Page 20 of Protective Cowboy

She pictured Matt’s probable reaction to being asked and tried to keep a straight face.

“Autumn Snowberry-Garthe?” the florist delivery guy shouted again.

She sighed and squared her shoulders. “I’ll deal with this.”

Apparently, Phillip wasn’t going to leave her alone until he got what he wanted. And there was no way to stop it. It wasn’t illegal to send someone flowers or chocolates or jewelry.

“No, you stay here,” Winnie ordered. “I’ll handle this.”

“But—” Autumn protested. She was a grown woman. She couldn’t let her younger sister deal with the mess her life had become.

“No ‘buts.’ I’m handling this,” Winnie said, using the same firm tone she employed with tradespeople who did substandard work. She looked past Autumn to where her husband had appeared in the front doorway. “Nick, love, make sure Autumn stays on the porch.”

“I’ll sit on her if I have to,” he promised.

“Me, too.” Jason grinned at Autumn. “Besides, you know we all want to see Winnie kick ass and take names.” He shook his head. “Man, I feel sorry for that poor delivery guy.”

“All right. You win.” Autumn raised her hands in surrender.

She watched as Winnie marched down to the street to question the driver. And tried to deny the relief bubbling up from beneath her guilt for making Winnie handle the dirty work.

The camera operator and sound tech tailed her sister, hoping to capture footage for the show.

“Autumn, are you okay?” She looked up to see concern etched across Nick’s handsome face. “Did Phillip threaten you? Has he hurt you in any way?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. He’s just being annoying. If I ignore it, chances are he’ll get bored and move on.” She forced a smile. “He hates this town. I heard him say it a lot while we were still married.”

Nick looked past her. His gray eyes narrowed as he glared at the florist’s van. “If you ever need someone to talk to—or just a shoulder to lean on—I’m here for you.”

“Thanks,” she whispered. She didn’t deserve her brother-in-law’s unquestioning support—but she was damned glad for it.

After her years in Bozeman, where Phillip had steadily isolated her from her friends, knowing she had her family in her corner made all the difference.

At the curb, Winnie was now having an animated discussion with the driver. Autumn strained to hear what her sister was saying.

If I wasn’t such a coward, she thought, I’d march down there myself and refuse the delivery.

But she couldn’t make her feet move. So, she remained on the wide porch as ordered, her fingers gripping the yet-unpainted new railing and her gut churning with anxiety.

“…job site. Absolutely no visitors or unauthorized deliveries.” Winnie’s voice drifted up to the house. “If you can’t take it back to the store, deliver it to the church on Main Street. Maybe they can use it for a wedding this weekend or something.”

The driver shrugged and got back in the van. The flower arrangement disappeared from sight as the side door closed. He drove away.

“Thanks so much for handling that, Winnie,” Autumn said as her sister returned to the house, tailed closely by the camera operator and sound guy.

“Yeah, those were from Phillip, all right,” Winnie commented, climbing the porch stairs. She held up a small florist’s card and read it out loud. “‘Thought this might brighten your day. Love always, your husband.’” She grimaced. “Ugh.”

“‘Ugh’ is right. It’s like he’s trying to pretend the divorce never happened,” Autumn said, trying to convince herself she wasn’t responsible for the drama that Phillip’s extravagant floral delivery had caused.

Winnie shook her head. “What a creep! Especially after that stunt he pulled on Saturday. I still can’t believe he tried to scare you like that!”

“I’m so sorry about all this,” Autumn began. “I should’ve known Phillip would—”

“Don’t apologize for him,” Winnie interrupted. She grasped Autumn’s shoulders. “Look, you didn’t ask for those stupid flowers. Or any of the stuff Mom says he’s been sending to the ranch house all week.”

“But—” Autumn tried again.

“We all know he’s doing all this stuff to mess with you,” Winnie assured her. “His behavior is on him, not you.”

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