Read Catch Me a Cowboy for Free Online Page B

payment in thirty days, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
    “But how can that be, when my house is paid for? The payments I missed were for one of Lyle’s loans he took out to help folks with their severance pay after the layoffs at Dalton Oil.”
    Reginald nodded his balding head. “Exactly. And your house was what he used as collateral for that loan.”
    Whoever said
the truth hurts
had hit it right on the money. Shirlene was devastated. Still, she wasn’t about to let this little pipsqueak know that.
    “Well, of course, that makes sense. I assume you take credit.” She opened her purse and searched for her wallet. Most of her credit cards had reached their limit, but there were one or two that might work. Except her wallet wasn’t there. Not under her sunglass case, or her makeup bag, or her half-eaten Snickers bar. It wasn’t anywhere.
    “Why that dirty little chainsaw-wielding midget,” she hissed under her breath.
    “Excuse me?” Mr. Peabody’s beady eyes widened.
    Shirlene tried her best to smile, but it was getting harder and harder to do. “Nothin’. I was just talkin’ to Sherman.” She pulled out her checkbook. “On second thought, why don’t I just write you a check from my bank in Austin?” She quickly signed and dated a check before she tore it out. “I’ll just let you fill in the blanks.”
    The man glanced back at the bank schedule on the window, and finally conceded that she and her pig weren’t going anywhere. Taking the check, he nodded at a chair. “If you’ll just have a seat, I’ll be right back.”
    Once Reginald disappeared into the back, Shirlene flopped down in the chair and covered her eyes with her hand. The check was only a Band-aid. With very little money in her account, she was just robbing Peter to payPaul. Sooner or later, it would catch up with her. She just hoped it was later. All she needed was a couple weeks to come up with another plan. She would have to sell the house, something Colt had wanted her to do since Lyle’s death. And he was right; the sprawling estate was way too big for just one person.
    The upkeep on such a big place was more than she could continue to pay. Just that morning, she’d had to call her cook, housekeeper, and gardener and make up a farfetched story about a rat infestation to explain why they shouldn’t show up to work.
    Of course, it wasn’t really that farfetched. Only a rat would force a woman out of her home.
    The bell over the door jangled. Shirlene turned just as a tall cowboy stepped in, the kind of cowboy that made a woman take another look—even a tired widow with a bad credit score. The man was as fine a cut of prime as Shirlene had ever seen. A lean muscled body was covered in starched cotton and worn jeans, and topped off with a sexy black Stetson pulled low on his forehead. He held a cell phone to his ear as he headed toward the back offices, moving with the type of confidence that left little doubt that this was a man used to being in charge.
    “I’ve checked out every cemetery within a hundred miles and have come up empty-handed. And even if I do find it, I think you and Brant are grasping at straws. Do you really think it will end the curse—”
    Sherman snorted, causing the man to cut off in midsentence and turn to Shirlene. Even though the hat shaded his eyes from the morning sun shining in the windows, Shirlene had little doubt they gave her a thorough once-over. Suddenly she wished she’d taken more time to touchup her makeup and fix her hair after her harrowing night in the trailer. Still, she wasn’t one to waste time on regrets.
    She eased into a smile. “I think it’s only fair to warn you that cursin’ is frowned upon in this town.”
    It only took a second for the phone to be hung up and the Stetson to be whisked off; exposing a face that was as fine as the body it was attached to—even if it was a little pale. But it wasn’t the man’s strong features that caught her attention as much