“Who?”

“Adelle Crawford—the ex-girlfriend from hell.”

The bleached-blonde Cowgirl Barbie swaggered to us, rolling her hips and thrusting her breasts at Slade in an obvious vie for attention. He held up his hands in a gesture of annoyance while she circled us, her muddy green eyes scouring me. I maintained my ground, fingers curled in his, while a new sensation of stubborn will rose within me. Slade shifted his weight onto his left hip, his body brushing mine. Her painted lips parted. “I heard you brought home a stray, Slade. I never expected you to keep something so scrawny…”

I stepped up to face her and shocked myself. “And what’s your problem with it?”

I didn’t have time to ponder the newfound strength. Adelle turned on me. “My problem? This is my territory and he’s part of it. Always has been, always will be.”

She sounds like Matt. Her attitude only fanned the flames inside. No one owns someone else. “Then why don’t you cock your leg and piss on him?”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Only male dogs cock their legs, idiot.”

“Oh? Then you’re just a bitch.”

Inwardly, I was shocked with myself, but I maintained a solid stance. Her eyes widened. Her mouth fell open, then snapped shut again. The blush on her face flushed her body, even staining her cleavage and breasts an angry red. She cast a glare back to the table she’d recently left and then turned back to me. “I am not a bitch, and I sure as hell ain’t no female dog!”

Just then, the two women who’d traveled in her pack to the bathroom and back to their table came to the dance floor and stood beside her. Things weren’t going her way, so she had to call reinforcements? Sarcasm simmered to a boil in my mouth. “Oh look, the rest of your dog sled team has arrived. Did you leave your harness outside?”

Ilene appeared by my side to join the verbal fray. “So, which one of you is the lead dog, and who are the ones left looking at ass all day?”

A round robin chorus of “you bitch” and “how dare you” ensued. Adelle seemed ready to charge in and rip out my throat with her manicured nails, but then the lone man at their abandoned table shouted, his voice cracking like a whip over the churlish pack. “Hey, Adelle. Get me a beer, would ya?”

Silence fell and a grin cut into my cheeks. “Better hurry, Adelle, your musher is calling…”

The color drained from her face, leaving red splotches of blush on her cheekbones. She growled half curses and glared at Slade. His smile remained placid and unaffected by her anger. Her bravado faded, but she leveled a finger at me. “No one insults me like this. You’d better watch yourself. I’ll come at you sideways. I’ll make you miserable for even looking at him!”

“Impossible.”

I motioned for her to run along, and then I tugged Slade’s hand and led him from the dance floor, leaving her chewing on the bone of her embarrassment. Slade stopped at the edge of the polished oak expanse and pulled me to his chest. He came close enough to kiss me a thousand ways and didn’t. The energy between us crackled. I was torn. I couldn’t turn away, but I didn’t want our first kiss to be because of Adelle. Then his lips moved, a breath away from mine while his hand encircled my back, cinching me to his body. I would have given in then. I couldn’t resist his embrace. His heart beat for us both.

“I love it when you’re feisty.” His voice was husky, a secret for just us.

The heat of his lips scorched mine. “I love your liking me feisty.”

We returned to our table, and Steve patted Ilene on the back. “I thought for a minute I was going to have to break up a fight. Good job, honey.”

A rather crestfallen Suzy showed up at our table and I ordered rounds of shots for the table. I swilled my beer down before she returned. The little glasses were passed around and tossed back before she was out of earshot. “Hey, Suzy!”

She turned, and Slade ordered another round. Steve shouted for more beers too. Between the bourbon and beer, I was buzzed. I leaned against Slade, stuffing a fry into the fry sauce from him, and then dipping one in the gravy for me.

Around one o’clock, people filtered through the roadhouse and out the door. Adelle shot me a scathing glare, which I met with a stoic expression of indifference. Ilene came up beside me in a show of solidarity. The pack of bitches passed through the door, followed by their musher Tom. He cast Slade an apologetic expression and shrugged his shoulders. “Adelle’s a spirited one.”

“Yup. She is.” Slade tipped his hat, then spoke only loud enough for us to hear. “And I’m glad she’s his burden.”

I left a good tip on the table for Suzy. She was a fine waitress, and I wasn’t going to hold her poor choice in friends against her. We filed out a few couples behind them. Waving, Ilene and Steve headed to his car. “Meet you back at the ranch.”

Turning on my heel, I aimed for Slade’s truck. There was no warning, not even Slade caught wind of the attack. Adelle hit me from behind, slamming me into the tailgate of his truck. Stars exploded in my vision, and air whooshed out of my lungs. The stubborn will that had flared on the dance floor flooded me. I pushed off the tailgate, clipping her jaw with my elbow when I spun to face her. She covered her jaw with a hand, and her fingers came away bloody. “You witch!”

“And?” I clamped my jaws shut and widened the stance of my feet, bracing myself for another round. Adelle swung out, fingernails bared. I blocked it with a hard outward swing. She was framed by the moon before I struck back, shoving her in the middle of her chest, pushing her back on her ass in the muddy parking lot. She scrambled to her feet and balled her fists. I taunted her, stepping back and baiting her in. She swung and I sidestepped, letting her smash her pretty nails against the tailgate of Slade’s truck. The metallic bang echoed off the vehicles and caught her escort’s attention. Tom’s head popped up like a prairie dog in a field of cars before he stood in the doorframe of his Suburban. “Adelle! What the hell’re you doing?”

She spat at my feet and then backed away. “I told you I’d come at you sideways.”

“No, you hit me from behind, like a pathetic little bitch.”

Adelle’s face contorted, and her eyes widened, pupils dilating like a dog tracking a target. Tom appeared out of the shadows, wrapping his arms around Adelle’s stomach and holding her back. Slade placed a hand on my shoulder, fingers digging into my jacket. “Doesn’t matter what you want, Adelle. In the end, you’re with Tom and I have Slade.”

Her shoulders slumped. Tom released her then, wrapping his hand around her wrist and leading her back to his vehicle. Slade tapped my shoulder. “Come on, Kally Cat. Let’s go home.”

I climbed into the front seat and buckled in. “Kally Cat?”

“Well, yeah.” His smile was broad when he turned to me. “You get into a cat fight outside of a bar and not expect me to say anything?”

I snorted. “Well, she started it.”