Page 23 of The Cowboy's Justice

“Fuck! That would explain why I couldn’t find that damn grey suitcase. There wasn’t one!” he yelled, jumping to his feet. “That was just a way to get me out of the house so you could get away with that fucking cowboy. Portia, you shouldn’t have messed with me. This isn’t over. Not even close.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

After devouring a cinnamon roll and washing it down with the rich coffee, Portia sat back in her chair and let out a contented sigh.

“Devlin, that has to be the best cinnamon bun I’ve ever eaten, and that coffee was fabulous. Thank you.”

“That’s because it was PO.”

“What’s PO?”

“Post orgasmic.”

“You’re terrible,” she retorted with a grin.

“I have my moments,” he winked back.

“Seriously, where did you get them?”

“The Moonshine Campground. They have a great restaurant. If you’re a good girl I might just take you there for dinner one night.”

“And if I’m a bad girl?” she asked, lowering her voice and titling her head to the side.

“If you’re a bad girl I’ll still take you, but you’ll be sittin’ on a hot seat.”

“Devlin!”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but we have more important things to talk about. Tell me more about your life and about William. How did he become your lawyer, and just how well do you know him?”

“I should start with my grandfather. He was an inventor. When I was a little girl I ran over a nail on my tricycle and it changed our lives. Have you heard of Rigid Rubber?”

“Of course, it revolutionized the tire industry—among other things.”

“My grandad created it. That’s why he left me all his shares in that company. He said if it hadn’t been for me he would never have worked on it. Anyway, that was just the start. After that became successful he had the money to explore all kinds of things. I spent hours with him in his workshop. My father was a corporate lawyer, but he started his own firm specializing in patents and copyrights to protect grandad.”

“How does William fit into this?”

“He doesn’t, not really. He just works for a law firm dad deals with. William came to a party at our house and when I mentioned I wanted to build a country home he introduced me to this amazing architect. Once the project started William was extremely helpful, but I had no interest in him, romantically I mean, though I’ve always sensed he likes me. Regardless, nothing ever happened, then a few weeks ago something changed. He was sort of, pre-occupied. I asked him if he was okay and he just said he was crazy busy. That was it. He never seemed aggressive or threatening…never! I just don’t understand any of this.”

“Hmm. There must be—”

“Sorry, that’s my phone,” she exclaimed as the chime interrupted him, but as she lifted it from her pocket she caught her breath. “Oh, my gosh, it’s him.”

“Put it on speaker and stay friendly, like nothin’ happened. If he asks where you are just say you’re takin’ a break and don’t want anyone to know.”

“Okay. Hello?” she began, answering the call.

“Portia. Thank God. What’s going on? I’m worried about you. Where are you? Why did you take off without a word?”

“It doesn’t matter where I am,” she replied, staring at Devlin. “I just needed to get away and I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“But you have to be at Devlin’s ranch starting tomorrow.”

“Yes, I know. That’s part of the reason I took off. I just needed some time to get my head together. I can’t imagine staying at that dusty ranch for a day, let alone a month.”

“Portia, I’m very confused.”

“Why?”

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