“She calls herself the Bull Whisperer, bro,” Chad said.
Zach eyed her again, an amused smirk on his face. Was he looking at her chest? She crossed her arms.
“You think you can talk to bulls?”
“I don’t exactly talk to them. It’s not a literal whisper, Mr. McCray.”
“Mr. McCray? Hell, that’s my grandpa. You call me Zach, Gold Dust.”
“Fine. It’s not a literal whisper, Zach.”
“Yeah, not a literal whisper.” Chad’s lips twisted into a wide leer. “She uses a flute and a turban. She’s a regular bull swami.”
The three men chuckled as Dusty rolled her eyes. Some things hadn’t changed in seventeen years. Chad teased her as relentlessly as ever. She turned back to Zach.
“Look, I understand bulls, and they seem to understand me.”
Zach rolled his head back in a sarcastic guffaw. Dusty tried not to think about his sexy golden neck and how good his pulse point would feel against her lips.
“Now that takes the cake, darlin’.”
“I’m not your darling.”
“Course not. Women’s lib and all. I’d hate to be politically incorrect.”
“Women’s lib? This is the twenty-first century, not the seventies.” Dusty tapped her foot with indignation.
“Sorry, darlin’. Oops, I mean Dusty, or Miss O’Donovan.”
“It’s Ms.”
“Oh, Christ.” Zach rolled his eyes.
“So can we talk about Diablo or not?”
“Not,” Zach said.
“Told you, twerp.” Chad smiled. “Ain’t no way you get to ride Diablo.”
“But I need to, for the—” Dusty stopped herself. The McCrays didn’t need to know the small Montana ranch she and Sam had inherited from their grandparents was in financial trouble.
“Look, Dusty, I don’t want to hear any more about this,” Sam interjected. “The subject is closed.”
“You’re not my father, Sam,” she said, keeping her temper in check. “I’ll do as I please.”
“Not with my bull, you won’t,” Zach said.
Dusty regarded the three men, all stiff as statues in their indignant stances. Perhaps she was going about this the wrong way. After all, she’d catch more flies with sugar…
“Zach,” she said sweetly, “maybe we could discuss this further over a drink, or even dinner. I’m famished, and it would be fun to catch up, don’t you think?”
“That sounds like a plan,” Chad agreed. “Let’s go for some chow. There’s a great steakhouse about a mile from here.”
“The lady asked me,” Zach said, “and I’ll take her to dinner. Alone.”
“They can come too,” Dusty said. “I’d love for us all to chat. It’d be fun.”
Zach’s eyes raked over her. “Now why would I want to share a pretty little thing like you with these two clowns?”