Josh's Justice, Cowboy Romance (Bad in Boots, Book 4) (7 page)

Chapter Five

“Hi ya, girl,” Sabrina crooned to Lightning over the stall door. “You’ll be going home once the repairs are done.” The horse snorted and pawed at the ground. Sabrina reached out and patted her nose. “But in the meantime, the Kellys will make you feel at home.” When Lightning neighed and raised her head up and down as if in agreement, she couldn’t help but smile.
Just like Josh’s family had done for me this morning.

After she’d gotten dressed and walked downstairs, she let her growling stomach lead her to the smell of bacon and eggs and coffee. The fact Josh wasn’t present made her a little unsure what to do, but Julia met her in the living room with a sunny smile.

“Morning, Sabrina. Josh’s up early, working on something or another. My son never lets himself relax. Come and eat. Everyone wants to meet you.

Josh never relaxes? He seemed pretty laidback to me.

“Everyone, meet Sabrina. Sabrina, meet the Kelly family,” Julia said as they entered the kitchen and approached the table.

“Hi, I’m Ben,” the blond-haired boy around ten piped up at the far end of the table. “If you’re a friend of Josh’s, you must be all right.” His child’s logic broke the ice and made her nervousness completely disappear as he rambled on, playing host. “That’s my dad, Ben senior.” He pointed to a tall, sandy blond-haired man pouring himself coffee by the sink. “And this is my mom, Lacey.” He nodded to a woman with shoulder length auburn hair sitting next to him. “My grandpa—his name’s Kenneth—is outside already since he’s a real early riser.”

“Good morning, Ben, and thank you for the welcome.” Sabrina gave him an appreciative smile for the introductions before she sat down and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with Josh’s family. After breakfast, she’d wandered outside to check on the horses.

Where had Josh run off to? she wondered as she watched Ben and his father setting up bulls-eye signs at varied heights in what appeared to be some kind of elaborate target practice in the open pasture area next to the barn.

She’d just turned, intending to head back to the house to find Josh, when she saw him strolling her way, brown cowboy hat pulled low. Sabrina’s mouth went dry as she watched him approach. Did he have any idea just how sexy he was in boots, low-slung jeans and a navy t-shirt that showed off the defined muscles in his arms?

When their gazes met and his lips crooked slightly, she inwardly sighed. Yeah, he knew. She suddenly felt incredibly dowdy wearing a pair of borrowed jeans two sizes too big. They were held up by a belt on its last loop and a plain white button down shirt tucked in the pants’ waist to fill the gaps the belt couldn’t. She hadn’t bothered to put on the borrowed tennis shoes since they were a couple sizes too small. Great, that made her barefoot and dowdy.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said softly, his eyes crinkling in a smile.

“Morning, Josh. Do you always get up so early?”

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “Lots of stuff to take care of.” He nodded toward his brother and nephew. “Today’s the Double K’s turn to host the kid’s camp.”

“Oh yeah, I remember you and Elise talking about that,” Sabrina said, trying to hide her disappointment that she wouldn’t be spending the day with him. “Well, I’ll get out of the way if you wouldn’t mind taking me home.”

He gave a decisive nod and folded his arms. “That’s what I planned to do.”

She swallowed the sudden knot in her throat, mad at herself for assuming he’d want to spend the day with her too, especially after last night. So much for
not
thinking ahead. Shifting her gaze to his boots so he wouldn’t see the hurt in her eyes, she said, “Let me get my clothes and I’ll meet you at your truck—”

“But Nan wouldn’t let me.”

Her gaze snapped to his. “Huh?”

Josh reached out and traced a finger along her jaw, sending goose bumps scattering along her arms. “I went to the Lonestar this morning to collect some of your clothes so you could stay with me,” he began, then lowered his hand to his side and pressed his mouth in annoyance. “Nan refused to let me have anything of yours. Said she wanted to see for herself how you are doing. I’ve been ordered to bring you back to the Lonestar this morning.”

His frown made her snicker. When it deepened, she sobered. “She’s just looking out for me, Josh.”

A serious look settled on his features. “That’s my job.”

Sabrina spread her hands and shrugged. “It’s no one’s job.”

Josh’s brow furrowed and he started to speak when Ben peered around the side of the barn, calling out, “Uncle Josh!”

“Yeah, Ben?”

