Page 28 of The Cowboy Complication

“I think the girls want you all to themselves for a little while, so I’m going to do a quick check around town and then I’ll be back.”

Isla nodded, her hand staying on his arm as she tucked her face close to his. “How long will you be gone?”

“Not long.” A smile tried to work onto his lips, but he smothered it, not wanting Isla to think he was enjoying her unease. That wasn’t what he liked about this moment. He just liked knowing he helped her. Made her feel better, more comfortable, in an unknown situation. “And if you need me, all you have to do is call and I’ll come right back.”

“Okay.” The tip of her tongue flashed out to swipe across her lower lip as her dark eyes held his. “Be careful.”

Everything seemed to go quiet. Like his brain filtered out all the noise. All the congestion. Left him with nothing but Isla’s soft voice giving him something he’d wanted to hear for a long damn time.

Be careful.

He had friends. His parents. They all wanted him to be safe, of course. But this was different. And it had him rubbing the center of his chest as he left Isla with the Bridge Bitches, hoping like hell they’d protect her the way he would.

After doing a quick pass through The Creekery to remind everyone who might be getting any wrong ideas of his presence, he stepped outside, scanning the sidewalks and listening for anything out of the ordinary. After learning the hard way that most of the shit that went down in Moss Creek on the weekends started here, the department made sure someone was on hand and ready to handle any issues that came up.

Leland had also been on site earlier, so he wasn’t surprised to see his friend’s cruiser still parked outside, engine idling as he sat behind the wheel doing paperwork.

Walking up to the window, he gave it a knock, resting his hands on the vest strapped to his chest as Leland lowered the glass. “Quiet out here?”

“Seems like.” Leland’s eyes went to the door of the bar. “How’s it going inside?”

Cooper turned, like he’d be able to see how Isla was doing through the exterior wall. “Crowded and loud, but no problems.” He faced his friend. “So far.”

“Hopefully it stays that way.” Leland’s jaw flexed. “Paige deserves to have an easy night tonight.”

He’d argue Paige deserved an easy night most nights. The woman had gone through a lot in her life and spent almost all her time running the business she’d inherited when her dad died.

“I can keep an eye on things out here if you want to take a turn inside.” He hated being away from Isla, so he could only imagine how Leland felt knowing Paige was in there on her own, fighting through another night of rowdy cowboys. “Just do me a favor and keep an eye on the girls. Make sure they behave themselves.”

Leland snorted as he climbed out of his cruiser. “I don’t think that word is in their vocabularies.” He started for the door, looking determined in a way Cooper hadn’t seen before.

Like he was plotting something.

“Hey.” He caught Leland as his friend’s hand hit the handle. “Don’t let Muriel drink any more. She had Mexican for dinner.”

Leland’s lip curled. “You’d think they’d learn.”

“You’d think.” Cooper leaned to peek through the gap as Leland opened the door, quickly scanning the space in search of dark hair and a sweet smile. But his friend moved too fast, and the heavy metal door closed before he could find what he was looking for.

And hell if he didn’t want to follow his buddy in just so he could get eyes on Isla. Make sure she was okay. Not miserable or uncomfortable or cornered by some fucking horny cowboy who?—

The door opened and he glanced up, expecting to see Leland coming out.

Instead, a set of dark eyes swept the street, stopping when they landed on him.

He started moving toward her, concern propelling him forward. “What’s wrong?”

Isla wrinkled her nose, peeking over one shoulder as she came down the step to join him on the sidewalk. “Promise you won’t judge me?”

“Never.”

The door to the bar opened again and an unfamiliar man in boots and a hat came striding out. His eyes were locked on Isla so it took a few steps for him to notice Cooper standing there. When he did, he stopped hard and fast, looking like a deer in the headlights.

Stepping closer to Isla, Cooper rested one hand on her back, angling a brow at the interrupter. “You need something?”

The cowboy looked from Isla to Cooper and then back to Isla. “I just...” He shifted on his feet then straightened his shoulders, pulling in a deep breath. “I just came out for some air.” He tipped his hat at Cooper. “Have a good night.” Then he turned tail and ran back into the bar.

Probably a smart move.

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