Protect Me, Cowboy (78th Copper Mountain Rodeo Book 2) Read online

  Unless one had a stalkerish ex-boss. He just grunted in response.

  Katie shrugged. “It’s a risk, I guess. Anytime you’re a performer, even a small-time one. If someone puts it online, you might just explode overnight.”

  Yeah, he hadn’t really thought of that, and apparently Claire hadn’t either.

  “But on another subject”—she smiled big—“I’m so excited Claire’s staying the rest of the week.”

  “Me too,” he admitted.

  “Are you getting serious? Think you’ll propose to her?”

  He winced. “Hell, Katie, it’s too early for any of that.”

  “Not necessarily. Sometimes you just know.”

  “You’re a born and bred romantic, sis.”

  She shot him a withering look. “Not anymore. But you and Claire are good together. Anybody with a pair of eyes can see that.”

  He grunted.

  She loaded another plate into the dishwasher. “Do you love her?”

  Wyatt froze, feeling like she’d slugged him in the chest. “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do,” Katie said bluntly. “The minute I asked you the question, you knew in your heart how you felt about her. But don’t tell me, you should be telling her.”

  Hell, how did Katie get so damn smart when it came to love? His sister barely dated.

  “Anyway, I’m glad she’s staying the week and you two can figure out what you want to do next.” She shook her head. “That girl seems a bit like a lost soul, and I really do think she could find her grounding in Marietta.”

  Wyatt shot her a quick glance, wondering how much Claire might’ve told her.

  Katie must’ve read his mind. “No, I don’t know much, but she did tell me she’s the girl you met in Vegas.”

  His jaw clenched. That couldn’t have gone well. Katie had seen how damn emotional he was when he’d come back from the NFR. He hadn’t told her much, but more than he probably should’ve.

  Wyatt tossed the sponge back in the sink and washed his hands. “I’m going to grab Claire and head out. Don’t mind the noise.”

  Katie’s eyes widened and her cheeks went pink. “Noise? Wyatt Marshall, you’d better not—”

  “Going shooting before the sun sets. What else would I mean?”

  He dodged the towel she chucked at him and left the house to grab Claire.

  She was still on the porch swing, with an open book beside her, but she was staring at her phone.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, sitting down beside her.

  “Sure.” She set the phone on her lap and shoved her curls over her shoulder. “Just missed about ten texts today from the bandmates telling me how we were blowing up the internet.”

  “Ah, right. Nothing you didn’t already know.” He gave an overly cheerful smile. “Anyway, you think you’ve let dinner digest enough for us to head out?”

  She arched a brow, but stood up. “I think so. Where are we going?”

  He held up a bag that contained her gun and extra ammunition. “Teaching you to shoot.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed visibly. “Yeah, not a bad idea.”

  They rode toward the edge of his property, where his dad had taught him, Cal, and Katie to shoot all those years ago. He’d had to replace the target board, but it looked like the one he’d used growing up. A thick slab of lumber, with a neon piece of paper taped on it with black round circles to aim for.

  “All right. You know how to fire a gun, right?”

  She looked at the target and then looked at him. With only a moment’s pause, she took the gun from him and turned back to the paper.

  Her shoulders lifted as she drew a breath in, then came the pop, pop, pop of her taking several shots.

  “Okay, stop,” he called out and swallowed a heavy sigh.

  She hadn’t hit the circles on the paper. She hadn’t even hit the paper.

  “You sure you’ve done this before, honey?” he asked, gently touching her shoulder.

  “Okay, that might’ve been a small lie,” she said defensively, setting her gun down on the stump beside them. “But the dude who sold me the gun showed me how to use it.”

  “Sure.” He nodded, trying not to frown. “Mind if I give you a few tips, too?”

  She laughed and her expression turned sheepish. “Not at all. I’m not too proud to admit I need them.”

