Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7)

Charlie sighed. “Fine. I’ll be there.”


“I’m still in the planning stage, but I’ll let you know when that changes to action.”

Jo delivered Heidi’s margarita. She promised their burgers would be out shortly, then went to check on other customers. Heidi reached for her glass only to realize her friends were staring at her.

“What?”

“That’s your second,” Charlie said.

“I know.”

“You usually don’t get a second drink until the food arrives. Sometimes not at all.”

“I’m having a bad day.” Heidi slumped back in the booth. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

Annabelle patted her arm. “Jump in wherever you want. We’ll catch up.”

“Glen is sleeping with May. At least I think he is. She was in his room and they were laughing, and it sounded very intimate. I’m worried about her, about Glen breaking her heart. That’s what he does. He’s not a one-woman kind of guy. But when I tried to talk to Rafe, he wouldn’t listen. He thinks Glen is too old to have sex. Stupid man. And all my life, Glen told me love wasn’t real, and if it was, it was for suckers. Now suddenly he’s saying May is the one, and his feelings are real. That he was wrong about love, and I should forget everything he told me before.”

She paused to draw in a breath. “And Rafe has a matchmaker, if you can believe it, and he’s on a date tonight. Because if you had a chance to land someone like him, what’s a three-hour drive to Fool’s Gold, right? And the cows are gone, which is good, because I need the money, and I’m hiring a sales rep for my cheese, which is scary. It was Rafe’s idea, so he’s helping me and trying to take my home from me at the same time.” She drew in another breath. “There’s a lot going on.”

She reached for her margarita and took a long drink.

Annabelle and Charlie exchanged a look.

“That’s quite a list,” Annabelle said.

“Most of it was about Rafe, and she’s drinking more than usual,” Charlie added. “You know what that means.”

“Trouble.” Annabelle shook her head. “Big trouble.”

“Man trouble.”

“There’s no man trouble,” Heidi announced. “None. Zero. Zip. I’m not attracted to Rafe.”

“But you’ve kissed him,” Annabelle said smoothly.

“Yes, but it was—” Heidi slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to mention the kiss. She dropped her arm to her side. “It’s not what you think.”

“Was there tongue?” Charlie asked.

Prepared now, Heidi pressed her lips together and didn’t speak.

“That’s a yes,” Annabelle said with a sigh. “I miss tongue. Or any kind of kissing. I miss sex and men and orgasms.” She sighed again. “I’m sorry. What was the question?”

“Tongue is exactly what I think,” Charlie said.

Jo brought their burgers. When she left, Heidi grabbed a fry from her plate.

“No, it was an accident. Or meaningless, or both. He has a matchmaker. Who does that? I don’t know why he can’t get his own girl. The man is rich and good-looking. And when he rides Mason… Oh!” She turned to Charlie. “Did you know your horse knows how to rope a steer? Well, the horse part of it. He’s not the one throwing the rope.”

Charlie picked up her burger. “Seeing as I bought Mason, yes, I knew. So Rafe is sexy on a horse?”

“More than should be legal. With those shoulders and in that hat?”

“Oh, no. You have it bad.” Annabelle stared at her. “I thought you were going to sleep with him to keep him from getting the ranch. Not fall for him.”

Heidi took a bite of her burger and chewed. She swallowed, then flicked her fingers at both of them. “I’m not falling for him. He’s not my type. He’s a townie. I know better.”

“Townie?” Charlie mouthed. “I can figure that out in context, but it’s not like you’re still in the carnival. You live in a town. You’re a townie now.”

“Not in my heart.” Heidi drank more of her margarita.

The tequila went down smoothly. If her brain was a little fuzzy, that was a good thing. Soon she wouldn’t have to think about Rafe on a date. With some San Francisco-based bimbo.

“Stupid man,” she muttered. “Who does he think he is, looking that good on a horse? It’s not like I started the kissing, either. He kissed me.”

“Was it amazing?” Annabelle asked wistfully.

“Yes. But it’s not like he wanted to have sex with me.”

“Not that you’re bitter,” Charlie murmured.

“I’m not. Stupid man.”

“You said that already,” Annabelle told her.

Heidi gulped the rest of her margarita and signaled for another.

“You really don’t want that,” Charlie told her. “You’re plenty drunk as it is.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Heidi announced.

“It’s too late,” Annabelle said. “There’s nothing we can do.”

“You’re going to be hating life, come morning.”

Maybe Charlie was right, but at this moment, Heidi didn’t care.