“Well, honey, how about dinner tomorrow night since Miz Ellen is too much woman for me to handle?” Ace said in a slow Texas drawl.

Liz leaned in close and whispered, “Darlin’, you couldn’t handle me either. You want the big breakfast or just coffee?”

“Now, there’s a girl after my heart.” Ellen giggled. “Reminds me of myself when I was young.”

Nellie slapped her on the arm. “You never had black hair unless it come out of a bottle.”

“Now don’t go givin’ away the family secrets, Nellie.” Ellen gave her sister the old stink eye.

Jasmine yelled through the serving window between the dining area and the kitchen, “All Ace wants is coffee and some flirting. Those fellows in his bunkhouse cook a mean breakfast for him every morning, but he can’t stay away from Chicken Fried because he likes to flirt.”

“Mornin’, Miz Jasmine,” Ace said. “Would you go to dinner with me tomorrow night so my pride won’t be wounded? Miz Ellen here is too fast for me, and your new waitress is just downright mean,” Ace teased.

“Woman has to be mean around you. I saved you a slice of lemon pie. You want it now or later?” Jasmine asked.

“Right now. If I don’t eat it in a hurry, Slade will talk you out of it,” Ace answered.

Liz went to the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, and put the last piece of lemon pie on a saucer. The place was full of good-natured cowboys, both bad boys and good guys, but not a one of them appealed to her.

She carried the coffee and pie out to Ace and set it before him, deliberately brushing his shoulder. Her heart didn’t even skip half a beat. Nothing. Nada!

“I heard that Haskell gave his place to you. You want to sell it?” Ace asked.

“I do not. Why would you want it, anyway?” Liz asked.

“So I can get into a bidding war with Raylen and Becca and make a fortune. Those twenty acres might turn out to bring in more money than there is in Fort Knox. Raylen would pay me triple what I gave you for it. He wants that land so bad he’d drop down on one knee and propose to you to get it.” Ace laughed.

“Well, it’s not for sale. I’m going to live there forever,” Liz said.

Liz’s bubble popped with a loud cracking sound inside her head. While she’d been floating around in the land of passionate kisses, Raylen had just been sweet-talking his way into buying her twenty acres. Well, it would take more than one steamy hot kiss and a five o’clock good morning to get her land. Even if she had been in love with the man since she was a kid, he was not about to work that angle on her.

All men have an angle. They either want your money, they want to get in your underpants, or they want both. Aunt Tressa’s words echoed in her head as she fell to earth with a hard thump.