Serving Trouble (Second Shot 1)

What the hell are you doing, Josie? Why aren’t you running?

“I’m not a hero,” Noah said, allowing some of the panic he felt to slip into his words. “Not even close.”

I’m scared. So damn afraid of the things I can’t change.

The bull spun on its axis. The horns whirled toward Travis, who’d chosen to remain at the machine’s side, probably using the old cushions to gain a few inches above Noah. But the power of the old bull was no match for Travis.

The man who’d pushed Noah to the edge, who’d left him walking around so damn worried that he’d been ready and willing to push the woman he loved out of his life if it meant keeping her in one piece—­Travis fucking Taylor fell back on his ass and the gun went flying.

God bless that bull.

Noah raced forward and scooped the shotgun off the matt. And then he looked up at the woman manning the bull’s controls. No, he wasn’t the hero here. It was Josie.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded as he stood over Travis, the gun pointed down at the man who’d served up so much damn trouble.

“I thought someone needed to jump in and save you,” Josie shot back. “And that someone had to be me.”

Chapter Twenty-­Four

NOAH WATCHED JOSIE scoop up a mewing fur ball outside his barn and head over to the porch steps. They’d pulled the kittens from the barn when the police showed up, led by Josie’s father, and declared it a crime scene. Now, they were waiting for the men in blue to wrap up.

Movement diverted his gaze and he turned his head to witness the deputy escort a handcuffed Travis to a police cruiser. The car door slammed and he turned his attention back to Josie, who was now carrying two kittens and heading straight for him.

He’d failed to keep her safe. The situation had gotten out of hand and she’d come to his rescue. Yeah, he was pretty sure he’d failed the hero test big-­time. Not that he’d wanted the label. Still, he wished he could have kept her far away from Travis’s gun.

But Caroline was right. He needed to look at why he was hell-­bent on keeping her safe. Because Josie had made it pretty damn clear she didn’t need someone rushing to her rescue. Yeah, she’d told him as much this morning. But there was nothing like watching the woman he loved defeat an armed madman to drive the point home.

The woman I love. It’s about time I tell her.

“You know what you forgot to say back there?” Josie said, coming to a halt in front of him.

“Thank you?” he said mildly, cocking his head as he looked up at her.

“You can do better than that.” She claimed a space beside him on the porch step.

“Thank you for saving my ass,” he said.

“You’re welcome. But as much fun as that was, I’ll be happy if no one ever points a gun at me again in that barn,” Josie said, settling the purring kittens onto her lap.

Noah reached over and took her hand. “I’ll make damn sure of it.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she said softly. “You can’t post a sign outside saying ‘No Crazy Gun-­Wielding ­People Allowed.’ Especially with Caroline living here.”

“I’m hoping she might relax now that we have proof it wasn’t Dustin after her.”

“Where is she?” Josie asked, glancing back at the house.

“Josh came by and picked her up while you were giving your statement. I called and asked him, thinking it would be best if she wasn’t here right now. Too many cops and she’s still on edge.”

“She’s not the only one,” Josie murmured. “My stomach is still doing flips from the sight of Travis holding a shotgun.”

He turned and looked right at her. “You can relax now. You took out the bad guy. You were incredible, using the bull like that.”

“Now that you have proof that you don’t need to keep me safe, if anything I should be the one looking out for you,” she said, speaking quickly as her green eyes stared into his. “Now that’s off the table, Noah, I need to know—­”

“That I lied to you earlier,” he cut in. “I told you that keeping you safe . . . I said that was all I had to give, but I lied.”

“A jerk and liar,” she murmured. “Not a great combination.”