Swiping sweaty bangs from his eyes, his nephew ran up. “Can you help us nail up the backboard Grampa built? Dad needs someone taller to help him hold it up while Grampa nails it to the stand.”

Josh sighed and nodded. “Let me run Sabrina home, then I’ll come help.”

* * *

“You really like Josh, don’t you?”

“Huh?” Sabrina peered over the clothesline as she straightened a bed sheet for Nan.

“You heard me.” Nan set a couple pins in place on the sheet, then lifted a fitted sheet and laid it across the line too.

“I like how he makes me feel.” Sabrina moved to pull her freshly laundered clothes off the line. Just as Nan had promised, the warm Texas sun had done its job, drying her top and skirt in no time. And they smelled good too, like fresh outdoors.

As she folded her clothes, Nan stopped moving and pinned her with a look.

Sabrina shrugged. “What?”

“Aren’t you going to elaborate?”

“Oh.” Sabrina grinned. “Just special. Josh makes me feel special.”

Nan nodded as she snapped some dry towels down from the line. “I’m glad to hear it. Josh is a good man. I like that he makes you smile.”

Sabrina inwardly snickered at the tame term. If Nan knew her inner thoughts about Josh she’d probably hose her down right in the yard. “Yes, he definitely makes me smile.”

“I can tell. You haven’t stopped grinning since Josh walked you to the door this morning.”

Sabrina sighed as she recalled Josh’s parting comment. The man knew just how to curl her toes.

He’d walked her all the way up to the door of the Lonestar, his warm hand resting at the base of her spine. “I’ll be back to pick you up at three. Does that sound good? We’ll go wherever you’d like.”

She clutched her dirty bundle of clothes in her arms and turned to him. “Thank you for taking care of me last night, Josh. And I’d love to see your place.” Tilting her head slightly, she grinned. “You know, a person’s home can tell you a lot about him. What will yours tell me?”

He looked thoughtful as he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Probably that it misses me. I’m not there a lot.”

Why wouldn’t he be there much? Did he enjoy spending more time with his family at the Double K? Kind of like Elise and Colt do? Sabrina knew her friend and husband had their own house, but they’d stayed at the Lonestar the entire time she’d been visiting. The fact Josh enjoyed spending time with his family wasn’t a bad thing.

He adopted an intrigued look and hooked his hands at the base of her spine. “What would I find at your place?”

She sighed wistfully. “Not you, unfortunately.”

Josh flashed a pleased smile and his hold tightened. “I’ll bet it smells just like you. All warm and sweet smelling. Like a home should.” He dipped his head and inhaled next to her neck before he brushed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. Stepping back, he touched the rim of his hat. “Then my place it is. Just you and me, getting back to nature.”

Nan cleared her throat, bringing her to the present. The knowing look on Nan’s face made Sabrina blush a little. Did she suspect more had gone on between Sabrina and Josh? Even though technically nothing had happened between them, the way Josh touched her and the things he’d alluded to doing with her last night definitely fell in the carnal category.

Sabrina pushed her loose braid over her shoulder and tried to sound casual. “I’m excited to see Josh again. He’s coming to pick me up at three.”
Why did I let Elise convince me to cancel my rental car? I could be there right now, helping with the camp.

“So…” Nan began, tilting her head to the side. “I need to drive into town for some groceries soon. I could drop you off at the Double K around one. Would that make your smile turn megawatt bright?”

When Sabrina shot her a huge grin and started to quickly gather up her clean clothes, Nan laughed. “All I ask is that you bring Josh by the Lonestar for an early dinner tonight.”

Sabrina’s eyes widened as she crushed her clothes to her chest. “You knew I planned to stay the night?”

Nan snorted. “Sabrina girl, some things just shouldn’t be passed up. Josh is a handsome man and a good one too. If you weren’t planning on it, I was going to pack your bag for you.”

Sabrina snickered. “That’s sounds exactly like something Elise would say.”

Nan shot her a smug look. “Why do you think we get along so well?”

* * *

Sabrina had asked Nan to drop her off at the entrance to the Double K. She wanted to walk the half-mile distance along the drive to the ranch house, enjoying the view along the way. Just as she reached the end of the drive, gunshots filled the air.
Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam
.

