Savage (Wolf Ranch 4)

Clint. Clint. I’d told him I couldn’t have a relationship, and he’d seen why firsthand. Todd had destroyed my life, and I hadn’t wanted to pull Clint into it. I’d told him! He’d see my words for what they were: the truth. There was no way he’d want to be with me after this. I wasn’t worth his time and energy. He should have listened to me before taking me to Wolf Ranch, letting me get a glimpse of what a real family was like. To fall for not just Clint but his mom and dad, too. Then to hang with the girls last night and get a glimpse of what it would be like to be in a relationship with Clint—because being with Clint meant being with his family and friends, too. He had a lot of them. It had been hard to push him away the other day. Now?

Fuck, I’d fallen for him. Stupid.

“Why didn’t you stay at your house?”

I took a deep breath, tried to swallow my tears and keep them and the dregs in my stomach, down. “Because Clint didn’t want Todd to know where I was.”

“So you were in danger from Todd? I’ve heard from witnesses it was the other way around.”

“What?”

“You threatened him in the parking lot of Bishop’s Mechanic’s Shop.” He looked at a piece of paper. “I’m going to kill you for this. You’re a dead man.”

He glanced up, waiting for my response.

“He slashed my tire then cancelled my credit card and emptied my bank account. I was angry.”

“Angry enough to kill?”

We were talking in circles. I’d already been asked this, just in a different way.

“Can I get a cup of water?”

A knock came on the door, and a gorgeous brunette breezed in the room. “Selena Jennings.” She nodded to the two sheriffs when they stood. “I represent Rebecca Nichols.”

My mouth dropped open. Could this day get any stranger? “You do?”

I’d never seen her before in my life. I didn’t even have the cash to call my divorce lawyer for help.

“I’m a friend of Clint’s,” she said. Stupidly, I experienced a moment of blind jealousy, despite the fact that she was here to help me. She was just so over-the-top beautiful. Why did all his female friends have to be so stunning?

But if she was here, that must mean Clint… what? Cared? That he was here for me even though I was being accused of murder, had no job, no money and there was a dead body in my house? Fresh tears, this time of relief, filled my eyes. If this woman had been sent by Clint, I could let go of some of the panic in my brain. I wasn’t alone.

“Clint Tucker, the man you say you were with for the past two nights?” the Meade sheriff asked.

This, too, I’d gone over. The local sheriff had seen us together, even knew Clint personally.

“My client is pregnant,” the lawyer said. Every pair of eyes swiveled my way. My scrubs were loose enough to hide my condition, and I was hugging a trash can. “The death of her estranged husband has come as a terrible shock, especially considering he was found in her house, which he should not have had access to. I will make sure she doesn’t leave town, but at this point, you’ve been questioning her for hours. She has an alibi with numerous witnesses from the time Sheriff Duncan saw her until you collected her earlier from her place of employment. Can we wrap it up here?”

Selena conveyed that kind of sexy female authority that made men eager to fall over themselves to please her, and there were enough of them in the room to do just that.

I was just a nauseated woman in lavender scrubs hugging a trash can. The comparison couldn’t have been any greater.

Unfortunately, it was still another forty-five minutes before they finished questioning and released me. By that time, I was light-headed from low blood sugar and exhausted. But the moment I stepped out into the lobby, Clint unfolded his long limbs from a chair and came striding forward to meet me. I ran for him and launched myself into his arms.

One hand went to the back of my head, the other cupping my ass as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I didn’t care if we were in the lobby, and there were people around. I cried into his neck and practically strangled him, but all he did was hold me and stroke my back.

He was here for me. He’d been waiting.

Finally, after all the tears dried up, I lifted my head.

“Sugar,” he said, a smile on his lips.

Only when I nodded did he carry me out of the building and to the parking lot. He and Selena talked as we went.

“I don’t give a shit that she has to stay in town. Not happening. I told you where I’m taking her. If they have a problem, deal with it, please.”