  He picked up the gun and placed it in her hand. “First, I’m going to show you the right way to hold a gun.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  An hour, and several rounds of ammunition, later, Claire was pretty sure she never wanted to fire another gun again. She stood under the stream of a hot shower, fighting exhaustion. Her ears were ringing, her hands were sore, and her arms were stiff from holding the gun properly.

  On the plus side, though, she was a lot more confident on how to use it if she needed to.

  But she wouldn’t need to. Positive thinking.

  She turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself. She made quick time brushing her hair and getting ready for bed. When she opened the bathroom door and stepped into the master suite of Wyatt’s house, a sliver of self-consciousness slid through her.

  It only got worse when the bedroom’s main resident looked up from the desk he sat at and slid a glance over her.

  “Have a good shower, honey?”

  She nodded, tucking a wet curl that had escaped her bun behind her ear.

  “You all right?” He closed his laptop and stood up, crossing the room toward her.

  “Yeah. It’s just…”

  “A little weird? Staying the rest of the week with me in my room?”

  “Yeah. A little bit,” she whispered.

  He pulled her into his arms and tilted her chin up so she looked at him. Everything inside her melted and she was filled with the sense of security and protection.

  “Just say the words and you can have your own room, Claire.” His gaze searched hers. “You don’t have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

  “I want to be with you,” she said honestly, and looped her arms around his neck. “This is just foreign territory for me.”

  “I know it is.” He kissed her and deftly untucked her towel so it fell to her feet. He smiled against her mouth. “I’ll have to keep you busy so you don’t think about it.”

  Her heart flipped and she gave a soft laugh as he carried her to the bed.

  “Ah, so you’re not only an expert at roping, but at the art of distraction.”

  “Absolutely.” He cupped her breast with one hand and nuzzled the other one with his mouth, before drawing on the hardened tip.

  He was so good at making her lose her mind with passion. He was so good at making her lose all inhibitions, and just live in the moment.

  When his kisses moved from her chest down her body, settling between her legs, she gave herself over to the pleasure and to this man who’d not only become her lover, but the man she was falling in love with.

  Afterward, when she lay with her head on his chest, she listened to the beat of his heart.

  Her head was still fuzzy, but not enough she couldn’t think about how messy it was going to be if she really was in love with Wyatt. She couldn’t stay here. Not permanently.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “Nothing.” Lie. But getting into the thoughts in her head wasn’t a good idea. “How about you? What are you thinking about?”

  He was silent for a moment, then murmured, “Steak.”

  She burst out laughing. “You’re not serious.”

  “I absolutely am.” His chest bounced against her cheek with his soft laugh. “I’m thinking about how I need to grill you steak soon.”

  “You and your steaks.”

  “You think I’m talking shit, but I swear my steaks are the best you’ll ever eat.”

  “I’m inclined to believe you. I mean you raise your own cattle and grew up on a ranch.” She pointed out. “I’d be pretty
disappointed if you didn’t know how to cook an amazing steak.”

  “Smart ass.” He slapped her butt lightly and she giggled. “Another thing is running through my mind though.”

  “What’s that?” For a split second she thought he might bring up the subject of them and what happened at the end of the week.

  “Katie. Cal. I think we should tell them about Las Vegas and your ex-boss.”

  Her stomach churned. He was right, but she hated that part of her life so much.

  “Just in case, you know? They need to be aware of this guy.”

  “I know,” she said softly.

  “I googled Alfredo and that club you worked for.” He smoothed down her back. “He sounds like some kind of small-time mobster wannabe.”

  She knew what he’d found. All kinds of sexual harassment claims, larceny charges, intimidating witnesses. No convictions or proof on any of them though.

  “No, he’s not a nice guy at all.” It had only taken her the last year of working at the club until she’d started to realize what kind of man he was.

  Fortunately, or maybe it was unfortunately, he’d had a soft spot for her.

  “You’re safe with us. Remember that.”

  He must’ve sensed the thread of fear that had slid through her. Maybe she was safe—for the week. But then what about after?

