Page 43 of Cowboy Seeks Husband
Walker’s mood darkened. For one thing, it felt wrong to share little moments like that on television, and for another, hehadbeen making sexy eyes at Roan. He couldn’t help it. He also couldn’t afford to fall for any of these men, but sending Roan home after all they’d shared today would be harder than he thought. He still had to pick a third for tomorrow.
“Hey.” Roan straightened when Walker opened the driver’s-side door and offered a soft, sleepy smile. “Did the gators eat them?”
“Nope!” John said, drawing Roan’s attention away, and Walker took a breath of relief. “You can stop filming now,” John said to his crew, indicating they should load up. “We got the good stuff. Mounted camera in the car stays on, of course.”
Walker kept his eyes on the road the whole way home because the potholes were brutal on his old Ford, which wasn’t an excuse exactly, but he used it gladly.
They drove in silence, and Walker didn’t get out to open Roan’s door when they arrived. He stayed in the driver’s seat and waited. Roan’s knees seemed to nearly give out when he jumped down to the ground, and Walker automatically jerked, ready to reach for him.
Roan closed the door and leaned in the now-open window. “Despite the leeches, I had a really good time. Like, really good.”
Walker nodded once and when he didn’t say anything, Roan turned away, looking confused. His shoulders hunched up as he made his way inside. The set nurse must’ve been given a heads up that there’d been a medical incident, because she appeared almost instantly and followed him into the renovated barn. The ambulance guys were gone.
Before Walker could drive off, Molly appeared. “Date with four people tomorrow,” she said without preamble. “Ben and Peter have to be two of the ones you pick, apart from that you have free choice. Except not Roan, since he went today. And what was up with him just now? He looked like a kicked puppy on his way in.”
Walker ignored her. “Are you going to tell me why I have to take Ben and Peter?”
Rolling her eyes, Molly said, “Fine, Jesus! We’ll be picking one of them to go on into the next season, okay? So they need to make it to the final rounds or thereabouts, but not all the way to the end.”
“Oh. Okay, that makes sense.”
Molly snorted. “Glad to have your approval. Not that I need it. You know who you’re sending home?”
“Yep.”
“Gonna tell me who?”
Walker grinned. “Nope.”
Molly’s eyes rolled back in her head so far Walker figured she could see her own brain. “Fine, whatever. Wardrobe has a suit for you. Wear it for the ceremony. And you’re giving everyone who stays a horseshoe.”
“A horseshoe?”
Jesus.
Molly clapped her hand on Walker’s shoulder and her youthful face broke into a wide grin. “This show is cheesy, in case you hadn’t noticed. Deal with it.” She slapped the top of the Ford and walked away.
The wardrobe assistantlooked harried when she delivered a suit for Roan after he’d sheepishly admitted he didn’t own one. He apologized about a hundred times before she rushed out of the door again.
“I don’t know why you bothered,” Antoine called out after her. “Retching Roan’s going to go bye-bye tonight.”
“Shut up Antoine,” Peter said, startling Roan a little. He hadn’t expected any support from that quarter. “So far he’s the only one who’s gotten alone time with him, so he’s miles ahead of the rest of us.” He glared daggers at Roan.
Huh, not support then.
Antoine scoffed as he tied on a horrid red skinny tie. “He probably was ordered to take him by the producers to make it more dramatic when he gets cut tonight.” He drew a finger across his throat dramatically.
Roan remembered Walker on his knees before him, easing off the leech, then the gentle caresses that had followed as he’d checked him over. The ghost of a stroke against the underside of his ass. The tenderness in Walker’s eyes, and the protective way he’d warned the camera guys off. Heat rushed to his face, and he realized he didn’t want to go home. And not just because he needed the money.
Dammit.
He hung the suit on his little rack, and began to get dressed. Would Walker send him home? There had definitely been a good vibe between them. And he’d called Roan “little lion.” But maybe that was a southern thing and everyone got nicknames? Maybe he had one for all the contestants already. Had it all been for the camera? At the end of the day, Walker had been distant and strange.
Roan pulled on the crisp white shirt and went in search of an unoccupied mirror to turn the tie into a handsome knot. His mom had taught him a long time ago. God. He missed her.
“You okay, Mom?” he asked his reflection. Her hazel eyes in his own face looked back at him. “I shouldn’t have left. I mean, I like it here. It’s kind of fun. But I’m worried about you…”
Would she be sleeping? Surely Lindsay was stopping by every day. And if things got worse, someone would let him know. Wouldn’t they? The show wouldn’t bethatevil.
