his small hometown even late on a Wednesday afternoon when there wasnât much to see.
But right now there was plenty in the seeing department.
Kane wished there had been a different scene playing out behind him other than a giggling Violet who hadnât even noticed him. Wished, too, that he could just leave, but if he did now without finishing his beer, itâd be all over town that he was jealous.
Of course, the jealousy would get blown to epic proportions, and by the time the gossips were done, itâd be all around town that he had been crying in his beer. No tears, but he was well past the being pissed-off stage.
Along with maybe being a little hurt.
Heâd always thought of Violet as his. Had always counted on her being there when he came home on leave, and not once had she ever asked to carry their relationship to the next level. She certainly hadnât mentioned anything about putting a ring on it. Of course, if she had, it might have sent him running.
The sound of more laughter pulled Kaneâs attention back to the mirror. Violet and her pals were in a booth in the back corner of the pub, where they were tossing back pink-colored drinks with green paper umbrellas on them. Violet was wearing a bridal veil that sparkled even in the dim lighting. The veil-wearing was a little early, since according to the bartender, the wedding was still three days away.
And the groom was none other than Kaneâs old high school football buddy, Dax Foreman. Dax was a cowboy, of course.
It wasnât hard to find one of those around Spring Hill, since it was basically a town thatâd built up around the sprawling McCord Ranch. But what riled every rileable bone in Kaneâs body was that Violet had thought this pretty-boy bronco rider was more of a cowboy than Kane was.
Pretty Boy wasnât. No one was.
Kane silently cursed. Yes, heâd been gone for a while, finishing up ten years in the Air Force. And beneath the flight suit heâd worn all those years, he was pure cowboy. Raised on a ranch not far from here. A ranch his parents had sold when Kane had left for the Air Force, but heâd recently rebought it.
Hell, he wasnât just a cowboy, he could be a poster model for one.
He shifted his attention when the front door opened, and a woman hurried in. A brunette in a clingy red dress. The bartender made a sound of appreciation, and Kane could see why. All those curves and long legs. She stopped, no doubt to give her eyes time to adjust to the lack of light, and she glanced at the back of the room before she looked in Kaneâs direction.
Crap.
It wasnât a woman. Well, it was, but it was the wrong woman. It was Eliza, Violetâs kid sister.
When the hell had she gotten curves like that?
âIâve been looking all over for you,â Eliza greeted. Except it wasnât much of a greeting. She sounded annoyed or something.
Since he hadnât seen her in ages, Kane didnât think he was the reason for the annoyance. Unless Eliza was miffed because he wasnât the one marrying her sister.
âI tried to call you, but your old number didnât work,â she added.
âI had to change providers since the old one didnât have good service here.â That didnât explain, though, why Violet hadnât contacted him because heâd only switched two weeks ago. He was betting sheâd been engaged longer than that.
Volleying glances between him and the booth with the bridal party, Eliza caught onto his arm, practically dragging him off the bar stool. âWe have to talkânow,â she said. âIâm so sorry about everything.â
Kane didnât put up a fuss about her dragging him, but this was unnecessary. Especially the apology. It wasnât her fault that her sister was getting married.
âIâve already heard about Violet,â he assured her.
Eliza didnât respond to that other than mumbling the
But right now there was plenty in the seeing department.
Kane wished there had been a different scene playing out behind him other than a giggling Violet who hadnât even noticed him. Wished, too, that he could just leave, but if he did now without finishing his beer, itâd be all over town that he was jealous.
Of course, the jealousy would get blown to epic proportions, and by the time the gossips were done, itâd be all around town that he had been crying in his beer. No tears, but he was well past the being pissed-off stage.
Along with maybe being a little hurt.
Heâd always thought of Violet as his. Had always counted on her being there when he came home on leave, and not once had she ever asked to carry their relationship to the next level. She certainly hadnât mentioned anything about putting a ring on it. Of course, if she had, it might have sent him running.
The sound of more laughter pulled Kaneâs attention back to the mirror. Violet and her pals were in a booth in the back corner of the pub, where they were tossing back pink-colored drinks with green paper umbrellas on them. Violet was wearing a bridal veil that sparkled even in the dim lighting. The veil-wearing was a little early, since according to the bartender, the wedding was still three days away.
And the groom was none other than Kaneâs old high school football buddy, Dax Foreman. Dax was a cowboy, of course.
It wasnât hard to find one of those around Spring Hill, since it was basically a town thatâd built up around the sprawling McCord Ranch. But what riled every rileable bone in Kaneâs body was that Violet had thought this pretty-boy bronco rider was more of a cowboy than Kane was.
Pretty Boy wasnât. No one was.
Kane silently cursed. Yes, heâd been gone for a while, finishing up ten years in the Air Force. And beneath the flight suit heâd worn all those years, he was pure cowboy. Raised on a ranch not far from here. A ranch his parents had sold when Kane had left for the Air Force, but heâd recently rebought it.
Hell, he wasnât just a cowboy, he could be a poster model for one.
He shifted his attention when the front door opened, and a woman hurried in. A brunette in a clingy red dress. The bartender made a sound of appreciation, and Kane could see why. All those curves and long legs. She stopped, no doubt to give her eyes time to adjust to the lack of light, and she glanced at the back of the room before she looked in Kaneâs direction.
Crap.
It wasnât a woman. Well, it was, but it was the wrong woman. It was Eliza, Violetâs kid sister.
When the hell had she gotten curves like that?
âIâve been looking all over for you,â Eliza greeted. Except it wasnât much of a greeting. She sounded annoyed or something.
Since he hadnât seen her in ages, Kane didnât think he was the reason for the annoyance. Unless Eliza was miffed because he wasnât the one marrying her sister.
âI tried to call you, but your old number didnât work,â she added.
âI had to change providers since the old one didnât have good service here.â That didnât explain, though, why Violet hadnât contacted him because heâd only switched two weeks ago. He was betting sheâd been engaged longer than that.
Volleying glances between him and the booth with the bridal party, Eliza caught onto his arm, practically dragging him off the bar stool. âWe have to talkânow,â she said. âIâm so sorry about everything.â
Kane didnât put up a fuss about her dragging him, but this was unnecessary. Especially the apology. It wasnât her fault that her sister was getting married.
âIâve already heard about Violet,â he assured her.
Eliza didnât respond to that other than mumbling the
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