In The Cowboy's Arms

She was still debating what to do when the front door opened and a redheaded woman came out holding a baby who looked to be about five or six months old. A tall guy tugged on the brim of his cowboy hat as he followed her out and started to close the door.

“I still say she said my name,” called someone from inside, someone who sounded a lot like Matt.

Laughing, the cowboy swung the door open again. “You’re dreaming, bro!” he called back.

“Aw, come on, Damon.” The redhead was busy fiddling with the baby’s blanket and obviously hadn’t spotted the SUV yet. “Let Uncle Matt have his little fantasy.”

“You heard her,” the guy named Damon said as he closed the door. “She was saying ma-ma like she always does. She—hello, who’s this?” He put a protective hand on the woman’s shoulder and looked in Geena’s direction.

She moved away from the vehicle and came toward them. “My name’s Geena Lysander and I’m here to see Matt Forrest, but apparently I’m interrupting a celebration.”

“Geena Lysander,” the woman said. “Your name came up tonight. Aren’t you his PR rep?”

“Yes, and I’m here to discuss—”

“Let me stop you right there, ma’am.” The tall cowboy descended the steps. “From what I understand, he’s not interested in having any more discussions. He came here to get away from all that, so I’m afraid you’ve made a trip for nothing. My wife and I can lead you back into town and get you settled in a hotel room, though.”

Despite Geena’s height, augmented by four-inch heels, she had to look up to meet his determined gaze. Judging from the set of his jaw, he planned to do whatever was necessary to keep her from going up to the front door. Clearly he intended to protect Matt from the likes of her.

As she debated her next move, the door opened again and Matt stepped out holding a pacifier. At first he looked confused by her presence, but gradually his expression hardened into a mask of anger.

She despaired of getting through to him but she had to try. “I realize you’re not happy to see me.”

“No, ma’am, I’m not.”

“But we need to talk.”

Instead of responding to her comment, he gestured to the SUV. “Is that your vehicle?”

“Yes. I rented it.”

“No worries, bro,” Damon said. “We’ll lead her back to town and help her find a hotel room.”

Matt shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but this is my deal and I’ll handle the problem.” He gave the pacifier to the redhead. “Found this on the sofa and thought you might need it. You two head on home with Sophie. I’ll grab the keys to the ranch truck and make sure Geena has a place for the night.” He glanced over at her. “And a plane reservation in the morning.”

“We’re not in a rush,” Damon said. “We’ll hang out here until you fetch the truck keys.”

“Listen, you don’t have to stand guard over me.” Geena glanced toward the baby, who was starting to fuss. “I promise to stay right here while Matt gets those keys. I’m sure you’d like to get home.”

“We would. Sophie’s hungry.” The redhead jiggled the bundle in her arms. “I think you can stand down, cowboy. Geena doesn’t look dangerous.”

“Okay.” Damon faced Geena and touched the brim of his hat in farewell. “Ma’am.”

“Bye.” She felt wistful as she watched them walk toward the vehicles parked near the barn. She couldn’t remember a time when anyone had stood between her and a potential threat. Must be nice.

Chapter Three (#ud7f60eb8-2b0d-5adc-b6fa-66e5313c7bb4)

Geena had solid brass ones. Matt would give her that much, but nothing else. She’d made it as far as the driveway, but she wasn’t coming any closer than that. Once he’d escorted her to a hotel in town, he’d fire her like he should have done yesterday. Then she’d have to fly home because she wouldn’t have any reason to hang around.

He stepped inside the house and paused to take a calming breath. Barreling in looking agitated would provoke a bunch of questions. He’d like to do this with as little discussion as possible. He’d already talked about the subject more than he wanted to.

During dinner Phil had asked whether he had publicity folks doing damage control and he’d described his meeting with Geena. He wasn’t surprised that Damon had been ready to escort her straight back to town, but that wasn’t his responsibility or Phil’s.

The living room furniture had been moved aside for dancing, and now that Damon and Phil had left, only four people occupied the floor. Cade and Lexi were teaching some elaborate new move to Herb and Rosie. Matt hated to break that up, but it couldn’t be helped.

As he approached the group, Cade glanced at him. “How about you partner with Lexi? I know this already.”

“I’d be glad to, but I have a little errand to run. Can I borrow the ranch truck for a couple of hours?”

Herb looked puzzled. “Certainly, but I can’t imagine what sort of errand you’d have to run at this hour.”

“Don’t pry,” Rosie said. “Maybe he’s heard from an old girlfriend.”

Cade nudged back his hat. “That would be a trick, since he made such a huge deal about turning off his phone for the next week.” His voice softened. “What’s up, bro?”

“We have an uninvited guest and I need to escort her back to town.”

Rosie blinked. “A woman’s outside? Did some starstruck fan follow you here?”

“No, she’s not a fan. Look, if it’s okay, I’ll just get the keys and take care of this.”

“Hang on,” Cade said. “If it’s some damned reporter, let me go out there with you. I’m sure between the two of us we can convince her to get lost.”

Matt sighed. He probably should have spit it out in the beginning. “She’s not a reporter, either. It’s Geena. If I can borrow the truck for a couple of hours, I’ll—”

“Great.” Cade started for the door. “I’m delighted she’s here and she’s not going anywhere until I’ve told her exactly what I think of how she treated you.”

“No!” Matt blocked Cade’s progress. “Nobody’s going out there except me. All I need is the keys to the truck. She doesn’t know the area so I feel an obligation to make sure she gets back to town okay and has a hotel room. Then I’ll make damn sure she knows that she has to leave in the morning.”

“Matt.” Rosie sent him a look of reproach. “The woman traveled all the way from Los Angeles to see you. I realize you’re annoyed with her, but shooing her away after she’s made that kind of effort isn’t good manners.”

He stared at his foster mother. “She showed up uninvited. That isn’t good manners, either.”

“True, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Sending her back where she came from might give you temporary satisfaction, but it’s not the gracious thing to do.”

“But—”

“Is she an evil person?”

“No.”

“Has she deliberately harmed you in any way?”

Matt sighed. He’d lived with Rosie long enough to know where this was going. “No.”

“Then you need to take the high road, son. Invite her to join us and I’ll offer to put her up.”

Every instinct told him that this was a bad idea. “I don’t want her here, Mom.” He clenched both fists. “Whatever nastiness happened in LA stays in LA. I don’t want you and Dad involved. Or anyone in my family, for that matter.”