Page 25 of Protective Cowboy

“Oh, that.” Autumn grimaced. “He’s trying to win me back. Not going to work.”

Matt felt a treacherous stab of happiness at the note of determination in her voice.

“He wasn’t like this before. He was sweet and funny and treated me like a queen,” Autumn continued. “But after I got pregnant, it was like he changed overnight. I kept hoping that if I fixed myself, maybe the Phillip who I’d fallen in love with would return.”

Matt’s fists clenched at the misery in her expression. She wasn’t the one who needed fixing! And fuck Phillip for making her think so.

“I dunno. Somehow, I think the Phillip you’re seeing now is the real Phillip,” Winnie said. “He was probably putting on an act until he baby-trapped you.” She paused. “By the way, Karla agreed to my request to ban Phillip from anywhere we’re filming.”

“Why?” Alarmed, Matt turned to Autumn. “What happened? Did he show up and cause trouble? Is he threatening you?”

To his relief, Autumn shook her head. “No, no, nothing like that. Since last weekend, he’s been sending me all kinds of stuff here at the house. Today, he tried sending flowers to Nick and Winnie’s construction site.”

Okay, that was worrying. Phillip appeared to be turning into a stalker.

“Autumn, please consider getting an Order of Protection against him,” Matt said, trying to make his voice gentle but firm. “You can’t be too careful.”

She bit her plump, kissable lower lip. “That feels like overreacting. I mean, all he’s done so far is send me a bunch of emails and text messages, and a few gifts.”

Matt shook his head. “Maybe so, but if his behavior escalates, I’d feel better if you had some legal boundaries in place.”

“I’ll think about it,” Autumn said. “Let’s see what happens over the next few days. I feel I should at least give Phillip a chance to comply with my wishes before slapping him with a restraining order.”

Matt clamped down on the urge to argue with her. She was a grown woman, and she knew her ex-husband better than he did.

Nevertheless, the situation made him uneasy.

Autumn was clearly done discussing Phillip. She turned away from Matt.

With a bright, artificial smile, she asked in a loud voice, “So, Winnie and Nick, why don’t you tell everyone about what’s been happening over at your dream house? It’s looking great, and I’m so excited about the progress you guys have made in such a short time!”

Winnie looked at Nick. “Tell them about the bathroom disaster, honey,” she urged.

“So, we had this grand design plan for the hall bathroom,” Nick began, a twinkle in his eye. “We chose what we thought was the perfect shade of period-appropriate blue for the walls. You know, something soothing and serene.”

Winnie snorted and covered her mouth with her napkin.

The corners of Nick’s mouth twitched upward. “Well, turns out, there was some kind of mix-up at the paint store. Instead of ‘Tranquil Ocean,’ we ended up with a color I can only describe as ‘Pea Soup Apocalypse.’”

“And it looked even worse in my photos,” Autumn said with mock sorrow. “An entire afternoon of social media opportunities, wasted.” Then she giggled. “Who am I fooling? You know I posted those photos on your Instagram with a #baddesignchoices tag, right?”

Nick groaned loudly, and the table erupted into laughter. Even Matt, who usually tried to keep his emotions in check, chuckled at the mental image.

Autumn turned her head and smiled at him. Warmth bloomed in his chest that had nothing to do with the wine served with dinner.

“Needless to say,” Nick continued, still grinning, “we’re going to be repainting that bathroom first thing on Monday. Or maybe just wallpapering it.”

“So, you really think you’ll be able to move in before Thanksgiving?” Abigail leaned forward, her blue eyes alight with curiosity. “Any thoughts on what building you’re renovating for the next season of Reviving Snowberry Springs?”

Despite being such a small town, Snowberry Springs had many architectural gems, most of which badly needed restoration work.

Matt had grown up watching the fancy brick buildings lining Main Street and surrounding the town square gradually falling into disrepair as businesses vacated the storefronts and tenants moved out of the upstairs apartments.

“How about helping our diner expand into the old Cooperman’s Hardware & Ranch Supply next door?” suggested Brock, leaning back in his chair and folding his heavily muscled arms. He glanced at Matt and explained, “Summer and I bought the building last fall since we’ve kinda outgrown The Yummy Cowboy Diner’s original seating capacity.”

Brock had played football in high school, and it showed. Looking at the big guy, you’d never guess he was an acclaimed local chef.

His wife, Summer, nodded vigorously. “Once we survive the never-ending permitting process, we’ll need the help. Especially since a certain reality TV show has hired all the best contractors in this area.” Her tone was teasing.

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