Page 43 of Protective Cowboy

Her brows shot up in surprise.

He took a deep breath. “If you’re serious about moving to town, why don’t you and Jayden keep living here? As my housemates, I mean.”

Autumn’s eyes widened. “I—I hadn’t considered it.”

“It’s been, uh, really nice having you guys here,” Matt said. He desperately wanted to convince her not to move out. And he suspected he was totally fumbling it. “As you can see, I have plenty of room.”

She looked around the kitchen, and the uncertainty in her expression made his chest twinge. “I don’t want to impose…”

Her tone was hesitant, but she wasn’t saying no. It sounded like she wanted him to convince her to stay.

“I mean, you’d have your own room, right?” Matt asked. “Jayden, too.”

Jayden was nodding vigorously.

Autumn traded looks with her son. “I want to stay here!” he said.

She turned back to Matt. “Um, what were you thinking in terms of rent?”

Matt swallowed hard. He longed to tell her she and Jayden could stay for free. But that would probably scare her off. Or make her wonder whether he had ulterior motives.

“How about $700 a month for both rooms?” he asked, knowing he was quoting less than half the going rate in Bozeman. “And you’ll be able to use the rest of the house, of course.”

Her eyes widened, and he added quickly, “Just think about it, okay?”

“It’s a great deal, and it’s in my budget,” Autumn said, but she still seemed hesitant. “But I really don’t want to impose…” she repeated.

“You wouldn’t be imposing,” Matt assured. “Just the opposite. I don’t like coming home to an empty house. You’d be doing me a favor. Honest.”

“I appreciate the offer, Matt. Really, I do. It would be really nice for Jayden and me to have some stability again.” Autumn bit her lip. “Can I let you know Monday? After the hearing?”

“Of course.” Matt told himself he could be patient a little longer, if it meant that she’d stay. “Take all the time you need to think about it.”

∞∞∞

After dinner, Autumn went to her bedroom to finish filling out the petition for an Order of Protection. Matt stayed in the kitchen to clean up and load the dishwasher.

As he scooped the remains of the pot pie from the baking dish into a smaller plastic container, the memory of Autumn’s “fake” kisses last night and this morning returned to torment him.

As far as he was concerned, nothing had felt fake about her mouth. Or her soft whimpers of pleasure. Those had driven him crazy in the best possible way.

His cock—no, his entire body—ached for Autumn.

He put the lid on the container of leftovers and shoved them in the fridge. As he turned back to the sink, the sound of footsteps approaching from the dining room caught his attention. It was Jayden, holding his dinner plate in one hand, and his fork and knife in the other.

“Hey, Deputy Matt,” Jayden said, joining him at the sink. “Can I can help you?”

“Sure. Why don’t you bring me the rest of the dirty dishes?” Matt replied, taking the plate and scraping the leftovers into the small countertop compost bin before putting it in the dishwasher. “That’ll really help me out.”

As they worked together, Matt noticed Jayden’s Avengers-themed shirt and distracted himself from thoughts of Autumn. “So, who’s your favorite superhero?”

“Spider-Man!” Jayden exclaimed, eyes lighting up. “He’s so cool, swinging around the city and saving people.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Matt agreed, grinning. “Mine’s always been Batman. I like that he fights crime with no real superpowers.”

“And the Batmobile is cool,” Jayden agreed, bringing over a pair of glasses with the amber dregs of iced tea.

“I always wanted a Batmobile of my own,” Matt confessed. “But it turns out that a pickup truck is more practical in Snowberry Springs.”

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