Page 57 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

“It’s boring.”

“Lemme guess. Ann?”

I shook my head, then shifted so I was beside him rather than on him.

“Elizabeth?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm. Mary?”

“No, it’s?—”

He put his hand over my mouth. “No, I want to guess.” His eyes bored into mine. “It’s Rose, isn’t it?”

My eyes scrunched. “How did you know?”

“Juniper Rose Chance. I don’t think I’ve ever hearda more beautiful name.”

He snuggled me close, and within seconds, his breathing evened out.

“Cord Wheaton is a beautiful name too,” I whispered.

“Cord Rooker Wheaton.”

“Really? That’s your middle name?”

“Yes, ma’am.” His eyes drifted shut again, and this time, he snored.

16

CORD

Ileveled my gun and aimed at thesonuvabitchwho pressed his weapon to Sam’s side. His eyes met mine, and in them, I saw pure evil. I was about to pull the trigger when, instead of Sam, Jimmy held the gun against Juni.

“No!” I shouted, racing toward him.“No!”

“Cord! Wake up! You’re dreaming.”

I opened my eyes and looked into Juniper’s. “He had you.” The words caught in my throat.

She cupped my face with her palm like she had earlier, then stroked my forehead with her fingertips. “It’s okay. It was just a dream,” she whispered.

“I wanted to kill him.”

“But you didn’t, and now Sam is safe, and so am I. Go back to sleep. I’ll be right here, next to you.”

I didn’t want to, but the exhaustion I felt was too much for me to fight against. Especially when Junigently ran her fingers through my hair like my mama used to do. I remembered that now. When I couldn’t sleep, she’d sit beside me and do exactly what Juni was.

The next timeI woke up, I could hear beeping coming from the kitchen. I moved the blankets, tightened the belt of the robe I still had on, and padded into the kitchen, where Juni was fussing with the microwave.

“Sorry,” she said. “I can’t get it to shut off.”

“It does that after the power comes back on.” I hit the button to set the clock, which would make the beeping stop. “What time is it, anyway?”

“A little after seven.”

“Shit.” I went over to the window and looked outside. Or I would’ve if it wasn’t obscured by a wall of snow. “I need to check with the guys.” I glanced around, trying to remember where I’d left my phone.

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