Page 26 of Stay for Me

His brows furrowed. “What?”

A short, huffed laugh left me then as I shook my head. “Do you know how hard it is to get male ranchers to trust a lawyer, let alone a woman? Every person I talked to before I wandered over to Hallow Ranch told me to go to hell.”

“Give me the names,” he demanded darkly.

I shot him a look. “That last thing I want you to do is take a life for me, Denver.”

Silence filled my house as we stared at each other.

Sometime later, he was the one to break it. “But you know I wouldn’t hesitate, right?”

I shifted my weight, looking away from him.

“Diana, I care about you too. Very much. You’re not just my lawyer. You’re like the sister Mase and I never had,” he confessed, his rough voice the softest I’d ever heard it outside of when he talked to his wife and children.

My heart halted as my stomach swirled and twisted in a way I wasn’t prepared for. I pressed my tongue to the top of my mouth, unsure of how to respond.

The cowboy sighed and looked at the kitchen behind me, running his hand down his face. “The man who took Abbie from the diner…He was a wildlife warden.”

“What?” I breathed, staggering back. “A—a warden?"

He nodded. “He pointed a gun directly into Valerie’s face when she tried to intervene, Diana. She’s still shaken up over it.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t—”

“I came to your office to apologize to you. Val told me about your discussion the other day and how you left abruptly.” He moved then, coming around the couch to stand directly in front of me. “She said you had a client emergency.”

I nodded. “Yes.”

He was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, he rocked my entire world. “She also told me Mags spooked you.”

Oh…fuck.

As my New Year’s resolution went up in smoke, Denver held me captive with his smoke gray eyes, and a bead of sweat trickled down my back.

Did he know?

Could he see right through me?

Could he see I was hopelessly, desperately, madly in love with his cowboy? That I had been for over a decade? From the first moment I saw him walk out of the Hallow Ranch barn and pin me in place with those endless dark pools he had for eyes?

“I’m sorry for that. I told him to be more careful around you,” Denver said, breaking my train of thought.

Wait—what?

“I’m also sorry for not telling you about the situation at the diner. If Chase found out you were in involved, it might’ve destroyed the already damaged relationship he now has with Hallow Ranch.”

All thoughts of Mags were obliterated. “What the hell are you talking about? Damaged?”

Denver didn’t hesitate. “There was a case involving the warden, and Chase failed to mention that to us. His silence caused a lot of trouble for Beau, and Abbie almost died because of it.” His voice was no longer soft, but cold, brimming with malice.

I cleared my throat and wrapped my arms around myself again as goosebumps spread across my body. “I’m going to need you to get me caught up.”

“Diana—”

I held up my hand, stopping the usual protest about to flow from his mouth. “Right now, I’m not your lawyer. I’m your friend,” I reminded him.

He scratched his beard, looking out the window. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

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