Page 24 of Unforgettable Cowboy
Hayes got out of the truck and closed the door, looking very much like a man about to deliver bad news.And he did, without preamble.“I’m not certain, but I might have seen Chance Meyers in town.”
Bailey’s nerves jumped.Shit.Really?
But her voice was cool when she said, “That’s understandable.It’s almost rodeo weekend.”She’d known going in that she would see the man at the Copper Mountain Rodeo events.More than once, probably.She could handle it.He had no reason to suspect that she had a hand in the disappearance of the mare he wanted to steal from her friend.
Hayes studied her in a way that told her he wasn’t fully buying her casual bravado.
“I can handle it,” she said.
“Yeah?”Hayes’s lack of conviction was starting to annoy her.
“If I come face-to-face with Chance, it won’t be until the rodeo, with tons of people around.I’m not worried.I mean do you really think he’s going to force a confession out of me in front of an audience?”
“What if he comes here?”
A scenario that had played through her head once or twice, but she always talked herself out of the possibility.“He has no way of knowing where I live.”
“Unless he asks the locals, who’ll happily direct him here.”
True, and it wasn’t like she could put out an announcement for Marietta townsfolk to keep the location of her family homestead secret.
“So, he visits and finds me living at my mom’s place.With no horse.”Hayes didn’t respond and she let out an exasperated breath.“What do you suggest I do?”
“Accept that you don’t have to face down Chance Meyers alone.”
“I do most things alone.”She tossed off the words automatically.
“But is that a good thing?”he asked softly.
Bailey wasn’t enough of a liar to say yes.It wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but it was a safe thing—in some regards.
“It works for me.”
He didn’t move, but it sure felt like he had.Bailey could almost feel the heat coming off from his hard body, which in turn brought memories that she had to squelch.
“I don’t like the idea of you facing off with this guy.”
“Are you going to bodyguard me?Help me handle an egotistical ass who’s used to getting his own way?”
She hadn’t known what Hayes’s response would be to the gauntlet she’d just dropped, but she hadn’t expected his lips to curve into an I-know-what-you’re-doing smile.
“Hayes?”
He dropped his chin, as if needing a moment to come to a decision.When he raised it again, he said, “You still feel this, don’t you?”
Sudden heat warmed her cheeks, which in turn pissed her off.Of all the things she’d thought he might say, that was the farthest from her mind.The realization that she was staring at him as she fought to come up with a response did not help her composure.
She opened her mouth, having no idea what she was going to say, and then a sense of calm settled over her—the same calm she hoped to feel when she faced Chance Meyers.The calm of battle.
“What if I do?”She raised her eyebrows, sending the ball into his court.
He took a step closer, and she automatically lifted her chin to maintain eye contact.“Is it something you want to address?”
Ball back in her court.
“I think not.”Not at the moment anyway.She wasn’t close to prepared.
“Then what?Denial?”
