled behind him, unable to keep up. I tried to pull my hand free, but it had no effect on him as he charged through the crowd. It was like playing tug-of-war with a pissed off bull. “Hey! I was in the middle of a conversation back there.”

Cowboy stopped on the wooden floor, turned, and pulled me into his hard chest, wrapping a strong hand around my waist. “That wasn’t a conversation. That was a full-on tactical assault by Bubba Ray. Women are sex toys to him.”

I pulled back slightly and raised a brow. “Look who’s talking.”

“Hey, at least I respect women afterward.”

“Oh, really?” I rolled my eyes as he led me around the dance floor. “If you had any amount of respect for them, you wouldn’t sleep with them to begin with. At least not so soon. Maybe try spending a little time getting to know something about the woman, other than what kind of underwear she wears…or doesn’t wear.”

His firm hand tightened on my waist, and I could feel the aggravation in his fingertips. “Oh, that’s rich coming from a woman who was letting Bubba Ray feel her up two minutes ago.”

My feet stopped moving. “Excuse me?”

“I saw him touching you. You shy away from me every chance you get, but you’ll let that fucking idiot put his hands all over you?”

“Put his…?” I shook my head, not believing what he was accusing me of, then the anger took over. “He touched my arm, you jerk!”

Irritation tightened his jaw. “Yeah, and it wouldn’t be long before he was playing grab-ass with you and rolling you into his bed for a slumber party.”

I dropped my hand from his as other patrons danced past us. “Bubba Ray’s been nothing but a perfect gentleman with me, which is more than I can say for you. If you think there was anything going on between him and me back there, then you’re more delusional than I gave you credit for.”