Free Daly Way 04 - One for the Team - Brynn Paulin by Menage Romance

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
     
    “Son of a—” Moonbeam Szuzman cut herself off and gritted her teeth before finishing her phrase, “Biscuit eater,” she growled, very much wanting to let loose with a string of profanities.
    She’d been running all over God’s green earth today dropping off flyers and information packets about Daly’s first annual Rodeo and County Fair. Her boss, Rayna, the town’s somewhat self-appointed tourism liaison, had organized the activity and now pretty much all the business and land owners in the region were on board for the event, but Moon had been tasked with making sure everyone got paperwork into their hands.
    “No,” she yelled, as her car shuddered a few times then spluttered to a halt. She jerked forward in her seat as if she could get the car to move by sheer body momentum, but her hundred and thirty pound, five-five frame was no match for the hunk of metal.
    “Fu—Fudge!” She smacked her steering wheel then dropped her head to the unforgiving faux-leather. “Nooooooo!” she wailed, turning the key and getting nothing but deathly coughs from her car. “Fudge, fudge, fudge,” she muttered. This couldn’t be happening.
    She sighed, knowing this was all her fault. She’d known she was low on gas, but her gauge was broken. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been keeping close track to the mileage today with all the travelling—which she knew was when she should have been paying the closest attention. But…she was her mother’s daughter—just a little air-headed and very likely to name her own children nature-y names like hers and her sisters, River and Sunflower. Only their sister, Paisley, had escaped the theme, but even that was a little hippie-esque.
    Well, this was great. She’d have to call her sister and drag her from bed to rescue her. Paisley and her husbands would be just thrilled since Moon was on the road that ran the far western edge of the Flying D Ranch which was a good two hours drive from their place. Kinda far. Perhaps she should call information and get the nearest road service to come out.
    Or maybe she should just cry. One look at her phone showed she had zero service right now. She didn’t have so much as a wavering single bar.
    “Please God,” she muttered, climbing from her car and holding her cell above her head. “Please give me a signal. I promise I’ll get the gas gauge fixed.” Her boss’ husband owned the garage and had offered to let her make payments, but she’d declined. Big mistake.
    And God wasn’t amenable to a bargain either.
    “Fuck!” she screamed into the night. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck! Fuck fuck fuckity fuck !”
    “Um, happy to oblige, ma’am.”
    Moon shrieked as a cowboy appeared at the rear of her car, startling ten years from her life. Her heart rocketed into her throat as she stumbled backward into her car door.
    He stepped close enough to be illuminated by her interior lights. “Easy there, Moon. It’s just me.”
    She blinked up at him, noting the dark hair and eyes, along with the light stubble covering his strong, angular jaw. Finally, she breathed, and the air made her a little lightheaded. “Pete.”
    Pete Conlon grinned and nodded as if tipping his hat though he didn’t wear one. “Yes, ma’am. Troubles?”
    She grimaced. “Out of gas.”
    “Hmm… We don’t have any with us. And I’m guessing you don’t get a cell phone signal out here.”
    “Guess not.”
    “Well, we’re not heading back ‘til tomorrow, but you can stay with us tonight. Our boss’ll send someone over to get your car tomorrow.”
    “Us?” she asked, narrowing in on that part of the statement.
    “My cattle team. Cord, Sully and me.” His dark eyes assessed her, and even through the gloom of night, she saw the speculation in his gaze.
    It didn’t surprise her. She knew how things worked around here. Women were in short supply, with men outnumbering them a hundred to one. There’d been great rejoicing when she and