Page 39 of Soldier Cowboy
It happened to a lot of servicemen, in fact, and none of them came from a town like his where a girl had plenty of choices. A woman here didn’t have to wait for her first love to come back or worry whether he ever would. And Cherisse had moved on, which was her right. Even if it had turned both of them into a cliché. She’d sent him a Dear John letter only it was the twenty-first century version. An email. He’d been torn up about it for a while, but it felt like forever ago.
“Now you have Jennifer…she’s so perfect and down to earth. She fits right in with your family. I knew the second we sat looking through old family photos that she was a keeper. And she loves you so much, I can tell.”
“Um, yeah.” Colton removed his hat and scratched the side of his head.
Poor delusional Delores. Jennifer might not love him, but he couldn’t disagree she was a nice girl, uh...woman.
“Anyway, see what she thinks of the ring. If she really hates it, then I’ll take it back.”
“She’s not going to hate it.”
“I’m just glad I never gave it to you before.Thisis the right moment.Thisis the right woman.” She smiled and waved her hand in the air. “I’m happy my ring is going to have a good home.”
Colton pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug, the kind that he reserved only for Delores. Then he bussed her on the cheek and listened as her laughter trilled all around them. He tucked the ring in his jeans pocket, wondering how best to handle all this. Guilt pressed through him, but he reminded himself he was making everyone around him ecstatic. With a lie.
Jennifer greeted him at the front door like she’d been lying in wait.
“Oh my God, you’re here!”
“What’s happened?” He startled and immediately flew into full scale alert. “Are you okay?”
He’d been stupid to leave her here for a few hours, but damn it, if she wasn’t safe inside this house, on a private and secluded ranch, she wasn’t safe anywhere at all.
“Oh, nothing. At ease, soldier.” She threw up her palms. “You didn’t tell Sean, did you? I would have intercepted you, but I wouldn’t even know where to find you.”
“No, I didn’t get the chance.”
Jennifer launched into a long discussion involving Bonnie Lee’s visit earlier, ending with her opinion that they should continue to be faked engaged. She had a good argument for staying the course and he let her keep going as if she had to convincehim.
He was probably going to hell for this. “Hmm, you sure you’re okay with this?”
She nodded several times. “It’s for the best. And after you see my emails, you’re going to want me to stay here for a while longer.”
“That bad?”
“I don’t want to take him seriously, but I know better. It’s smarter to be cautious and assume the worst no matter how far away I am. I get it now.”
“I’m glad, because your safety is important to me.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.” She stared at him for a long minute before lowering her gaze.
Concern spliced through him even if they were almost certainly safe here. The point was, he didn’t know what she’d do when she had to go back, which he knew was inevitable at some point. And he certainly couldn’t go with her to continue to be her bodyguard, protector, and fake fiancé. That was a short-term plan at best. He was staying in Texas and making a life right here on this ranch. Everything else would fall into place and he no longer had any doubts it would.
But her safety had become far more important than he’d been prepared for it to be, because this was no longer simply a favor he would do for a mentor. She was helping him, too, and she was not only beautiful but smart, loyal, and kind.
“I’ll make dinner after I take a shower. Then I’ll read those emails.” He headed toward the shower, throwing off his hat, and ripping off his stinky shirt on the way. “Until then, you don’t want to get within three feet of me.”
Jennifer’s gazefollowed Colton as he walked down the hallway toward the bathroom, shirtless. Oh, mama. Thank you, Jesus. Shirt-less. He’d walked in the door and honestly, she hadn’t even noticed the smell. She was too busy paying attention to the sweat trickling down both sides of his neck under that sexy cowboy hat. For some odd reason, Jennifer had never been attracted to a sweaty male before that moment. Even when ex-boyfriends would work out, just to have the enviable six-pack abs, she found them disgusting until they took a shower. But Colton even made sweat look sexy. The first thing she’d noticed when he one-handedly pulled his shirt off was the tattoo. She wasn’t surprised to see it, because so many in her generation had one or two, especially military men.
But Colton’s tattoo was somewhat a work of art. A half sleeve over his left arm, of a coiling and colorful snake. There were scars on his muscular back. A scar also partially bisected his eyebrow and gave him the scary look that had been so off-putting the night they’d met. Colton was not a pretty boy, but she couldn’t discount his appeal and deep attraction. He was a rugged man who suggested danger and edginess. She’d never dated anyone like him and no longer felt immune.
How ironic that the man who had inspired fear at first glance was her safest bet. Her bodyguard and protector, while the man in asuitwanted to hurt her unless she could be his. Nothing made sense anymore. Not this crazy arrangement between them or why she felt bound and determined to protect him whenshewas the one in need of protection.
When Colton emerged from the bedroom, he’d shaved (dammit!) and changed into jeans and a long-sleeved, pearl-button shirt. As he walked into the kitchen, he plunked something small on the table.
“Almost forgot. This is for you.”
“What is it?”
