Page 31 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

“One of the bartenders at Hank’s said you stopped by.”

“I did.”

“Well, let’s hear your pitch. Lord knows Hank’s is already kicking my ass on karaoke night.”

GABE KEPT GLANCING toward where Caroline had disappeared, wondering how long she’d been dating the big bartender. When the guy had kissed her, Gabe had barely resisted the urge to snap his pool cue in half.

Is this what gets you off?

Her words had slammed him in the gut and brought to mind all kinds of images that would definitely do it for him. Most of them featured that little black dress on the floor of his bedroom and her sprawled across his bed. He’d start at the top of her head and work his way down, pausing at all the interesting spots until he reached the juncture between her legs. He’d pull her legs over his shoulders and dip his head down to kiss her p—

“It’s your shot, Gabe,” Kirsten said sweetly, tossing her thick blonde curls over her shoulder and reminding him that he had no business lusting after Caroline.

Kirsten, on the other hand, was exactly the type of woman he should be lusting after—casual, sexy, and knew exactly what the score was. She was looking for a good time, just like he was.

He was leaning over the table, lining up his shot, when Caroline came out of the storeroom, her hair tousled. She threw her head back and laughed at something the big guy said.

“Are you going to take your shot or what, man?” one of the cowboys he was playing with asked impatiently. Gabe pulled back, aimed . . .

And blew his shot to hell.

“Shit,” he said, ignoring the laughter from the other man.

Gabe scowled at the two men. He’d been fine playing with Kirsten, taking it slow and just having fun, but when the cowboys had approached him with two hundred on the winner, he couldn’t resist. He assumed the two of them were related; not only did they have the same coloring, but even their high-pitched hyena laughs were almost identical.

“Better luck next time,” the shorter one said, snickering as he lined up his own shot.

Gabe wasn’t happy about missing the shot, but he was too distracted by watching Caroline maneuver through the crowd to dwell on it. He couldn’t miss the way men checked her out and a few even tried to engage her in conversation. The smile she gave them was polite, but she kept moving on.

Was she here alone? Despite the fact that she’d grown up here and that Rock Canyon was a small, tight-k

nit community, he couldn’t believe she’d be stupid enough to go to a bar alone. Someone could spike her drink or attack her as she walked to her car.

It was none of his business what she did or what stupid mistakes she made. That’s what he kept telling himself as his irritation rose.

“I’m out,” Gabe said suddenly, dropping his money onto the table.

One of the men stepped into his path. “Let’s finish the game.”

Gabe looked into the smaller man’s scowling face and said, “You got my money, cowboy. We’re square.”

Turning away, he heard the other man mutter something that sounded a lot like “pussy.”

Gabe swung back around before he could rein in his temper. “What was that?”

“Come on, Walt, he’s right,” the other man said, wrapping his arm around Walt’s shoulders. “We’re square. Let’s get another round and see if we can’t talk to a couple of pretty girls.”

Walt followed his brother to the bar, giving Gabe a wide berth. Gabe watched them until a soft hand stroked his arm.

“Don’t mind Wayne and Walt,” Kirsten said, bending over the table to rerack the balls. “If they aren’t starting something, I think they’ll wither up and die.”

Before he could say anything, Travis Bowers took the stage, and the whole bar exploded into whistles, cheers, and applause. When the crowd calmed down, and Travis started his first song, Gabe spotted Caroline talking to another dark-haired woman, who kept checking her phone.

Wonder if that’s the other sister she warned you away from.

Remembering the way Caroline’s face had flushed when Valerie had called her out on her rudeness still left him smiling. He hadn’t thought much of anything frazzled her, but apparently being called out on her misbehavior could.

“So, do you want to get out of here?” Kirsten asked.