Free 9781631051289TemptedbytheCowboySullivan by Sandy Sullivan Page A

bouncer.
    The two men pulled Jason and the man apart, allowing them
to rise from the floor. “Out. Both of you,” Dan told
them. “I don’t want this kind of shit in my bar.”
    “But I was helping Peyton,” Jason said, wiping the blood
from his mouth.
    “I can take care of myself, you dumbass.”
    “You didn’t seem to be able to handle him very well,
darlin’.”
    “ Don’t darlin’ me. I had it
under control whether you want to believe it or no t.”
    “You needed me. Admit it.”
    “I didn’t need you. I don’t need you. Leave me the fuck
alone!”
    Hurt clouded his eyes, but she didn’t care. He needed to
know she could take care of herself. She’d made sure of that after the shit
went down with Charles. He t ouched his quickly
swelling eye with his fingertips.
    “Fine. Call me whenever you
get over yourself and realize you want to see me again.” He wiped his mouth
with the back of his hand before he turned to weave his way through the crowd
to the door.
    “Fight’s over folks. Have a
drink, dance, have a good time , but no more
fighting,” Dan said, pushing her back toward the bar. “You okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “What’s up between you and Jason Young?”
    “Not a thing, why?”
    “He seemed awful protective of you for some reason. N ot that he wouldn’t be around any woman getting manhandled,
but I think there’s more than meets the eye between you two.”
    “It’s nothing, Dan. He’s was being protective. Nothing more.”
    “Okay, honey, but if you want to talk, let me know. I have
a good ear es pecially where those Young boys come
into play. Ask Paige.”
    “Yeah, see where that got her? She’s pregnant by one of
them with twins.”
    He grinned and clamped a hand on her shoulder. “Yeah, but
she’s happy as a little pig in shit.”
    Rolling her eyes, Peyton g rinned
back. She’d give him that. Paige was definitely happy with her Young hunk.
    After she took her spot behind the bar, she let her
thoughts wander to the triplet who’d taken up residence in her mind for the
last several months. Damn him . She glanced across
the bar only to notice a couple of the other Young boys playing pool. Joshua
stood off to one side of the table with the cue in his hands. She couldn’t help
but notice him since he looked just like Jason.   Although she could tell the s ubtle difference between the two enough to tell them apart
even from a distance. Jason carried himself a little differently. More confident? She wasn’t sure, but
there were definitely differences.
    “Hey, can I get a beer?”
    She dragged her thoughts back to t he
job at hand. She still had several hours to go before she could go home and
lose herself in her fantasies again.
     
    * * * *
     
    Jason banged his hand on the steering wheel as he drove
back toward the ranch. “Son of a
bitch!” His hand throbbed from the beating it had taken just a
short bit ago. His eye was almost swollen shut after the guy got a good punch
off, hitting him in the left eye. He touched the swelling tissue and winced. “Fucker.”
    A bag of peas from the kitchen free zer would do for the swelling although it wouldn’t help his damaged
pride.
    “What the hell is up with her anyway? I was trying to
protect her and she went off on me like I was the one who tried manhandling
her.”
    He didn’t get women at all. Here he wanted t o be her savior and she chewed him out for it. Didn’t women
want to be taken care of? Wasn’t that what they were all about?
    “I might need to talk to Mom on this one. I’m sure she
could give me some advice on how to handle Peyton.”
    He drove through the main gates
of the ranch, then up to the house. The light in the office glowed in the
darkness so he knew his mother still sat at her desk even though the clock on
the dashboard said ten. She really needed to knock off a little earlier, but
tonight he needed to ask her advice on the matter of
Peyton Matthews.
    As he walked up the main lodge door, it opened