Page 12 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

“Okay, but do you mind letting me ride along?”

He snatched the pen from her hand and dug around for a napkin in the armrest that sat between them. Daniel scribbled the few things he needed from town, not daring to look in her direction, already knowing she was watching him.

No matter what he did, he couldn’t escape her scrutiny. What was her problem? Did she expect to find something terrible about him that she could tattle to her cousins about? Well, the joke was on her. He didn’t have anything to hide.

“I guess you can as long as you don’t take too long.”

Daniel scowledfrom where he stood in line at the feed store. Aria had been cornered by none other than Brett Madison. The guy was just as big of a slimeball as he’d been when they were in high school.

As far as Daniel knew, the guy couldn’t keep any girl for long. Eventually, they all realized he had a black soul. There were rumors about the kind of guy he was with those women, but most of his rumored victims never came forward to confirm anything.

Daniel flexed his hand as he moved up in the line. Aria laughed with the guy. She reached out and touched his arm like she had with him that first night. Was she playing him? Playing them both?

His heart lurched, and it didn’t make a lick of sense. He wasn’t interested in Aria. She was currently the bane of his existence. And yet he couldn’t allow Brett to try and take advantage of her.

Aria glanced toward Brett briefly, her pretty smile never wavering. She pulled that blue pen from her purse and reachedfor his hand. Then she scrawled something on his skin, and he winked at her.

Daniel’s stomach roiled. His eyes followed her as she waved goodbye to Brett and returned to his side.

“He’s pretty cute.” She glanced over her shoulder, but Brett had already exited the building.

“Yeah, if you like men who give other guys a bad name.”

Slowly, she turned her focus to him and lifted a brow. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

He ground his teeth. No. He wouldn’t lower himself to her level. “Of course not.”

She flashed him a smile. “Good, because he asked me out dancing at that country club on the outskirts of town. I’ve been begging Sophia to take me, but she always had excuses.”

That was probably because Mateo didn’t like his sisters going out when he couldn’t protect them from the rowdy guys in town, but Daniel didn’t need to point that out. Aria likely knew already.

“You shouldn’t go,” he muttered, moving up in the line.

Her smile faltered, shifting into irritation. “I’m sorry, but when did you become my big brother?”

“I’m not,” he snapped a little too loudly. People nearby glanced in their direction. Aria stilled. For a second she might have looked scared. Then her eyes narrowed, and she lifted her chin. “Then it shouldn’t matter who I choose to spend my time with. Mateo and Sophia asked you to watch their horses, not their cousin,” she spat out as she marched from the store.

Great. This wasjustgreat. He didn’t trust Brett to keep his hands to himself. Keeping her safe wouldn’t be his priority.

It looked like Daniel would be heading out to Shane’s country club—and the prospect was already setting him on edge.

Daniel had forgottenhow hard it was to blend in when he was nearly six-foot-five. He was pretty sure he was the tallest member of the Copper Creek community, and whenever he went anywhere, he got strange looks. Children either stared or they ran when they saw him coming.

Aria had been one of the first to size him up and seemingly decide that he wasn’t nearly as scary as he thought he was.

He stood against the brick wall in the ballroom area and held tight to the bottle of coke he’d purchased. His eyes followed Aria as she danced with Brett for nearly every song—fast or slow. He was here as part of his favor to the Palmers. Mateo would have insisted Aria stay home if he’d known that she was going out with Brett Madison.

The guy was as sleazy as all get out. Why couldn’t Aria see that? When they danced to the slow songs, his hand kept inching lower and lower. It took everything inside Daniel not to march across the dance floor and rip the guy’s hand from his arm.

His grip on the bottle tightened and he glanced away. One such slow song blared through the speakers. Aria had made it clear she didn’t want his interference tonight. She’d actually confronted him when Brett left to get her a drink. He could still feel the sting of her glare when she’d accused him of spying on her.

Well, he’d do what she asked for now. But if he noticed even one wrong move from Brett, then he wasn’t against getting involved.

For the Palmers.

After the dance, Aria and Brett moved toward the balcony doors. Cool air wafted into the ballroom, and she actuallylooked flushed. Daniel watched them go, his eyes following their movements. He should stay put. She wouldn’t want him to follow.

And yet?

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