Page 8 of Soldier Cowboy
Progress. He hadinitiatedconversation, talking in full sentences even if what he’d just said didn’t sound too promising. Maybe she should be worried. He might make her sleep in a tent.
“What is it? What won’t I like?”
She prepared herself to hear she’d be sleeping outside, or of a jealous girlfriend who might not appreciate his spending so much time around Jennifer. If the girlfriend was the worst she had to deal with, she’d be lucky. She’d been through far worse and would simply make friends with the woman. Assure her she had no intentions of taking someone else’s man. That’s not how Jennifer rolled.
“People in Stone Ridge tend to ask a lot of questions. How comfortable are you with everyone knowing the details of your situation?”
“Not comfortable at all.”
“That’s what I thought. And I’m not particularly at ease with my family thinking I brought home my work.”
“I’m notwork. I’m a favor for my father.”
“Either way. I need everyone to know the military part of my life is over.”
“Got it. You don’t want them to worry about you and think you’ve still got a foot in the military complex because of me.”
He quirked a brow. “Not how I would have put it but yeah. If we’re going to hide out, I’d like to protect your privacy as much as possible.”
“I appreciate that.”
“There’s a way we can spend a lot of time together and no one will wonder a thing.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“We can minimize the questions and protect the real reason you’re here and the fact that I’m technically your bodyguard.”
“Awesome. What do we do?”
“Pretend we’re engaged.”
CHAPTER3
If Colton had known it would be this simple to get Jennifer to stop talking, he’d have suggested a fake engagement five hundred miles ago. Except for the several blissful hours when she slept, she hadn’t stopped talking since she got in his truck. Once she’d figured out he didn’t appreciate being grilled, she entertained him with her life story. Herentirelife story.
She had an older brother who’d also been in the service. Born and raised in Bethesda, Maryland, which he did already know. Mother died when Jennifer was twelve and an aunt helped raise her. Horace had told him all this, of course. But he now knew more about her than he did some of his best friends. No one talked as much as she did. No one in the world. Surely, she’d broken some kind of a record. The Guinness books should know about her.
“Excuseme?” She blinked now and, in the darkness, the moonlight gleamed in her blue eyes and on a shaft of her nearly black hair.
“You heard me. I don’t like it either but it’s the easiest way. We can live together without any annoying questions or judgements. You’ll be welcomed into town as my fiancée. No questions asked as to why we’re always together. We’re in love and it’s that simple.”
“And what will we tell your family when I go back to California?”
“It didn’t work out and you don’t like small-town life. No different than most servicemen reacclimating into civilian life.”
Her eyes narrowed. “But that’s alie.”
“Yeah, no kidding. So is our engagement.”
“That’s two lies.” She held up her fingers.
“Good, you can count.”
“This isn’t a good idea. I don’t like lying to people.” She crossed her arms. “I thought you trusted everyone here.”
He had thought he would, but no longer. Everything was…different. The ridiculous sign was the first clue. Sean hadn’t mentioned he’d become a model. In the brief emails, he’d mentioned Bonnie Lee came back home, they reconciled, and were getting married. Seemed he was missing some important details.
“What I now know is that this place has changed while I’ve been gone. You saw the billboard. I’ve never seen anything like that in Stone Ridge. It’s like seeing a tank parked next to a church. There’s also a medical clinic and a school that were never there before. I may have missed some emails here and there. I know my brother Riggs married a Nashville celebrity so who knows how many people have moved here since? Maybe some of her fans followed her. No, Idon’ttrust every single person in this town. Not anymore. Until I know what we’re dealing with, I won’t trust anyone but family.”
