Page 4 of Cowboy Stalker
She rattles off an address at the edge of town as soon as I get in.
I nod and start the engine, glancing into the rearview mirror to see the little one sucking contentedly on a pacifier. I haven’t seen the baby clearly yet. “So, who do I have the pleasure of transporting tonight?”
“Daisy.” There’s no mistaking the warmth and tenderness in her voice when she calls her daughter’s name. She adjusts the knobs on the temperature control like I’ve driven her around a million times. “She’s six months old and has recently discovered the wonder of her toes.”
I stop at the one traffic light in the town and look at her in the mirror. “Excellent work, Daisy.”
“So…” Missy fiddles with the air vents, adjusting them once, then twice. She goes for the volume control next, turning down the soft country song that’s playing. “Did you grow up in Courage County?”
She moves to my dash next, moving the funny little magnets that Aunt Dorothy sent me. She straightens them, and something in me aches at how nervous she is. What has she been through that even being around me makes her so scared?
“I’ve been living in Courage since I was about ten. That’s when I came to live with my aunt,” I explain. I pause there, trying to decide what to say next. I don’t want to get into the full story of how I arrived here. That part of me will always be a little tender. “She was busy running her farm, so I spent a lot of time with Ernie and Lorna. They took me under their wing and looked out for me when I was a kid.”
“But you left,” she says in a tone that would make a suspect in a murder investigation sweat.
“Yep, I went to the police academy. I spent the next few years in the city, putting criminals behind bars.”
She stops with the magnets, her body going completely still. I notice and file that away. She’s running from something. Wanting to ease her fears, I say, “Now that I’m back in town, the most interesting thing I investigate is when the local teenagers tip the cows.”
She chuckles, but the sound is wrong. It’s not light and airy like it was back in the diner when I was flirting with her. “Quite the hardened criminals.”
“I enjoy working in a place where I get to focus on helping my neighbors rather than fighting crime,” I tell her, wanting to put her at ease. Whatever is in her past, we’ll face it together. I’ll help her sort it out.
She goes back to fiddling with the magnets, and I try to keep the conversation going. “I missed this town. It’s the perfect place to raise a little one.”
She’s quiet for a minute before she says, “It does seem like a sweet little town.”
There’s an unmistakable note of wistfulness in her voice, so I ask the question that’s making my throat feel tight, “Are you not planning to stick around?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” she answers.
Years of listening to people tells me she’s lying, but I don’t push it. Instead, I pull into the driveway of the address she gave me. It’s a rental on the edge of town.
I notice the way she looks around, quickly scanning the place. There’s a sinking feeling in my gut. She’s running from someone.
“Let me walk you up,” I say.
I carry the car seat with Daisy while Missy fumbles with the keys. She gets them in the lock and turns to me. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime. Goodnight, Missy,” I tell her before brushing a soft kiss across her forehead. I don’t know why I do it. Only that the protective gesture feels right.
She swallows with an audible gulp then takes the car seat from me. She disappears into the house. I wait until I hear the sound of the lock engaging before I turn and jog back to my truck. Looks like it’s going to be a long night for me.
The next morning, I wake with stiffness in my neck and back. I do my best to roll my shoulders in the confines of my truck. I spent the night sleeping outside of Missy’s house. The lights never went off for a longer than a few minutes before she was up and moving about, her silhouette going from one room to the next. It could be that Daisy was restless, but I doubt it. Not with the way the curtains kept moving in various rooms. No, I’d bet anything that Missy thinks she has to stay alert. Well, those days are long gone. Now, she has a cowboy who will be standing guard over her and her young daughter.
My phone dings, and I pull it from my pocket to see a new email. It’s about the continuing education classes I have to take in Asheville next month. I confirm the details and forward it to Luke, so he’ll know to leave me off the schedule that day.
I’ve finished with the email when Logan pulls his truck in behind mine. He flicks his lights twice. I do the same, casting a glance toward the house. When the first rays of sunlight broke through the night, the curtains stopped moving and the lights inside went out. She finally felt safe enough to sleep.
“Is this all the gear?” I ask when he shoves a thermos of coffee and a duffel bag at me.
He eyes the house. “I don’t know her, but if she needs anything, or you need anything, holler. You’re almost a friend.”
I can’t help grinning at his gentle teasing. “Will do.”
He grunts and nods toward his truck. “Gotta get back.”
I thank him, and he grabs the ladder from his truck. He leans it against the tailgate of mine before he leaves.
