Wild For You

“Look,” she said, inching back, “I’m sorry I whistled and called attention to you. That wasn’t cool. But I’d really like to explain about the list you found yesterday.”

An air horn honked ungodly loud and close.

Grimacing, she covered her ear.

Spencer pulled her against him just as a truck sped by. The door closed behind her, biting into her back while her breasts pressed against his arm. It was unnecessary. The truck hadn’t passed close enough to hit her, but she wasn’t complaining.

When the teenage boys riding in the truck’s bed laughed and jeered, she realized then the driver had purposely swerved just to scare them. If Erin had been anywhere else, she would’ve flipped them off. Or maybe not, since her heart was pounding so hard the roar had reached her ears. Even her legs were shaky. Damn kids.

“Are you all right?” Spencer’s arm had tightened around her, and he was trying to look at her face.

“I don’t think they got your door.” She would’ve heard the metals scraping together. “Did they?” She turned to see for herself, but Spencer caught her chin and forced her to meet his eyes.

“Forget about the truck. I yanked the door pretty hard trying to get you out of the way.”

“I’m fine.” She lowered her gaze and focused on the muscle working in his jaw. “Stupid kids.” Her heart was still racing, and her knees had lost their starch, but that had more to do with the feel of his warm breath on her cheek.

“You’ll bruise.”

“Maybe it’ll match yesterday’s...” She shrugged, noticed her palm pressed to his chest and blinked. When had that happened?

Resisting the urge to snatch her hand back, she casually reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.

Spencer glanced down Main Street and lowered his arm. “It’s clear. Come on, hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”

She didn’t give him a chance to change his mind. After a quick peek for herself, she hurried around and jumped into the passenger seat.

“Where are you headed?” he asked as he pulled out.

“I don’t know. Where are you going?”

His mouth lifted in a slight smile. “I can drop you off on the next block if you want.”

A sudden flash of memory had her peering into her bag. “Damn.” Both Twinkies were flat. No problem, she’d eat them, anyway. Of course the carton of dip had survived, because the bag of corn chips was now crumbs.

“Groceries?”

“Yep. Oh, well.” She offered him a candy bar. “It’s only smashed on the end.”

“No, thanks.”

She rooted around and found another. “How about this one? It doesn’t look too bad.”

He took his eyes off the road to frown at her just as they passed the inn where she was staying. Next was a gas station, and after that, nothing but open highway and a scattering of large ranches.

Spencer lowered his gaze to the bag. “Is there anything healthy in there?”

Fishing out the dip, she pretended to study the ingredient list. “It’s green, so probably,” she said and hid a smile at his look of revulsion. “The chips got smashed, though. But I bet we can make it work.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m starving. This is breakfast. Oh, I should’ve asked...do you care if I eat in your truck?”

He shook his head, his expression puzzled. “It’s all junk food.”

“Look, I’d love to be dining on delicious organic salads and fruit every day. But even if the Food Mart did carry organic produce, it’s not in my budget.”

“You must have an expense account and per diem.”

“Sort of.” She unwrapped a Twinkie and broke it in half. “Motel rooms are covered, within reason, of course, and I’m reimbursed for gas. I’m using my own car, and I pay for my food.” She bit into her half and offered him the other.

It came as no surprise when he turned down the Twinkie with a single lifted brow.

“I have a bag of organic apples that I brought with me. It’s in my room.” Feeling a bit defensive, she stuffed the rest of the cake into her mouth. She hated that she hadn’t completely kicked her college junk food habit. But what she’d told him was true. She had to watch her pennies.

“And that room would be where?”

Shit.

She looked at him, pointed to her mouth and kept chewing, wondering how long she could stall. God, she’d kill for some coffee.

The scenery was beautiful. Her gaze skipped the scrubby brush closer to the road and took in the mix of pines, cottonwoods and quaking aspen covering the foothills of the Rockies. Fall had come late to this corner of the country. Some of the lower altitude trees still had orange-and-gold leaves clinging to the branches.

Not that she held any hope the landscape would distract Spencer. She fully expected him to make a U-turn at any second.

Deciding not to push his patience, she swallowed the last of the Twinkie and said, “I’m staying at The Boarding House Inn.”

“The same Boarding House Inn we passed five minutes ago?”

“Yep. The place is pretty cool. It really was a boardinghouse at one time.” Waiting for him to lay into her, she studied his hand resting on the steering wheel. His long, lean fingers looked elegant and graceful, with trimmed fingernails that seemed too neat and clean to belong to a cowboy. “Do you play the piano?”

The truck veered to the shoulder. He’d put both hands on the wheel as he prepared to make a turn. They hit a rock, and the sudden jerk had her reaching for the dashboard.

“Wait. Please, don’t,” she said just as a second bump jarred her poor bruised butt and made her wince. “Can I come with you?”

Spencer stopped the truck and sent her a curious look. “You don’t even know where I’m going.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s warm in here, and I don’t have anything better to do.”

“So, why are you hanging around town, wasting money on lodging?”

“Well, if you’re going to resort to logic, forget it. I have nothing to say.”

He sighed and shifted to Neutral. “I’m not changing my mind.”

“I know.” And she wasn’t giving up the fight. “Actually, I do have a few things to take care of, like getting some pictures of the new storefronts in town. It’s crazy how much has changed in three months.”

“That shouldn’t take long.”