Cowboy to the Core

For one thing, he didn’t see Dani Baxter as the swoon-and-faint type. She seemed a lot more like a take-charge filly. Self-assured. Spunky. But something had definitely spooked her today.

By the time they reached the festival grounds, he was firmly back in his operational frogman mode, detached from emotion and ready for anything the night threw at him.

That lasted until they reached the gate, and she linked her arm with his, just as a muscle-bound king and voluptuous queen rushed toward them.

“The bride and I’m guessing the groom,” Dani murmured, and then let go of his arm to plunge into a bear hug with the queen.

They exchanged introductions all around. He liked Bethany Sue instantly. She had a naive, girlish quality about her that made her enthusiasm seem genuine.

The groom was still up for debate. His muscles knotted all the way up to his thick neck, but strength did not always equate with toughness. Marcus knew that well from his stint with the SEALs. Some of the bravest, hard-hitting frogmen he’d known were half Arnie’s size.

“I thought you said you weren’t bringing a date,” Bethany Sue said. “And then you show up with this hunky cowboy.”

“Change of plans at the last minute,” Dani replied, trying to brush off the interest. “And you said the more the merrier.”

“Absolutely. You look stunning, girlfriend. That gown is to die for.”

“I owe full credit to Celeste and Katie. They picked it out.”

“Ohmigod,” Bethany said, as if she’d just spied the girls. “You two look like confections in a candy shop. Love those shimmering skirts.”

“This is such a cool idea for a wedding,” Celeste said.

“Yeah,” Katie agreed. “Way better than just walking down a plain old church aisle.”

“The ceremony will be in a wedding chapel,” Bethany Sue said. “There are several of them right here on the grounds.”

“Wow. Perfect,” Katie said.

“This was all Arnie’s idea,” Bethany explained. “He has friends who travel the Renaissance circuit a few months out of every year. You’ll meet them later tonight. They operate a couple of concessions at the festival—one who sells antiquestyle jewelry and one who deals in knives and swords.”

Marcus listened to the rest of the conversation, hoping for verbal clues as to what had led to Dani’s hiring him for the evening. He probably came across as less than attentive, but he was absorbing a dozen things at once.

The chatter. The setup for tonight’s dinner and entertainment. The lighting. The location of security cameras. Pockets of darkness. Basically, he wanted a blueprint in his mind of any and everything that would affect his providing protection for Dani and the girls.

When Arnie and Bethany Sue moved on to a group of new arrivals, he maneuvered Dani and the girls toward a face-painting booth set up near the tables and chairs circling a portable dance floor.

“Did I hear someone in the backseat of the truck on the way over say they wanted body art to complete their costume?”

The girls jumped and squealed their agreement. Who knew teenage girls squealed so much?

Once they’d chosen their designs, Marcus tugged Dani aside. “I’d be able to do my job a lot better if I had some facts.”

The expression on her face changed to one of pure dread. He put a hand to her shoulder and then pulled it away too quickly. Just touching her had some kind of bewitching effect on him, and he needed his head clear for this.

Dani fingered the pendant. “What if I said I just called you because I wanted to see you again?”

“I’d be damned flattered and a sight more gullible than I am if I believed you.”

She nodded, a look of resolution finally settling in her haunted eyes. “Okay, and if you charge me double for wasting your time, I’ll fully understand.”

DANI HAD DELIBERATED all afternoon on exactly how much she should confess to Marcus. She’d told no one in her adult life that her grandmother was clairvoyant. The only person she still had any contact with who knew about her inherited curse was Bethany Sue, and she had been sworn to secrecy years ago.

Under no circumstances did she ever intend for her daughter to find out about her psychic gifts—which was why she couldn’t even consider telling Marcus the whole truth. If she breathed a word of her fears that this morning’s episode might possibly have been a psychic vision, it would let her paranormal skeletons out of the closet to rattle their bones around Celeste.

Plus, he’d dismiss her as a kook.

That left Dani only one realistic alternative. She pulled the note from her pocket, smoothed it with her fingertips and handed it to him.

“Someone at the festival gave me this. It’s probably nothing, but it frightened me when I read it. That’s when I decided to call you.”

He grimaced as he studied the note. “Did you see the person who delivered it?”

“Yes. It was a young teenage boy, but he was just the messenger. All he could tell me about the man who gave it to him was that he was wearing a blue polo shirt.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, but when I was shopping earlier today, I noticed a man in a blue knit shirt staring at me. Well, I didn’t exactly see him, but I saw his reflection in the mirror. When I turned to see if I knew him, he ducked out of sight. It might not have even been the same man, but I found the possibility a bit disturbing. Hence my call to you.”

“Do you have any idea who the dark knight refers to?”

“Not even a clue. The only people I know here besides you and the girls are Bethany Sue and Arnie, and I only just met him.” For that matter she‘d just met Marcus, as well.

“There are no shortage of knight wannabes milling around us tonight,” Marcus noted.

“It was probably from someone just getting into the spirit of the festival,” she said.

“Or hitting on you, though sending a note like this is an odd way to score points.”

“I’m thinking it could have been a case of mistaken identity. There is someone else at the festival today who looks a lot like me. The two of us practically collided when I was leaving the jousting arena.”

“Is this the first threat or warning of this nature you’ve received?”

“Absolutely.”

“And the first time you’ve noticed that man was this morning?”

“Yes. And that was before I fainted, so that can’t be why he was staring at me—if he was actually staring at me.”

“I know you said you’re not seriously involved with anyone, but what about your nonserious love life?”

“That’s pretty much a draw between Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and George Clooney. As yet, they haven’t participated. ”

“No stalkers?”

“Not since college.”

“What about someone you may have dumped who didn’t take it well?”