Page 18 of Protective Cowboy

“Can’t argue with you.” Autumn stepped back, breaking the embrace.

They waited for Jayden to spoon up the last bite of his ice cream. Then he ran ahead of them, his youthful energy apparently undeterred by the ugly confrontation with his father.

Autumn touched Matt’s arm. A treacherous thrill ran through him at the contact… and again at her warm smile as she looked up at him. “Thank you so much for helping me out just now.”

He shrugged, torn between pleasure at helping her and embarrassment at the lame way he’d handled it.

“You know there are going to be rumors about us,” she said, as if reading his mind.

“You mean because everyone at Jenna’s overheard us just now?” Matt shrugged, trying to pretend he didn’t care. Once again, an ungovernable impulse prodded him to add, “And if your ex is planning to hang around and try to renegotiate custody—”

Autumn winced at the suggestion.

“—maybe it wouldn’t hurt to keep playing along with the whole dating story for a while.” Matt’s mouth was apparently running independently of his brain today.

Hadn’t he decided to stay away from Autumn?

But that was before her asshole ex showed up to make trouble. Matt’s jaw clenched as he remembered the smug triumph in Phillip’s expression as he goaded Autumn.

The jerk used his own son to score points against his ex-wife. That told Matt everything he needed to know about the guy.

“We can’t tell anyone it’s fake, though,” he continued. “At least not until your ex leaves town.” He spread his hands. “But you know how people talk. If you decide pretending to be my girlfriend is the way to go, we’ll have to keep the truth under wraps. Not even your sisters can know.”

They walked along in silence for a few steps. Autumn was frowning down at her feet, clearly deep in thought.

“I—I don’t know,” she said finally. “We’d have to lie to everyone. That feels wrong, lying to my family and friends.”

“Okay,” Matt said. He told himself he should be relieved that she hadn’t taken him up on his crazy offer. “You do whatever you think is right. No matter what happens, I’ll support you. And you call me right away if Phillip makes any more trouble. Deal?”

He didn’t miss the look of relief that flashed across her face. She turned and stuck out her hand. “Deal.”

They shook on it. Then she surprised him by drawing him into a brief hug. “Thanks, Matt. You’re a better friend than I deserve.”

As they continued walking back to where her family awaited, Matt couldn’t decide whether he felt satisfied at having bested an asshole at his own game or annoyance at himself for jumping at an excuse to spend time with the woman who’d broken his heart.

Chapter Five

Special Delivery

Friday, August 14 (seven days later)

“Hey, Autumn!” Winnie called out from the front of the house. “You think you could get some shots of Jason and me fitting this new railing?”

“Sure thing,” Autumn replied.

Wearing her hard hat and mandatory steel-toed shoes, she left the living room. She had spent the morning chronicling her brother-in-law Nick’s careful removal of an ugly stucco layer from the fireplace, revealing gorgeous, century-old original tile work.

Sunlight streamed through the open windows, illuminating swirling eddies of sawdust in the air. The familiar smells of paint, caulking, and varnish filled her nose, and the sounds of hammers and saws echoed through the empty rooms.

She arrived at the porch, where master carpenter Jason Lund and her sister stood waiting for her, along with a camera operator and a sound guy.

As Autumn snapped photos and the Reviving Snowberry Springs’ crew filmed, Winnie and Jason maneuvered the new porch railing into place. As usual, Winnie was wearing her trademark bright pink tool belt and matching hard hat.

Thanks to Autumn’s chronicling of Winnie and her husband Nick’s ongoing restoration projects, the Reviving Snowberry Springs social media feed had become wildly popular.

For their second-season project, Winnie and Nick had chosen a 120-year-old Craftsman. The beautiful but neglected house was located just three blocks from the Snowberry Springs town square, and Winnie had promptly declared it her “forever home.”

The restoration and renovation plans included an addition at the back of the building for the primary bedroom and ensuite bathroom. That way, Nick’s son Kegan would have his own bedroom, and the remaining two original bedrooms could serve as home office space and guest accommodation for now, with an eye for Winnie and Nick’s future children.

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