Genuine Cowboy

He finished off his sandwich and wiped his mouth on the paper towel he’d been using as a napkin, just as she started to the table with two steaming mugs of cocoa in hand.

“Sorry, but I didn’t find marshmallows,” she said.

“I suspect Troy is not a marshmallow kind of guy,” Sean said. “But then, you evidently know him much better than I do.”.

She stared into her cup for a moment and then lifted her eyes to meet his. Hers were the color of warm cognac, vibrant even in the fluorescent light from the overhead fixture.

“I was Troy’s prison psychiatrist for a couple of years.”.

“Dylan told me. He called while you were calming your son.”.

“Collette called me as well. She explained everything. I’m truly sorry for intruding on your homecoming.”

“Actually, I’m more the intruder. You were the invited guest.”.

“It’s your home.”.

“Was my home. When I was thirteen. I’ve hung my hat in a lot of places since then.”.

“Nonetheless, Joey and I will clear out of your way in the morning.”.

“Don’t leave on my account. It’s a big house, and I don’t plan to be here long.”.

Her shoulders squared. “You should. You owe it to your father to get to know the man he is today.”.

He bristled a bit at the preachy tone, especially when she had no idea what she was talking about. “Do you always offer your opinion to people you’ve just met?”.

“No,” she admitted. “I seldom give advice at all anymore.”.

Her shoulders and voice fell as if he’d sucker punched her. It gave him no pleasure. “It’s okay,” he said. “My dad and I have issues.”.

She merely nodded, leaving lots of questions in his mind about just what his father had told her about him and his brothers. Had Troy played her, fed her what he thought she’d like to hear in order to make an impression on her? Or had she just dug around in his mind and come up with her own conclusions?.

She finished her hot chocolate, stood and carried her empty cup to the sink. Once she rinsed it, she turned back to him. “Again, I’m sorry for the knife incident, and I wish you and Troy the best.”.

He watched her walk away, her slim hips swaying just enough to make her exit interesting. He thought again of the way her body had felt pressed against his. For a minute back there, he’d had the crazy urge to kiss her.

The urge surfaced again, and he wondered what she’d do if he followed her to the bedroom door and kissed her good-night.

Probably come at him with a knife while he slept.

He’d leave well enough alone before he became as lust-craved as Laci Cahill. With one big difference. He wasn’t married—and had no intention of ever playing the matrimony game.

EVE PULLED THE COVERS about Joey and leaned close, letting her lips brush his forehead. Asleep, innocence was etched into his youthful face. If only she could give him that simple purity of joy back again, instead of dragging him back into the ominous threat of peril.

Trepidation played havoc with her breathing as she backed away from Joey’s bed. What if that had been Orson at the door tonight? What if he’d been the man who’d pinned her to the wall with his brute strength? The truth shuddered through her.

There would have been no way she could have protected Joey.

But it hadn’t been Orson Bastion. It had been Sean Ledger, whose hard, unrelenting strength held her captive. Yet, the minute she’d realized he wasn’t dangerous, it had been attraction, not fear, she’d felt at his hands.

Eve slipped out of her robe, draped it across the one chair in the room and then dropped to the twin bed opposite Joey’s. She slid beneath the crisp sheets and pulled the quilt over her as confusing thoughts tumbled through her mind.

The dread that had chilled her before Sean’s arrival had disappeared. The rambling old house no longer made her uneasy. If anything, she felt protected. Sean made the difference.

Yet, she couldn’t start relying on him. Tomorrow might bring anything. Tonight she needed to get some sleep.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and she turned over to stare out the window and into the darkness, and the scatter of stars that studded the sky.

Her mind flashed back to Sean and a rush of heat crept inside her.

Surely not desire, she told herself. Not in this situation. If she felt anything at all for Sean, the attraction stemmed from pure relief that he wasn’t Orson Bastion.

If he had been, she’d be dead.

But Orson was still on the loose.

SOMEONE WAS IN THE HOUSE. Eve could hear him breathing, smell the odors of sweat and cheap aftershave, see his shadow coming nearer.

She clutched the knife and felt the sear of pain and hot, sticky blood gushing into her hand. When she looked down she saw that the handle was missing and the blade had sliced into her palm.

Her brain began to clatter. Eve jerked awake and sat up in bed. The clattering wasn’t in her brain, but was coming from the bedside table where her cell phone was vibrating against the old wood.

She glanced at the clock as she grabbed the phone to quiet it before it woke Joey. Five minutes before six in the morning was extremely early for a call from either Gordon or Collette, and they were the only two who had her number.

The vibration in the palm of her hand mirrored the state of her nerves as she whispered hello.

“It’s Gordon. Is this Eve?”.

“Yes.” The urgency in his voice told her this was not a good-news call.

Chapter Five

Eve tried to steady the phone in her shaky hand as she untangled herself from the bed covers.

“I can barely hear you,” Gordon said. “Are you okay?”.

“I’m fine.”.

“Where are you?”.

“Hold on.”.

She slid her legs over the side of the bed and padded into the hall, quietly closing the bedroom door behind her before resuming the conversation. “I’m sorry, Gordon. I should have called you and let you know I was all right. I took your suggestion. I’m at Troy Ledger’s ranch in Mustang Run.”.

“Thank God for that. Troy is the one man who’ll understand your situation. How is he?”.

“He’s in the hospital.” She told him how she’d arrived to find him in the throes of an apparent heart attack.