Page 52 of Cowboy Heat
Micah nods. “She caught me leaving. She said she wouldn’t tell anyone as long as I call her tomorrow to let her know I’m okay.”
I think about that a second.
I don’t want to ask.
I do though. “And Guidry isn’t around, is he?”
Micah immediately looks at Beau.
“It’s okay. You can talk in front of him,” I try. Then, for measure, “He’s a good guy.”
Beau’s expression is open. It eases Micah.
Not a lot, but some.
“No. I don’t know where he is. That’s why I figured it was okay to leave for a bit. Come see you.”
I believe him. I’m touched.
That doesn’t mean I’m okay with the leaving part.
“I’m going to have to tell someone you’re okay—you know that,” I say. “Which means they’ll know you left.”
His face drags down in quiet disappointment. It kills me.
“But I can see about you staying with me tonight,” I add on.
Micah straightens, smile flashing bright. “Really?”
I nod.
“I’ll give Damien a call, and then we can go to my place.”
Beau shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He chooses his next words carefully. “We need to figure out who your visitor was earlier first.”
I open my mouth to argue but can’t find fault in that.
“We can’t stay at Mimi’s,” I say instead.
I’m not about to tell him why. I have my history with Micah, and Mimi has her own with Guidry. Bringing Micah into her home, especially after what happened to me tonight, won’t be good for her.
I don’t want that.
I also don’t want to stay at my house.
What if the masked man had friends? I couldn’t put Micah at risk of them coming to visit in the middle of the night.
I sigh. I’ll have to take him back toLa Lumiere.
He knows it too. He looks crestfallen.
“You two could stay here.”
Micah and I both turn to Beau. He’s not joking.
“We can’t intrude like that,” I try.
Beau laughs. He good-naturally nods to Micah. “This one already did his due diligence with the intruding. Anything extra now isn’t a big deal.” He points to the hallway that leads to the guest bedrooms. “Plus, you know yourself that I have plenty of room for both of you. I’ve also been on a cleaning kick, so everything is relatively fresh. I even scrubbed the tub.”