Sabrina’s heart raced as she tracked the noise near the barn. She let out a breath of relief when she saw Josh gesturing to the row of targets behind him. She’d assumed more than one person was shooting until she saw Josh holster his gun. Wow, had he fired all those rounds? She was pretty sure she’d heard five shots in under a second.

Josh stepped out of the way, then repositioned a teen boy in front of a target, which was a painted bulls-eye cardboard nailed to a post twenty five feet away. Once the kid lifted his gun, Josh straightened his elbow, positioned his shoulders, then gestured to the target for him to continue.

After she put her backpack on the front porch, Sabrina walked over to lean against the barn and watch Josh in action. He still hadn’t noticed her, which suited her fine. She liked seeing him in his own environment, just being himself.

Five teens now stood lined in a row at their own target stations. Each teen held an old-style six-shooter pistol at the ready.

When Josh stood off to the side and called out, “Go,” they began firing, apparently competing to see who could hit his or her target with the most accuracy. Sabrina saw the bullets making holes in their targets but was surprised that they didn’t make the same loud sounds Josh’s gun had.

“Wax bullets,” someone said from her right.

Sabrina nodded to acknowledge the woman with short dark hair. She looked to be in her late forties. “Ah, that makes sense for safety reasons.” She shifted her gaze back to Josh and the gun belt hanging low on his waist. With his blue chambray shirt, cowboy hat and spurs on his boots, he could’ve been dropped into an old western film. Damn, he made a sexy cowboy.

“That old west look suits him,” the woman commented, her gaze openly appreciating Josh’s backside.

Well, who wouldn’t? Sabrina thought even as a twinge of jealousy flared. “I was just thinking the same thing. I’m Sabrina.”

“Name’s Cynthia,” she replied with a nod, her pale blue eyes now scanning the teens. “The Kellys really did a great job today; taught the kids how to saddle a horse and rope a calf too.” She waved to Ben, who stood off to the side, ready to provide more ammo if needed, then nodded toward Josh. “Josh especially. He’s so patient with them. These kids come from some pretty sad home situations. Between the Tanner’s camp and the Kelly’s, I’ve never seen them smile so much.”

The shooting stopped and Josh called out, “All right everyone, set your guns on your stations so I can check the results.”

Sabrina could appreciate the kids’ anticipation as she watched him inspect each target. He finally pulled the one in the middle down and held it up, calling out, “Looks like Rebecca won.”

The three boys and another girl congratulated the girl in blonde braids.

Josh grabbed the box that Ben handed him and approached Rebecca. “As the winner, you get a new hat,” he said as he set a brand new beige cowboy hat decorated with a brown leather band on the girl’s blonde head.

“Aw, man. If I’d of known there was a prize, I’d of tried harder,” the boy to Rebecca’s left said.

Josh grinned. “You all get a memento to take home.” Pulling out a new horseshoe stamped with the Double K brand, he handed it to the boy, then walked down the line and gave each kid one.

Once he finished, he said, “Thank you for coming to the Double K. I hope ya’ll enjoyed it.”

The woman beside Sabrina approached the group, saying in a teacher’s voice, “Okay boys and girls. It’s time to head for the bus. Thank Mr. Kelly and Ben here for hosting you.”

Rebecca touched the top of her hat and grinned. “Goodbye, Mr. Kelly, thank you for everything.”

“Thanks, dude,” another boy with long bangs and a lip ring said in a subdued tone.

Once each kid had said their thanks and goodbyes, the group asked Ben to walk them to the bus.

The woman smiled after they walked away, then turned to Josh. “Thank you so much for doing this, Josh. It meant the world to them. I hope you’ll consider doing it again next year.”

Josh tugged on his hat. “My pleasure, Cynthia. And yeah, we’ll definitely offer this camp again next year. We had a blast.”

As Cynthia walked past the barn and waved to Sabrina, Josh’s gaze strayed to her leaning against the barn. A broad smile spread across his face. “How long have you been here? I thought I was coming to get you later.”

“I’ve been here long enough to watch you in action. As for you coming to get me…” Sabrina approached, glad she’d dressed in jeans and an aqua blue short-sleeved button down shirt. She’d have been way overdressed in a skirt and heels. Stopping in front of him, she pushed her hands in her back pockets and rocked on her boot heels. “I thought I’d come to you.”

Something flickered in Josh’s gaze and he gently tugged on her braid lying across her shoulder. “I like the sound of that.”