Agent's Admirer (Culpepper Cowboys Book 13) Read online

  She looked up at him. “Why is he an idiot? What did he do wrong?”

  “Other than falling for the wrong girl, nothing. I guess. She just treated him so badly, and he kept going back for more. He was like a puppy who wanted to be kicked in the head for the fiftieth time!”

  “You don’t think she deserved another chance? He loved her with everything inside him. He loved her from the moment she walked into his silly travel book shop. So how could he not give her a chance when she offered him the world?”

  “I still think he was stupid.”

  She sighed. “But they lived together happily. At the end, she was lying on her back with her head in his lap, very pregnant.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t help but wonder what all she put him through to get to that point. It was ridiculous.”

  “So if there was a misunderstanding that made a woman angry with you, there’s no way you’d give her another chance? Even if you were in love with her?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I think love always deserves a fighting chance,” Megan said.

  “What about your cowboy who’s off riding the rodeo then? If he came back tomorrow, would you give him another chance?”

  “He was here a couple of weeks ago for the rodeo. We had lunch together.”

  Bob blinked. “You had lunch together? Where?” It hadn’t been at his restaurant, and he knew she didn’t cook. Was she cheating on his Burger Barn?

  “We went to the diner. We talked for a couple of hours. He asked if any of the old feelings were there, so we chatted, and discovered they weren’t.” She wasn’t sure she could have trusted him again, but she didn’t tell Bob that.

  “You don’t feel anything for him anymore? And why did you go to the diner? You didn’t have one of their burgers did you?” If she’d eaten one of the inferior burgers offered by the diner, his heart would break in two.

  “No, I didn’t have a burger. I had a bowl of soup, and I thought about your burgers the whole time. And no I don’t feel anything for him. He’s a part of my past, but I don’t think he’ll ever be a part of my life again.”

  “So you did give him a chance?”

  “As much of a chance as I could. He’s still not interested in settling down. He’s going to ride the circuit until he’s broken every bone in his body. Honestly, with as hard-headed as he is, he’ll probably need to break them all at once to quit.”

  Bob grinned. “Well, what if I did something really stupid. Say I kissed some other girl. Would you give me another chance?”

  “We’re not in an exclusive relationship. I don’t feel like I have any right to tell you who you can and cannot kiss. I might get upset about it, but I would have no right to hold a grudge. If we were married, or engaged, or committed to each other, it would be different. Now? I wouldn’t have the right.”

  “I’m not seeing anyone else. I don’t want to see anyone else.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not seeing anyone else either, but we’ve only been dating for three days. That’s a short time for me to think I can throw a fit if you kiss another girl.”

  Bob sighed. “Maybe I want you to throw a fit if I kiss another girl. Did you ever think of that?”

  “You’re being confusing and a tad bit annoying, Bob. I have no idea what you want me to say!”

  “I want you to say it would bother you if I kissed someone else!”

  “It would bother me. But that doesn’t mean that I would have the right for it to bother me. That’s what I’m trying to say. Whether it bothers me or not, I wouldn’t have the right to get all upset about it.”

  Bob sighed. “Why did we watch this movie again?”

  Megan shrugged. “I’ll let you pick the next one.”

  “I brought dessert.”

  “I didn’t see you bring anything in.” Something sweet sounded wonderful though.

  “I went to my car and brought it in while you were in the bathroom earlier.”

  She grinned. “Trying to spoil me?”

  “Only as long as you’re not running around kissing other men. That would make me mad.”

  She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him, putting every ounce of emotion she felt for him—including intense frustration—into the kiss. “I don’t know what to do with you, Bob!”

  “I kind of like the kissing. You could keep doing that.”

  She laughed. “Let’s go eat dessert. I’m hungry.”

  He kissed her once more before getting to his feet and walking toward her kitchen, knowing she was only a step behind him. “I sent one of my waitresses to the bakery to get this while we were slow today.” He pulled a perfect cheesecake topped with blueberries from the fridge, before getting two plates out of her cabinet.

  “You already know where everything is in my kitchen.” No one else in the world knew their way around her kitchen. They’d only been dating for three days! What was going on with her. She didn’t let people in her life this way!

  “I’m a quick study.” He cut off a generous piece of the cheesecake and put it in front of her before cutting another piece for himself.

  They carried their dessert to the table and sat down to eat it. “We need milk!” she said suddenly, jumping up to get some. “You want some?”

  “Nothing goes with cheesecake quite like a glass of milk.”

  She poured two glasses and carried them to the table. “Thanks for coming over to movie with me tonight.”

  “I enjoyed it. But I still get to pick the next movie.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You get to pick the next movie.”

  “What are we doing tomorrow night?” he asked.

  She grinned, liking the fact that he was assuming they’d be spending the time together. She knew some girls would be offended and think he was taking them for granted, but it just made her feel like he wanted to be with her. “No idea.”

  He frowned. “Well, we’re going dancing Friday, so not that. We could go out to eat. I wish it was still light out when I got off work, because I’d love to go on a picnic with you down by the river.”

  She shook her head. “It’s getting cold for that.”

  “I have an idea then. I’ll be here at six-thirty tomorrow. You going to be at the Burger Barn for lunch?”