  “I will.” She closed her eyes. “We can tell Katie and Cal.”

  “Good. I’ll talk to Cal and Katie in the morning. They’ll only be supportive, I promise.”

  She hoped he was right. Having people be on her side was still somewhat of a novelty to her.

  “I need to pick up my car in the morning.” She changed the subject. “Dillon called and said it’s ready.”

  “I can drive you into town after I finish moving the cattle—”

  “Katie volunteered to drive me.”

  “That works, too. You guys get a long great.”

  They fell into silence, and a few minutes later the arms around her relaxed. He’d fallen asleep.

  She closed her eyes, wishing it were just as easy for her.

  *

  “Morning, Katie.”

  Katie glanced up from the French toast she was grilling and smiled. “Morning, Wyatt. Where’s Claire? Still sleeping?”

  Wyatt nodded and went to pour himself a cup of coffee. “Yeah. I figured we could put aside a plate for her to heat up later.”

  His sister snickered. “Look at how quickly you’ve changed your tune. When she first arrived you wouldn’t even fathom the idea of me putting aside a dinner plate for her.”

  “Yeah. I was wrong about that. Wrong about her.” And he didn’t admit that much.

  Clearly Katie agreed, because she set down the spatula and turned around to look at him completely. “What’s going on?”

  Wyatt took a sip of coffee, then explained Claire’s history without revealing more than she’d have wanted him to.

  When he was done, Katie blinked away the hint of tears in her eyes.

  “Oh, no… I wish I’d known.” She swallowed visibly. “I was a little hard on her the other day. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

  The idea that Katie had defended him like a protective mama wasn’t surprising, but the fact she’d confronted Claire about it was a little bit.

  “I’ll apologize to her,” she said quickly, turning back to the French toast. “That’s a lot for someone to have been through. And scary stuff. You don’t think he’ll turn up here, do you?”

  Initially he hadn’t, but the more he’d learned about Claire’s old boss, the more he realized he couldn’t afford to be so overly confident. There was too much at risk, and it was safer to be ready for it, rather than not be.

  “I hope not,” he finally answered. “But we should prepare for the possibility. I don’t want to put anyone in the house in danger, but—”

  “She needs to stay here. We can protect ourselves, and we can protect her.” Katie set another piece of French toast in the pan and then went to refill her coffee. “After all, she is my future sister-in-law.”

  “Damn it, Katie, I told you I don’t know—”

  “You know.” She cupped her mug and gave him a pointed look. “I bet you’ll be married by Christmas.”

  He sighed, wishing he could change the subject, then realizing he had a reason to.

  “Katie, there’s something else I need to bring up.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and he knew she’d picked up on his discomfort.

  “I went to the bank on Monday to see about getting a loan.” He shoved his hands into his jeans.

  “A loan? What for?”

  He took a slow breath in and then dropped the bombshell. “Cal wants me to buy out his share of the ranch.”

  Dismay and then fury flickered in his sister’s eyes. “Why?”

  “You know why,” he answered quietly. “Cal’s never been as invested in the ranch as we are.”

  “He should be. He grew up here for Pete’s sake.” She spun away, flipping the now burnt French toast. “So you did it. You’ve got a loan and you’re going to buy him out.”

  “Yeah. I am.”

  She tossed the burnt French toast in the garbage and shot him an accusing look.

  “You didn’t even try and talk him out of it? This is his legacy. It’s all of ours.”

  “Cal knows what he wants, Katie, and the Marshall Ranch isn’t it.” He squeezed her shoulder. “That doesn’t mean he loves his family any less.”

  “Hmmph.” She shrugged off his hand. “He sure doesn’t mind being the foreman for another ranch, though.”

  Katie was hotter than a boiling kettle over this. There was no denying it, and no fixing it right now. Which was why he’d dreaded having this talk.

  Footsteps sounded on the stairs and he knew Claire was coming down. “We’ll talk later. Cal’s coming over for dinner. We’re grilling steak.”

