Courted by the Cowboy (The Boones of Texas 3)

“Thanks.” She felt Fisher at her back and glanced up at him.

“Get enough?” he asked.

She nodded. “Sounds like you’ve got some work to do. I should go anyway. It’s laundry day.” She regretted it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to go home. She wanted to stay here, with Fisher...

“Might want to change first,” Fisher said in her ear. “Take my truck. When you come back we could take Shawn for a ride, explore the ranch a little?”

She nodded. “I’d like that.”

Ten minutes later the kitchen was clean and the Boones were filing out his front door, waving their goodbyes. Fisher waited until they were alone before he wrapped his arms around her. She stepped closer, slid her arms around his waist and her hands beneath his shirt. “I’m sorry I have to run out on you this morning.”

“Me, too,” she admitted.

He kissed her, then again, his lips lingering until she opened for him. He groaned, crushing her against him. He pressed his keys into her hand as he broke away from her. “I’ll make you and Shawn dinner tonight,” he promised.

She smiled. “Okay.”

He paused just inside the door. “I’m glad I’m coming home to you.” And then he was gone.

Kylee stared at the door, smiling. His words warmed her from the inside. And even though he’d just left, she couldn’t wait for them to be together again.

She poked around, exploring the house while she enjoyed a second cup of coffee. There was another room downstairs. It looked like an office, but there was a pullout bed in the couch that was in use. Probably where Archer was sleeping.

She headed back upstairs and made the bed, smoothing the blankets and fluffing the pillows. His was soft, holding his scent. She buried her nose, breathing him in deeply. When the pillow was back in its place, she folded up her clothes and headed out to Fisher’s truck. It was a big truck, so she drove carefully down the winding gravel road toward the main entrance of the ranch.

She’d never felt this way—hopeful, happy, looking forward to the future. In the last few months her life had been turned upside down. And it was good. The town, the apartment, the jobs at the bar and the vet school, and the people. And, of course, Fisher.

She loved him.

It was a risk, she knew that. But it was a risk she was willing to take. When they were together, she believed everything was going to be okay. Maybe she was fooling herself, but she was going to see this through to the end.

She stopped at the grocery store, picking up a few odds and ends before heading home.

She parked Fisher’s truck behind Shots and went into the apartment. She changed, hugging Fisher’s shirt close and breathing in his scent again. He’d want it back...but she wasn’t going to give it to him until he asked. Instead, she tucked it into a drawer in the dresser.

It was Saturday—laundry day. After Shawn got home, they could go to the Laundromat. She stripped the sheets off the bed, using one of the pillowcases as the laundry bag. Once she’d tossed her clothes inside, she pulled open the closet. As small as it was, she was surprised at the mess inside. She knelt, pulling all the clothes out and tossing them onto the couch. She didn’t know what was clean and what was dirty. But as she threw a pair of jeans onto the couch, something slid from the pocket and hit the floor.

She picked it up, turning over the oblong metal case. She lifted the lid. It was some sort of video game. She didn’t remember seeing it before. She tucked it aside and pulled the sheets off Shawn’s cot. A gold bracelet, two watches and a wallet fell onto the floor.

She knelt, picking up the jewelry. She shouldn’t panic, not yet. She pulled everything out of the closet, searched every pair of pants and every pocket, anyplace he might have stashed something. She found a wad of cash in one sock. On the shelf in the closet were his comic books and a sketch pad...and something else.

She carried the cell phone from the closet and sat on the couch. She didn’t know which was worse, her disappointment or her anger. She was angry at him, yes, but she was also angry with herself. She should have been paying closer attention to him, watching out for this. He’d been programmed for this. Jesse had taught him that a big score made him a real man.

And no matter how many times she’d tried to undo the damage Jesse had done, she couldn’t. Jesse was the cool one, the one everyone liked, the one everyone wanted to be. At least, in their old world. Shawn might like Fisher and the Boones and Stonewall Crossing, but they hadn’t been in Stonewall Crossing long enough for those habits to just go away. If she was being honest with herself, she needed to accept that they might not go away without help.

She stared at the phone, touching the screen to see if it was locked. Maybe she could return it to the owner.

But the call list on the phone popped up and she almost dropped the phone.

Shawn had called Jesse? Not once, but several times?

She froze, all too familiar with the cold that seeped into her bones. She was still sitting there when Shawn walked through the door.

“What’s wrong?” Shawn asked.

She looked at him, holding up the phone.

He frowned. “That’s mine.”