Page 16 of The Cowboy's Ultimatum

“I wish I could tell you but I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone anything.”

“Him?”

“This friend of mine. Someone I know from Dallas.”

“A friend,” Andy muttered skeptically.

“Yes, honestly, he really is just a friend. I’ve never dated him and I never would. Ever.”

“Darlin’, you’re sexy as hell, and—”

“No, it’s not like that, I swear.”

“Not for you, but I’d be willin’ to bet he sees it differently. Wait! Does this have anything to do with that call?”

“Yes,” she mumbled with a sigh. “He wants to see me, but I promised not to say anything about it.”

“And I’m guessin’ he wants to meet up with you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“No, just that it was really important, and…uh…”

“To keep it a secret. I don’t like the sound of this, but, hey, if you want to meet up with him then you should. Do you have to go into the city?”

“No, he’s coming here.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Hopefully he won’t take up too much of your time.”

“Sorry…I’m ruining everything,” she mumbled as she spotted the waitress leaving the bar with a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket.

“Hey, darlin’, I love you, and nothin’s gettin’ in the way of this dinner,” Andy assured her, taking her hand. “Forget about—what’s his name?”

“Kenny.”

“Forget about Kenny. Tonight is about us. Everything else takes a back seat and we’ll deal with it later. Okay?”

“Yes! For sure! Thank you, Andy.”

“For what?”

“Being who you are.”

“Back at ya, darlin’. Don’t worry. If it’s bad news we’ll deal with it together. Okay?”

“Okay. Thank you again. I feel better now.”

* * *

Though Andy smiled up at the waitress when she popped the champagne cork and poured the bubbling wine into their glasses, he couldn’t ignore the wave of anxiety rippling through him. He needed to find out who Kenny was, and why he was coming all the way out to Smoky Hill just to see Helen.

Something was horribly wrong.

He could feel it.

CHAPTER TEN

---