Page 28 of Overprotective Cowboy

Emma giggled, the cold ice cream settling easily in her stomach. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-nine, ma’am.”

“I’m thirty-seven.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” he said. “I have some manners.”

Emma nudged him with her shoulder. “You have plenty of manners.” She licked her stick clean and tucked it into the wrapper.

“Thank you, Emma.” Ted reached over and took her hand in his, real slow, as if giving her an opportunity to pull away. She didn’t, and her fingers settled easily between his as if their hands had been made to connect.

“I like it when you say my name like that,” she said, surprised at everything happening right now.

His phone rang, but he held her gaze for an extra moment before pulling it out with his free hand. He set it on the counter in front of him and said, “It’s my mom.” He tapped the call on and touched the speaker button. “Hey, Ma.”

“Teddy,” she said, and Emma’s fingers automatically tightened. Ted met her gaze, and fireworks popped through her bloodstream.

Teddy?she mouthed, her eyebrows going up.

He grinned and shook his head as his mother started talking about when she could come visit. His sister was going to drive, and his brother was going to come with his father another time. Emma deduced that Ted’s parents were divorced, and she was glad when she heard them say they’d be there on Saturday.

She’d be gone Saturday, and if he was preoccupied, she wouldn’t have to explain anything to him.

“All right, Ma,” he said. “See you then. Love you.” He tapped the phone button, and the call ended. He glanced at Emma.

Before he could say anything, she asked, “Can I call you Teddy?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“No?” She giggled again, a thread a happiness pulling through her. True happiness. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

“No,” he said. “Two people on this planet call me Teddy, and I don’t want you to be one of them.”

“Who besides your mom?”

“Nate,” Ted said.

“You’re kidding.”

“We bonded in prison,” Ted said with a shrug. “He’s my brother now.”

Emma liked the idea of that, and she realized in that moment how many holes she had in her life. She didn’t have anyone like a Nate in her life. Even Ginger, though Emma pretended like they were close, she’d held at arm’s length. She knew Ginger really well, and she loved her like a sister.

But she wasn’t a sister, not the way Ted had just come out and said,He’s my brother now.

“So just Ted,” she said, needing this moment to stay light, because she didn’t want to think about such hard things.

“Did you want to see who the license plate belongs to?” he asked.

Anxiety tripped through Emma, and so much for not thinking about hard things. What if she knew the name? What if it was Robert? What if they’d found her?

“I guess,” she said.

Ted looked at her with something in his eye she didn’t like. He definitely looked like a lawyer, and Emma focused back on her wrapper.

“It’s a guy named William Leavitt,” he said, the words low and slow coming out of his mouth.

Emma pinched everything tight and held it, though she continued to fiddle with the crinkly plastic her ice cream bar had come in.

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