Boone's Bounty

“Like I said, my friends would have a fit if I did anything different.”

“Some friends you have, Boone.” She was beginning to believe she’d stumbled onto the cowboy equivalent of the Knights of the Round Table. Still, taking advantage of such gallantry wasn’t her style. “Listen, you’re wonderful to offer, but I simply can’t put you or your friends to that kind of trouble.”

“Okay.” His tone was patient. “What’s your alternative?”

Good question. She thought of Mason lurking in the café, coiled like a rattlesnake ready to strike. She could watch for him to leave before she ventured out of the room in the morning, but that would mean being trapped without any way of getting food for Josh. Explaining that problem to Josh without telling him about Mason would be tricky.

She faced the fact that she had no plan unless someone offered to be her ally. Boone had offered. “I guess my biggest problem is how to get food to Josh if the road doesn’t open right away in the morning,” she said.

“I can help you with that.”

“I would appreciate it.” She was embarrassed by how constrained her position was. She tried for an attitude of independence and self-reliance. “Once Mason leaves, Josh and I can be on our way. Kind as your gesture is, we really wouldn’t need to go with you.”

He sighed. “Shelby, I’ve seen the guy. He’s a tough customer, and he won’t stay fooled forever. Sooner or later, he’ll catch on and come back looking for you. When he does, your self-defense courses aren’t going to do you much good. If you really want to keep Josh out of his hands, you need help.”

She knew he was right. Damn it, he was so right. She’d been foolish to think she could protect Josh by herself. Reckless and foolish. Humbled by her monumental ability to miscalculate, she finally understood that her pride could endanger Josh. Because she loved him far more than her stupid pride, she had no choice but to be indebted to Boone and his friends. “Okay,” she said softly. “But I’ll find a way to make it up to you. I’ll—”

“No need,” he said. “Don’t even worry about it.”

Of course she would. The debt already sat heavy in her chest. But Josh was more important than her own comfort zone right now. “What about my rental car?” she asked.

“You can call the office in Santa Fe and tell them you were afraid to drive it over the pass. That makes sense. You shouldn’t drive it over the pass, at least not for a day or two. But you can say you found other transportation. They might charge you something extra if they have to come get it, but—”

“I don’t care about that.”

“Okay, then it’s settled.” He turned toward the door. “I’ll come over here in the morning when I’m sure Mason’s gone.”

“Wait a minute.” She’d been so caught up in her own problems that she hadn’t thought about how Boone had engineered this visit to her room. “Mason’s in the café, right?”

“Right.”

“When you left, where did he think you were going?”

“To my room.”

She gazed at him standing by the door. “But you don’t have a room.”

“He doesn’t know that.”

“You can’t go back in the café now, can you?”

“No, but I’ll be okay in my truck.”

His willingness to sacrifice himself for someone he’d just met left her speechless. Finally she recovered enough to stop him before he opened the door. “You will not sleep in the truck, Boone. Share the bed with Josh. He doesn’t take up much room. It’s the least—”

“Not in this lifetime.”

The steel in his words told her it was useless to argue the point. “Okay, then take the chair, or the floor. But you are not going out to that truck. If you do, then the deal’s off. I won’t go with you to the Rocking D.”

“But…you don’t know me.”

She smiled at that. “Yes, I do. Stay with Josh and me for the rest of the night, Boone. I feel rotten enough about the trouble I’m causing you. Let me at least offer you shelter from this storm.”

“You shouldn’t feel bad. You’re not the one causing the problem. Fowler is.”

“Well, I do feel bad, and I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink knowing I sent you out to stay in your truck tonight.”

He hesitated. “Well—”

“You’ll be doing me a big favor.” She pressed her advantage. His only weakness seemed to be his very soft heart. “I haven’t been able to sleep hardly at all since I left San Antonio. I have a feeling with you here, I’ll be able to finally relax.”

“Then go on back to bed.” Boone took off his jacket and hat before settling down in the room’s only chair. “Don’t be afraid to sleep. I’ll keep you safe.”

4

BOONE SHIFTED his chair so that it blocked the door, just in case. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes, although he didn’t expect to sleep. The room was too full of Shelby—her flowery scent, her soft breathing, her rustling movements as she turned over in bed.

His sexual urges were coming out of hibernation, and the timing sucked. For the first time in more than a year, he was seriously interested in a woman. But in spite of the lousy timing, he was somewhat reassured by the ache in his groin. After Darlene had dumped him, he’d felt more like a steer than a bull, except, apparently, when he’d downed a pint of good Irish whiskey and taken Jessica to bed. That hardly counted.

This counted. Nothing about Shelby reminded him of Darlene. Darlene was tall and big-boned, with brown eyes and hair. And damned impatient about getting a ring on her finger. He’d wanted to wait awhile to get married, so he could save enough money to give her a better style of life. At least that’s what he’d assumed was his motivation. Sebastian had thought all along he was stalling because deep down he wasn’t sure Darlene was the one.

No matter what the reason, his method of operation hadn’t suited Darlene, and he’d lost her. Maybe she hadn’t been the one, but she’d been a big part of his life for a good many years, and he still couldn’t think of her without getting a lump in his throat.

Except now he could. Boone’s eyes snapped open as he realized he’d been thinking about Darlene for several minutes, and his throat felt perfectly fine. Testing himself, he conjured up the pictures that usually sent him into deep depression—Darlene in a wedding dress, Darlene standing in front of the preacher with Chester Littlefield, Darlene and Chester in bed together.

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