Page 4 of Wyoming Bodyguard
Madden snorted out a laugh. “Dude, I told you not to bother.”
Refusing to acknowledge Madden, she finally fit her palm in Reid’s and gave a little shake before pulling away. “I remember. It’s nice to see you again.”
Reid’s smile grew. “I noticed you didn’t let us buy you a drink. Can we change that now?”
“No, thanks. My father and I have work to get back to. At our ranch. You know, the one that’s been in our family for generations.” She couldn’t help aiming the cutting remark right where she knew it’d hurt Madden most.
His pride.
The sudden stiffening of Madden’s shoulders gave her a tingle of satisfaction. The sting of the McKay Ranch being sold off might fade in some people’s mind but never hers. The impact had caused a major hit in revenue for her own family. The developers had swept in and destroyed all the natural beauty, choosing instead to provide an almost theme park–styled destination for naive tourists.
Tourists who’d never understand what Wyoming was really all about. Camping under the stars, dinner cooked over the fire, or a magical horse ride through wooded trails with mountains their constant companion. All things Tremont Ranch offered.
All things slipping through her fingertips as her dude ranch’s vacancies grew higher and higher.
Eve rushed back to the bar balancing two plates and placed them in front of customers before returning to the cash register. “Sorry about the wait, Lily. You know how it gets at lunch.”
“No problem at all,” Lily said, and handed over the cash. “Can you give the rest of that to Nellie?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks. Have a great rest of your day.” She aimed her most demure smile at Reid then met her dad at the front of the restaurant.
“Making friends?” Kevin asked as he pushed open the door, letting in the blinding sunlight.
She huffed out a humorless laugh then slid her sunglasses from the top of her head to cover her eyes. “Hardly.”
Reid seemed harmless, but no way she’d let her guard down enough around him to learn more than what she already knew—he was Madden’s partner, which meant she’d stay far away.
The door closed behind her, and she strolled beside her dad toward her truck. “Enough about Madden McKay. I wanted to have a nice meal with you and forget about our worries for a while. Not get bent out of shape about a man who doesn’t matter.”
“Honey, don’t let anything get you all fired up. The ranch will be fine. I’ll see to it. You just keep doing what you’re doing—making sure things run smoothly. I’ve got the rest covered.”
Her stomach dropped, and she swallowed the words she knew wouldn’t matter a lick. At least not to her father, who never trusted her enough to really let her in on what was happening at the ranch.
But she wasn’t an idiot. She didn’t need to have access to their financial records to understand that Tremont Ranch was in trouble. She feared if something drastic didn’t change, they’d be yet another casualty in the war waging between family ranches and hotshot developers looking to exploit the land for a quick buck.
The lone traffic light in town changed from red to green and a black truck shot forward, tires squealing as the tinted window rolled down. A ray of sunlight bounced off something sticking out of the passenger-side window.
Time slowed. Fear made her knees weak and her heart pound in her ears. Lily’s father shoved her to the ground as the deafening sound of gunshots exploded into the afternoon.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she threw her hands over the back of her head. Pebbles dug into her forearms. Panicked screams filtered through the haze of confusion engulfing her. An engine roared, then an eerie silence settled into the air. Shaking, she opened her eyes and a different terror flooded through her system like a burst dam.
Her father lay sprawled on the ground, eyes closed, blood staining the sidewalk beneath him.
Scurrying to his side, she reached for his hand and screamed.
* * *
Madden tightened his grip on his glass before downing the rest of the cool, amber liquid. The bitter taste coated his tongue, matching the feelings simmering in his gut.
“She seemed nice enough to me,” Reid said, picking up his beer and taking a sip then setting it back on the bar.
Eve chuckled. “If you’re talking about Lily, she is nice. To everyone except Madden. Been that way a long time. Must stick in your craw she still won’t swoon over you like all the girls used to.”
Reid bumped his shoulder against Madden’s. “Swoon, huh? I’d like to hear those stories sometime.”
A blush stained Eve’s cheeks, matching the color of her auburn hair. “Anytime, cowboy.”
