Cowboy Ever After

Chapter 3

"Glad to hear you're riding," Matt said to Savannah.

"I try to ride about once a month. Can't give it up totally, at least not yet."

"Your brothers competing this weekend, too? Am I going to have to worry about having to kick Jacob's butt?"

"Jacob and Daniel will be here."

"Dang, I'm going to have to work for the win."

"Poor baby," Abby said, not sounding sympathetic at all.

When Savannah's gaze shifted, Matt looked up to find the pretty waitress standing next to him. She had her dark hair pulled up in a ponytail, which only emphasized her beautiful blue eyes even more.

"Hello, I'm Gretchen," she said as she handed him a menu. "Would you like a cup of coffee or something else to drink?"

Though she smiled and seemed friendly enough, he got the oddest sense that he could see sadness beyond the surface of those hypnotic eyes. Even odder was his desire to erase that sadness.

He realized that she was watching him with an expectant look. Finally, it clicked.

"Coffee, please."

"Coming right up." She spun and walked away at a quick pace.

"Yoo-hoo." Abby waved her hand in front of his face.

He shifted his eyes away from how Gretchen filled out her jeans the way a woman should. When his gaze met Abby's, his friend was grinning as if she'd caught him with his pants down and found it amusing.

"What, you've never seen a man appreciate a pretty woman before?"

"I was saving you from drowning on your own drool."

"Pay her no mind," Savannah said. "She likes to accuse others of drooling all the time. I think she has a drool fetish."

Matt laughed, drawing a narrow-eyed look from Abby.

"You are not a good friend," she said.

He leaned back in his chair. "Never claimed I was."

As the two women exchanged a couple more rounds of banter, he picked up his menu and perused the offerings. When Gretchen returned to the table with his coffee, he closed the menu and looked up at her. He wondered if her skin was as soft and delicate as it looked. His fingertips itched to find out, but he made them grip the coffee cup instead.

"Do you know what you want?" she asked as she pulled out an order pad.

Yeah, he did, and it had nothing to do with breakfast.

Damn it, he needed to focus. "Um, I'll take French toast with sausage links."

He'd swear he saw a flicker of light in her eyes before she shifted her gaze to the notepad and wrote down his order.

"Coming right up."

This time when she walked away, he didn't watch her, instead focusing on taking a drink from his newly delivered coffee.

"I think our boy here is smitten," Abby said.

He looked toward Savannah, as if for assistance, but she just shrugged. "I think she's right."

He shook his head. "That'll teach me to hang out with girls."

Abby and Savannah laughed as if he were the funniest thing since the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.