One

      A black cat streaked in front of the diner’s entrance and directly across Troy Jacobs’s path. Startled, Troy stumbled to a stop, then frowned as he watched the cat dart around the side of the building and disappear from sight. Well aware of the superstitions associated with black cats, he knew he should probably turn right around and head in the opposite direction.

      But he didn’t.

      He figured a black cat crossing his path couldn’t hurt his current run of luck. It was already running so low on the downside of bad he didn’t think it could possibly get any worse.

      With a rueful shake of his head, he pushed open the door, stepped inside and bumped into the Corley brothers who were just leaving.

      He nodded a greeting to the cowboys as he pulled off his hat.

      Rudy, the older of the two, clapped a hand on Troy’s shoulder. “Too bad about that steer you drew tonight. I’ve never seen one drop and cut behind a hazer as fast as that one. Didn’t even give you a fair chance to throw him.”

      Troy nodded his agreement. “Yeah, well, seems as if I’m drawing all the strange ones lately.”

      Rudy wagged his head sympathetically, then grinned and gave Troy a friendly punch on the arm. “But, hey, your luck’s bound to change soon, right? This losing streak can’t last forever.”

      Troy tried to force a game smile—though he certainly didn’t feel the sentiment—but he couldn’t seem to muster the enthusiasm required for the action. After putting up entry fees for three months without any wins to offset his expenses, it was hard to find anything to smile about. “I sure hope so,” he said with a resigned sigh, “because if it doesn’t, I might have to break down and sell my horse.”

      Rudy hooted a laugh and slapped Troy on the back. “If it comes to that, you give me a call. I’ve always admired Danny Boy. There’s not a horse around with more heart.” Rudy snugged his cowboy hat over his head and reached for the door, touching a finger to the hat’s brim in farewell. “See you around, Troy.”

      “Yeah,” Troy replied with a jerk of his chin. “See you.”

      Road noise from the highway that stretched in front of the truck stop rushed in as the Corley brothers left, then dulled to a low roar when the door closed behind the two men.

      Wishing he’d arrived earlier so that he could’ve shared a meal with the two cowboys and avoided eating alone, Troy looked around the nearly empty room, searching for a hostess. He didn’t see one, but at this hour of the night, he wasn’t surprised. The only customers remaining were a couple of truck drivers huddled at the counter, nursing thick porcelain mugs of steaming coffee, and a woman who sat alone in a booth on the opposite side of the room. When Troy glanced the woman’s way, he found her staring at him, but she quickly looked away when their gazes met, a blush staining her cheeks.

      She was a pretty little thing, he noted absently. Blond, with big blue eyes, a peaches-and-cream complexion…and from what he could see, a nice figure. If Pete was with him, Troy knew his friend would already be hustling over to her table and striking up a conversation. Pete did love women. And women seemed to love Pete.

      He smiled inwardly as he thought of his friend, wondering if he ought to mosey over and try one of Pete’s tactics on the woman and see if she’d be willing to share her table with him…but he quickly discarded the notion. He wasn’t like Pete who could charm the skin off a snake and