Page 12 of A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy

“Sophie!” He said louder. “Are you even listening to me?” This time Duke’s face nearly matched the color of his annoying truck. He gave her a little shake and that was enough to snap her out of her daze.

Sophie tore away from him and rubbed her arms—not because he’d hurt her, but because the warmth of his touch had done something strange to her. She scowled right back at him. “I’m fine,” she muttered.

“Are you? Because that?—”

“I’m.Fine.” She emphasized. “I don’t need some guy with a hero complex trying to come to my rescue.”

“Hero compl—” He snapped his mouth shut, the muscles in his jaw working overtime. Then he threw his hands in the air. “Forget it,” he muttered as he strode toward the dog park gate. He gathered the dogs—both his and hers—in record time. “I’m going back. Maybe you should call someone to take you home. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out here alone.”

She scoffed, but then her thoughts shifted to the truck she hadn’t seen coming. Duke was already several yards down the sidewalk when she turned her attention to him again. He’d saved her life. She could have died.

On top of that, the snow flurries had only continued to fall, but nothing stuck to the ground yet. The cold soaked through her jacket and she briefly thought she should have worn a heavier one. What a silly thing to set her off. Now she looked like a total idiot who couldn’t handle herself.

Well, this was just great.

Sophie swiped her hood back over her head then shoved her hands into her pockets and followed Duke back to the shelter. She wasn’t going to call anyone to get her because she had her car. Besides, the only people who’d be able to pick her up wouldn’t be happy knowing she’d been so reckless.

When she returned to the shelter, she went straight to her car. She called the front office from the driver’s seat to let them know she needed to leave early. Then she pulled out of the parking lot. So much for not letting Duke get under her skin.

CHAPTER SIX

Duke prayedSophie wouldn’t show at the shelter the following day. Normally she didn’t come on a daily basis—neither did he for that matter—which was why he’d felt somewhat secure about coming.

The way fear had gripped his heart when she’d nearly been plowed down by that truck had stuck with him late into the night. No amount of counting sheep would get the image out of his head. He’d wanted to shake some sense into her while at the same time pull her into his arms to ensure nothing ever harmed her.

The more he’d dwelled on it, the more he realized just how much trouble he was in.

Sophie stirred things inside him he wasn’t prepared to look at with any sort of scrutiny. Her eyes, her smile, the way her chin dimpled when she tightened her jaw—all of it had grown on him.

He released a frustrated growl as he tossed a bag of garbage into the dumpster behind the shelter. He’d hoped being here today would give him time to sort his thoughts without anyoneinterrupting him, but it was only making him fall deeper into a hole in which he had no business being.

She didn’t like him, and that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to why his feelings weren’t smart. Duke had seen enough one-sided relationships to know nothing good would come of it. He could tell himself to forget her. She was far too stubborn and defiant for her own good, after all.

But those excuses barely held any water.

Sophie was gorgeous. Every inch of her practically begged to be worshiped. She was funny and smart, too.

Nope. He wasn’t going to go there. Why couldn’t he evict her from his memories? Duke pulled open the door with a swift, jerking movement and growled again. It wasn’t often he had such conflicting issues to work through and his frustration had hit a breaking point.

Duke passed a few people in the hallway before he turned down an adjoining one where the dogs were housed. He offered them a polite nod and a smile. One was a familiar volunteer. Her bright red and green Christmas sweater was already covered in white cat fur.

One of these days, Duke was going to bring a change of clothes just so he could spend some time with the felines. For now, he was stuck taking care of Sophie’s mongrels—a term he’d just made up and one he was proud of.

A smile touched his lips. She’d hate it when he told her about it. The thought gave him more delight than he was probably supposed to have. It wasn’t that he wanted to annoy her—it was that when he did annoy her, she had more reason to talk to him.

What was he thinking? They weren’t teenagers. This wasn’t high school.

Duke pushed the door open to the large room where the kennels and crates were set up in rows and his smile faltered.

Sophie turned at his arrival and her expression mirrored his own. “What areyoudoing here?” She groaned.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he muttered. He couldn’t play nice, he reminded himself. No smiles, no chit-chat. They weren’t friends and they weren’t going to be anything more than two people who could barely tolerate one another.

Except that wasn’t entirely accurate. The only reason he needed to keep her at arm’s length was for his best interests. He’d been hurt before. The women who were drawn to him usually toyed with him until they found something better. When Sophie had accused him of using his accent to draw women in, she’d hit a nerve. It wasn’t that way at all. Women flocked to him because of it but they never stuck around long enough to get close to them.

Sophie turned away from him, digging in a tote she’d brought with her. “I’m here because I figured youwouldn’tbe,” she snapped.

She had the same idea he’d had. Well, this was just great. If they were going to both avoid one another then they were likely to cross paths more frequently.

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