  She didn’t answer, but her smile was back—if a little strained—when Claire entered the kitchen.

  Claire was dressed and ready for her trip to town. Jeans and a long sleeve pink Henley, a ponytail, and pretty smile.

  “I’m so sorry, I must’ve overslept.” She joined them at the stove. “What do you still need help with, Katie?”

  “Not much left to do.” Katie’s voice was cheerful again, but Wyatt heard the hint of strain in it. “Though you could put out butter and syrup, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Happy to help.” Claire caught his eye as she moved through the kitchen like she’d been staying here for years.

  The silent intimacy and affection that passed between them reaffirmed how much he loved her. He grew more determined to drop by the jewelry shop and at least browse rings.

  After breakfast he kissed Claire goodbye and watched her and Katie drive off into town to get Claire’s car.

  He made his way out to the pasture to throw down some hay for the cattle, thinking about tonight and the dinner he was going to make.

  Claire loved to tease him and seemed skeptical of his steak grilling abilities but, by God, she’d eat those words tonight. He was going to use his signature spices he’d created, and no one knew the recipe for, though everyone begged.

  Wyatt was still grinning, thinking about the cuts of meat he wanted to use, when his cell rang an hour later. He set down the barrel of hay and dug into his jeans to answer it.

  “Hey, Katie. How’s it going.”

  “I’ve gotta talk fast, and I’ve gotta talk quiet.”

  His sister’s words were low and urgent, sending off immediate alarm bells in Wyatt’s head.

  “Katie, what’s going on? Where are you?”

  “We’re just picking up Claire’s car. She’s in with Dillon signing the papers.” Katie’s barely paused. “I just spoke to Andrea down at the Graff Hotel. Some guy who wasn’t local came in looking for Claire, but of course she refused to give out any information on whether Claire was staying there or not.”

  Wyatt’s stomac
h clenched. It could’ve been anyone, but an unfamiliar man seeking out Claire in Marietta? Didn’t sound good.

  “They didn’t say where she was though, right?” he asked. “That’s against policy.

  “Yeah, it is. But, oh, Wy, it’s bad. Andrea didn’t say a word, but one of the locals heard the conversation and volunteered that Claire was staying on the ranch with us. Said you two were the hot new couple in town.”

  His blood turned to ice and his grip became a vice around the phone. He dropped the hay, already running toward the house.

  “Don’t tell her what you told me. You both need to get back here as fast—”

  “Wait, Claire!” Katie cried. “Oh, God, Wyatt, she heard me talking.”

  “Damn it. Don’t let her run. I’m on my way.”

  The town gossip was usually fairly harmless, but this time Wyatt was worried it might literally be the death of someone.

  *

  With the keys clutched in her hands, Claire rushed to her car.

  “Claire, stop. For the love of God, stop!”

  Katie beat her to the vehicle and slammed her palm against the door before Claire could open it.

  “Don’t run again,” Katie pleaded, desperation in her eyes.

  With her heart pounding in her chest and her stomach threatening to get rid of breakfast, Claire shook her head.

  “He’s here in Marietta. You just said it.” Claire didn’t need to clarify who. They’d talked the whole drive into town and it seemed Wyatt had filled Katie in this morning.

  Katie chewed her lip. “I don’t know for sure it’s him. It could be anyone. I mean with the band going viral…”

  Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe it was just some fan who’d gotten a little too eager to meet her? But what if it wasn’t? What if it was Alfredo?

  Katie’s warning about Wyatt from the other night looped in her head. Just don’t hurt him.

  It was a real possibility she would though, if it was truly Alfredo looking for her. At best, he’d beat up Wyatt. At worst… God, she couldn’t think about the worst.

  Who had she been kidding? Thinking she could settle down in Montana and forget about her past.

  Thinking she could forget about the man who truly believed he owned her. Just her being in Marietta this week was a risk to Wyatt, and might always be. She should’ve ended things before… Before she’d fallen in love.