  “I’m sure you have another idea for a bun for that taco burger.” She wasn’t about to admit it to him, but she was having fun trying out his different concoctions. The best tasting was still the first one, though.

  “Of course I do.” He ate the last bite of his cheesecake and carried his plate to the sink. “You sure I can’t help with the dishes?”

  She nodded. “Positive. You go home and sleep. You have to be up earlier than me.”

  He looked at the clock on her stove. “You know it’s only eleven.” It was much earlier than they’d parted their first night together. Why was she in a hurry to get rid of him?

  “You need your beauty rest.”

  Bob raised an eyebrow at her. “You saying I’m ugly?”

  “I’m not even going to answer that.” Megan walked him to the door, kissing him goodbye quickly. “Go home, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” After she’d closed the door behind him, she leaned back against it and smiled. She was falling in love with Bob Bickel, and who could blame her? He was actually charming when he wanted to be!

  4

  When Megan got to Bob’s Burger Barn the next day, he was walking out of the kitchen with two burgers in hand. He nodded toward ‘their booth’ and once she was seated, he put the burgers down. “I’m not sure how I feel about this one.”

  Megan looked down at the taco burger in front of her. The two halves of the bun looked more like pancakes than anything else. She poked at it while he ran to get her water and his Dr. Pepper. When he was back, she asked, “What’s the bun?”

  Once he was seated he shrugged. “It’s a corn fritter. It’s worth a try, right?”

  She nodded. “Sure.” Her voice was skeptical, but she picked it up and bit
into it. It wasn’t bad…but it wasn’t a taco burger. Her favorite was still the burger he’d made her the first day. The one with the tostada shell. The corn fritter crumbled, and wasn’t remotely crispy. It was a no from her.

  “Well?” he asked, picking up his own burger to try a bite. He didn’t think this was it, but he wanted to try all options. As soon as he bit into it, he knew it wasn’t what he was looking for. No crunch. He needed the crunch. Soft tacos were fine, but that’s not what he was looking for with his taco burger. Taste was good, though.

  Megan blotted her lips with her napkin. “It’s edible, but I still like the one with the tostada shell best.”

  He sighed. “I’ll get this right if it kills me.”

  “It might.” She dipped one of the chips from her plate into queso and took a bite.

  “Probably.” He frowned at the burger as he picked it up for another bite. This was the hardest burger he’d ever tried to perfect. He had burgers with chili, eight kinds of cheeses, bacon, avocado, eggs, fried onion strings, barbecue sauce, and lots of other strange combinations on his menu, but this one was really messing with his head.

  “So what are we doing tonight?” she asked.

  “I’m going to surprise you.” He was excited about seeing her face when she saw what he was planning. “I’m going to pick you up at seven-thirty and not six-thirty, though.” He’d need the extra time to make it happen.

  “Pick me up? You’re not just coming to my place this time?” She thought he’d said he was coming over.

  He shook his head. “Nope. Not this time.”

  “What should I wear?”

  “Dress comfortably.”

  Megan frowned at him. “Like jeans and a T-shirt?”

  Bob nodded. “Sure, sounds good to me.” He loved watching her in jeans.

  “I’m a little nervous about just letting you plan everything. What if I hate what we’re doing?”

  He shrugged. “You’ll suffer through it like I suffered through that movie last night. Stupid man didn’t know what was good for him.”

  She rolled her eyes. “He made the right choice when he chose love!”

  “Is love always the right choice?” Bob asked, raising one eyebrow. He thought she was being naïve about the movie, and he had no problem telling her so. He thought that was one of his favorite things about Megan. Neither of them had to worry about offending the other.

  “Give me a scenario where it’s not.”

  Bob thought for a minute before responding. “Okay. Say you’re married to a man who says he loves you with everything inside him. You know you love him. And you find out he’s had a string of women on the side, say he’s cheating at least once a week with a different woman every time. Is choosing to stay with him for love still the right choice?”

  Megan frowned. “One-sided love isn’t the right choice. That’s what it would be in that case. If he can’t be faithful, then it’s not love.”

  “What if he had a good reason for needing to sleep with all those women?”

  She shook her head. “And what kind of good reason could there be?”

  He shrugged. “I haven’t figured that out yet.”

  “If you’re working on a good reason for a man to cheat on a woman, I’m not sure that I want to see you tonight.” She couldn’t believe this conversation. The man had lost his mind!

  Bob sighed. “I’m not like that. Not anymore!”

  “Anymore?” Once a cheater always a cheater. Megan was ready to get up and leave and never eat at the Burger Barn again.

  “Well, when I was in kindergarten, I was going steady with Cindy Jones, and one day at recess, I started chasing little Cissie Patterson around. I couldn’t resist, and I kissed her when I caught her. Cindy and Cissie were best friends, so Cissie told Cindy, and they both hated me from then on. I never cheated on a girl again. I learned my lesson!”

  Megan stifled a laugh. “Well, I should say not! I bet Cindy and Cissie were still saying bad things about you in first grade!”

  “They were. But I didn’t care because little Penny Albee showed me her panties. It was true love!”

