Page 34 of Unforgettable Cowboy
Then she let her head drop back against the headrest and closed her eyes.“What an asshole.”
“Not going to argue with you.”
“Do you think he knows we were together?”She needed reassurance and for once she was going to ask for what she needed.
“As long as he doesn’t see us drive by, I think we’re good.He has no reason to look for the mare on my place.”
Bailey closed her eyes, glad that she didn’t need to explain anything to the man sitting beside her.He’d followed along perfectly without her having to say a word.
“Hopefully he doesn’t even know about my place,” she murmured.
“Hopefully,” Hayes echoed, the steel in his voice a warning that he wasn’t going to put up with any nonsense from Chance Meyers.For that, Bailey was grateful.
*
Bailey was quieton the drive back to the ranch and about a mile from the driveway, Hayes reached over to take her hand, the way he used to do when they were riding in the Power Wagon.
Bailey laced her fingers through his without looking at him, which was a message.Physical contact was fine.Emotional connection not so much.Fucking Bruce what’s-his-ass had done a number on her and now her friend Jenna had put her in a position where she had to lie.
He squeezed her fingers and let go, bringing his hand back to the wheel to turn into the ranch.Estelle was waiting on the bench in the yard, just as she’d been when he’d been late for the interview.
“He’s watching television and I’m saving my ears.”Hayes smiled and she reluctantly smiled back.“I couldn’t handle the noise.”
“Will you be back?”
“Of course.I don’t give up on either a commitment or a challenge.”She directed a dark look toward the house.“And your uncle qualifies as the latter.”
After Estelle drove away, Hayes walked with Bailey to her truck.Despite her attempts at I-don’t-care, she carried herself stiffly.Too stiffly.Hayes put a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped.She managed to hold her careless expression for all of two or three seconds, then it faltered as if the effort had become too much.
“Coming face-to-face with Chance wasn’t as easy as I’d anticipated.”
“You know, you could move your trailer here.”
She shook her head.“I think I did okay convincing him that I’ve only been in Marietta for a short time.”She squeezed the muscles at the back of her neck.“Thanks for playing along.”
It was the second time she’d thanked him.
“Didn’t have much choice, did I?”
“Not unless you wanted to give me away.”
“Wouldn’t do that.”
“I know,” she said softly.
And those words, simple and quietly stated, made his heart muscles squeeze with emotion.He wanted to tell her that she could trust him in all things, but could she?
Could she trust him not to fall in love with her again?
You’re most of the way there, man.
He was.And not at all certain what to do about it.
*
Will I see you at the Copper Mountain Rodeo?
An innocent enough question if someone had the means by which to check Jenna’s phone.Again, she felt like she was being overly paranoid, but seeing Chance had revived the feeling that they needed to proceed with caution.What if some enterprising lawyer got a search warrant for the phone in his quest to run down the location of the missing mare?
