Page 20 of Cowboy Don't Go

She did, feeling foolish for even bringing this up here on a dark road as he was doing his best to help her. But he wasn’t giving her an out, or much of anything in the way of absolution.

“Anyway,” she babbled on, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. And thank you for helping me tonight.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, lifting the spare tire onto the truck like it weighed literally nothing. “And just so you know innuendo and I got real chummy years ago out of pure necessity. I just try to ignore it now.”

“Very sensible.” She handed him the lug nuts one at a time. He tightened them up and locked the last lug nut with her key. “As a single mom, I’ve certainly dealt with small-town minds and it’s not very pleasant. Certainly not something I would wish on anyone else. Including you.”

She waited for what seemed like minutes before he replied and then it was something inane like, “Like I said, no harm, no foul.” But when he finished and stood up, less than a few inches separated them.

She could feel the heat from his skin on hers.

He’d pulled a rag out of his pocket and wiped his hands on it, but his gaze was fully on her. “This tire should get you home,” he said finally. “But you’ll need to get someone to drive you into town to get a replacement tire tomorrow. I wouldn’t drive on this spare too far.”

“Okay.”

His gaze slid down her face, landing on her mouth, where it lingered for longer than a moment or two. Then he met her eyes. Even in this dim light with the flashlight still between them, his eyes were beautiful and full of all the things he thought of saying but seemed to leave on his editing room floor.

For a minute, she thought he might—kiss her. He reached an arm out past her shoulder toward the edge of the truck’s tailgate, and she stopped breathing as his face came within inches of hers. Her eyes nearly slid shut in anticipation and her heartbeat rang in her ears.

But instead of kissing her, he pulled his arm slowly back holding the jacket she’d draped over the tailgate in his hand. Her heart ka-thumped in her chest as if to say, idiot.

“I’m gonna follow you back home,” he told her stepping back.

She edged away from him, too, tucking her hair behind her ear in self-defense. “That’s totally not necessary. I can get home from here.”

He nodded, still watching her. “Maybe so. But I’ll feel better.”

She swallowed thickly. “Really, no. You’ve got somewhere to be. Thank you, Cooper. You saved the day. My day. At least my night.” She hurried toward the truck cab, then remembered he still had her keys. With a sigh, she turned and reached out for him to toss them to her.

Instead, he walked up and placed them in her hands with a smile. His warm fingers brushed hers. “Drive safe then.”

As she pulled away from the edge of the road, she glanced in her rearview mirror. He was standing there still, watching her go for a long time before getting in his own truck and U-turning back toward his place.

Night had truly fallen out here on the Montana prairie. Darkness here was an animal all its own. No streetlamps to light the road, just the slash of headlights and the stars overhead. That and another pair of headlights coming from the direction of the ranch.

That car seemed to be moving especially unhurriedly and a weird chill chased up her spine. Like the blink of a film reel, she’d watched the car approach as if in slow motion. And as its blinding lights slowly passed, she got her first look at him. The man behind the wheel.

Blink. Scruffy.

Blink. A cluttered dashboard.

Blink. Black baseball cap pulled low over his eyes and half-covering too-long hair.

But as he drove past her, there was no mistaking his menacing scowl as he met her gaze.

Menacing. That was the word. Creep. Another shiver coursed through her.

If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the same man she’d seen in town a few days ago when she’d felt someone was watching her.

And he just happened to be on this road at night, same as her? Where was he coming from? What if she’d been alone out here and Cooper hadn’t stopped to help her? And why hadn’t she let him follow her home?

Stupid pride, Shay.

She’d driven this road at night alone a thousand times and never once had she felt what she’d just felt from that brief encounter. Scared.

With an eye on the rearview mirror, as the stranger’s taillights faded in the distance, she stepped on the gas.

Chapter Four

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