  “That sounds like love. I hope you’re not expecting me to show you my panties, because it’s not happening.”

  There was the sound of throat clearing from beside the table, and Megan looked over, her eyes widening, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing aloud. When she finally got control of herself, she smiled. “Brother Anthony, it’s good to see you.”

  Brother Anthony pinned his gaze on Bob. “I haven’t seen you in church yet. It might be time for you to come in and the two of us could have a little talk.”

  Bob sighed. “We were joking around. I promise, I’m not running around town trying to see all the women’s panties. I’m just a humble burger maker, sir.”

  “A humble burger maker, my big toe! I heard what you said! Megan has an impeccable reputation, and I hope you’re not here to ruin it!”

  Megan stifled a giggle. “Brother Anthony, this is the owner of Bob’s Burger Barn. Bob, this is Brother Anthony. He’s the pastor of the church here in town.”

  “It’s really nice to meet you, sir.” Bob knew his words were lame. He’d been taught to always show the utmost respect for the clergy, but what a time for a pastor to come along and overhear their conversation. “I’ll do my best to be in church this Sunday!”

  “I won’t marry the two of you if you don’t come to church at least once first. Megan’s father doesn’t live here in Culpepper, so I think of her as one of my own.”

  Bob’s eyes widened. “We’re not planning to marry right away.”

  Brother Anthony shook his head with a laugh. “Famous last words, Bob. Every man in town says that, and the next thing I know, they’re begging for a same day wedding. Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me! A man should be able to keep it in his pants for long enough to wait at least a day or two! You can keep it in your pants, can’t you, Bob?”

  Megan spewed the sip of water she’d just drank right back into her glass, grabbing her sides. “He hasn’t even tried to show it to me, Brother Anthony. In fact, he’s only mentioned girls’ panties to me one time since I met him, and that’s when you walked up!”

  Brother Anthony put his hands on his hips. “Unless you two are married, or at least talking about marriage, there should be no talk of panties either. None. Do you hear me, Bob?”

  Bob nodded, refusing to argue another minute. “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ll see you in a few days, and we can talk about wedding dates then.” Brother Anthony walked off to join his wife Lovie at a table across the restaurant, leaving Megan giggling hysterically, and Bob still shaking his head.

  “I’m not sure what you think is so funny!” Bob said with a frown.

  Megan simply giggled holding her sides. The look on Bob’s face when he’d realized the pastor was standing there had been priceless. Of course his look when the pastor mentioned marriage was what put her over the top. Brother Anthony was still watching them from across the restaurant, and Megan was more amused that she could remember being for a very long time.

  Bob finally stood up and bussed the table. There was no point in trying to have a conversation with a hysterical woman. “I’ll see you tonight. Seven-thirty.”

  Megan wiped the tears from her eyes and hurried to the door. She was going to wet herself if she kept laughing so hard, and she didn’t want that to happen in his restaurant.

  When Megan’s doorbell rang that evening, she grabbed her coat and purse and hurried to the door. Bob waited while she locked up, and they walked to the car together. “You never did tell me what we’re doing,” Megan said.

  “I’m not going to tell you when you’ll be able to see for yourself in five minutes. Be patient.”

  Megan sighed. “I don’t know what ever made you think I was patient, but I assure you, the word is barely part of my vocabulary!” She knew as she said it, that she probably shouldn’t admit it to the man
she was seeing, but he needed to know upfront she wasn’t someone who waited for anything.

  Bob started the car and drove slowly toward the Burger Barn, stopping beside it.

  “Is your surprise dinner at the burger barn?” Megan asked, wondering how that was a good surprise.

  He didn’t answer, but instead got out of the car, walked around and opened her door, taking her hand and leading her to the building beside the Burger Barn. A building that had four small apartments in it. And then she understood. He was taking her to his place for dinner. “So we’re eating at your place? What did you fix?”

  Bob stayed quiet, letting her draw her own conclusions. He opened his front door for her and let her precede him inside, knowing what she’d see. “Well?”

  There was a picnic basket on a quilt in the middle of his floor. She grinned over her shoulder at him. “It’s too cold for a picnic, so you made me one inside? Very nice!” She sank down on the floor before looking around the apartment. It was definitely a male abode. She knew from showing it a couple of times that the apartment had one bedroom and one bath. The décor was what she was interested in. She wasn’t surprised to see a framed painting of a burger on the wall.

  He waited until she was seated on the quilt before sitting beside her and unloading the basket. He’d cooked at the restaurant, because there was no way he could prepare everything the way he wanted it done in just an hour. He’d had one of the waiters go to the bakery and pick up some brownies with cream cheese frosting. He was starting to make a habit of getting her special desserts from the bakery every evening, and he wasn’t sure how good of an idea that was.

  He pulled out some pinwheel sandwiches made of tortillas, cheese, and meat, along with some potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, and a bottle of water for each of them. “I hope you’re hungry.” He handed her a plate, fork and napkin, opening the containers of potato salad and beans, before sticking spoons in them so she could serve herself.

  She fixed her plate and smiled at him. “Thank you for taking the time to do something special. I love picnics.”

  “I had a feeling. You seem the type.”