Free Meagan's Marine (Halos & Horns) by Lori Leger Page B

as Mitch swung around to face her.
    “Jarhead? Ben is a Marine, too?”
    “Well, yeah. Didn’t you know?”
    He stared after him, chuckling as Trevor
got his first look at the competition. “He never said a word. Is he still
active?”
    “Yep, he’s pre-deployment…not sure where
he’s going.”
    Remembering Haley’s comment about not
dating a military man, Mitch sipped at his beer and headed back to the group.
“This should be interesting.”
    By the time he got there, Haley had just
seen Ben.
    “Hey! I thought you weren’t going to be
able to make it tonight,” she said, her face lighting up at the sight of him.
    “I didn’t know for sure until this
afternoon. I cancelled some plans to be here.”
    “Did you really?” She laid a hand on her
chest. “I’m honored. Now, come shoot a round of birthday rum with me.”
    He grinned, bearing a beautiful smile
that had surely cost his parents a small fortune in dentist visits. “I’ve
already had a couple of beers, so I’ll pass on the rum. But how about if I watch
you shoot and offer to hold your head when you’re hugging the porcelain throne
later?”
    Trevor stepped up and threw an arm
possessively around Haley’s shoulder. “Uh, excuse me, but that’s what I’m here
for, buddy.”
    Haley jarred Trevor in the side with her
elbow. “Don’t be a jerk, Trev . You don’t own me.
Trevor Jameson, this is Ben Bonin. I met him here last night. I ended up
dancing with a human octopus and he rescued me.” She left them to pour herself
another shot of rum.
    “So, you rescued the lady from a
hands-on kinda guy, huh?” Trevor drawled. “Well, I’ve
known Haley nearly all my life, Ben Boner.” He extended his arm for a
handshake. “There’s nothing for you here, so you can run along now.”
    Mitch held his breath to see if Ben
would take the not so subtle insult or do something about it. It turned out
that the younger Marine could be just as effective without being an asshole.
    Ben took the mouthy cowboy’s hand and
spoke without cracking a smile. “The name’s B-O-N-I-N, and pronounced
Bon-ay—you know, like the letter “A”. Then again, I’m bettin ’
you didn’t see too many of those in school, did you, Trevor? You’ve got
“D” for dumb-ass written all over you.”
    Trevor’s face sobered as he practically
sunk to his knees during the handshake and monologue. When Ben finally released
his hand, Trevor flexed it as though trying to get his blood circulating again.
    Haley returned from their table, totally
unaware of the overflow of male testosterone crackling in the air. “Here’s to
being twenty-one!”
    Mitch clinked his beer bottle with her
shot glass. “And all the fireworks that go along with it.”
    “Here’s to free booze!” Trevor brayed,
reaching for a shot glass, only to have Tex pull it out of his reach while
sending him a scorching look.
    Ben clicked his own beer bottle to
Haley’s shot glass brimming with the clear liquid. “Here’s to you, Haley. I
hope you have nothing but great birthdays from here on out.”
    ****
    Anything involving horses, cowboys and
competitions equated to large crowds for the local bars and dance clubs. Red’s
always had admirable business, but his excellent selection of country bands and
huge dance floors always made it a favorite with people in town for the rodeo.
The last two work nights had nearly driven Meagan to exhaustion with the
non-stop bustle of activity. That, coupled with events at home, and a severe
inability to sleep the night through, had her feeling edgy and irritable. The
guy across from her wasn’t helping matters.
    “Come on, honey. Do some of those fancy
bartender tricks for me. I heard you’re the best in here.” He pulled a thick
wallet from his pocket. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
    “Sorry, sir. There’s no time for that
tonight. Do you see the line of people behind you waiting for drinks?” She
wiped up a minor beer spill with the dishcloth and met his