Her Forever Cowboy (Harland County Series Book 4)

by Donna Michaels

  “See?” Kevin winked. “Even McJollyRancher gets it.”

  She laughed, despite the vice squeezing her heart. These people were so nice. So was the town. Heck, the whole county. She didn’t want to leave. Harland County was ideal. The perfect environment to raise her daughter. Good people who worked hard for a living and helped each other out.

  All eyes were on her again. She just hated to air her dirty laundry. Especially to them. It was so embarrassing. But, if they could help…she rubbed her tattoo. If she truly wanted to stay and raise Amelia in such a wonderful town, then she had to take them up on their offer. Had to at least try.

  For Amelia.

  She cleared her throat, not looking anyone in the eye, and instead gazed at her thumb as she continued to rub her wrist. Just staring at the dragonfly gave her strength. “It’s my deadbeat dad. He’s out of prison. Greedy. Has connections. No morals. Bastard wants the death benefit money I received when Bobby died.” He made her sick. She shot to her feet, pushed through the wall of McCall and began to pace. “We constantly move. I changed our names, but I know it’s only a matter of time before he figures that out. I was just hoping Caitlin would have her degree by then and I’d have my…” She swallowed a curse. It wasn’t fair; she could kiss her GED goodbye this time. And she’d already started the first week of classes.

  Dammit.

  “You’re what?” Kevin prompted.

  She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. But do you see now? It’s better that I go.”

  “No, it isn’t,” the cowboy said, walking right up to her and pulling her into his arms. “Let us help you.”

  She closed her eyes and pretending—just for a second, that he was right—she sighed and hugged him close. He was warm, and welcoming, and smelled really, really good. All woodsy and male. She inhaled deeply. Yeah, so good. But it wasn’t his warmth or great scent that got to Shayla. No. It was the fact that, for the first time since her father was released after her mother had testified against the bastard and put him away, Shayla felt safe.

  Never in a million years did she ever expect to feel that in Kevin Dalton’s arms. Lust, a deep wracking need, yes. And she had. But safe? She didn’t see that coming.

  He hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be all right. You’ll see.”

  It already was all right. Too all right. And because she enjoyed the safe, warm cocoon of his arms, she pushed out and stood tall. Way too dangerous to become dependent on someone now. Maybe once her dad left her alone. Or was back in prison.

  Like that was going to happen.

  “So, Kade, what’s our next move?” Kevin asked, facing his cousin.

  “Yeah, buddy,” Connor stepped close. “What do you need us to do?”

  Cole slipped his arm around his wife and nodded. “We’re very resourceful. Whatever you need, it’s done.”

  “Well, first thing is to get that video off the net.”

  “Already done,” Jordan said, raising her phone. “Called Mr. McCall and asked him to remove it.”

  The sheriff nodded. “We have no way of knowing if Lyle saw it, so we’re going to go on the assumption he did. That means you need to lay low, Shayla.” Gray eyes bore deep. “But not here. We’re going to move you for a few days. Jordan and I will keep watch on the place and see if anyone suspicious turns up.”

  Her stomach knotted. She hated to put people out. Hated the not knowing. Hated that she had to put her life on hold for that bastard. But she’d do what she must to keep her family safe.

  She nodded. “What about Caitlin?”

  The deputy exchanged a look with the sheriff then turned to face Shayla. “Let her be. We don’t know anything yet. No sense in upsetting her routine. I’ll alert campus security. It’s up to you if you want to alert Caitlin.”

  “Yes.” She didn’t hesitate. Not knowing was a one-way ticket to trouble. And her sister sure didn’t need trouble. “I’ll tell her about the video and to keep her eyes peeled.”

  She inhaled, feeling a little better, knowing her sister could stay in school and with protection. Her gaze shifted to the sheriff. “So, what about me and Amelia? Do you want us to go to a hotel or something?”

  “Actually, I’m thinking you need to leave town.” The sheriff’s gaze bounced to his cousin. “Maybe lay low in Houston for a few days.”

  Kevin nodded. “Good idea, cuz. We can be there in an hour.”

  “Wait.” She placed a hand on the cowboy’s chest and narrowed her gaze on him. “What do you mean we?”

  “We as in you, me and Amelia,” he clarified, but did a piss-poor job. “I have a penthouse in Houston. You’ll be safe there.”

  A penthouse? Jesus, what had she gotten herself into?

  “Perfect.” Jordan nodded, touching her arm. “It’ll only be for a few days, right, Sheriff?”

  Kade nodded. “Yes. No more than a week. I’ll give you a call, Shayla, when I think it’s safe.”

  A week.

  Alone with Kevin.

  In a penthouse.

  Who was going to keep her safe from herself?

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning, Kevin stood in his kitchen cooking his famous bacon, mac and cheese omelet when he heard stirrings from his female guests. Good. He’d hoped the delicious smells weren’t only enticing his growling gut. His guests needed to come from behind their locked door.

  And he knew it was locked because he’d tried it last night when he’d heard Shayla quietly crying. She’d insisted on sleeping on the twin bed in the room where he’d had the concierge set up a crib. With two other bedrooms in the penthouse, she had more comfortable choices, but given the day’s events, he wasn’t surprised when she’d chosen to stay with her daughter.

  The thought of what she must’ve gone through rippled his gut. Things had to be bad if the woman legally changed her and her sister’s names. His mind had latched on to the mystery of her name, but knew he had no chance of ever finding out. And, really, what did it matter? He gave himself a mental shake. They were barely friends. She certainly didn’t need to reveal that to him. Still, he did wonder. Kind of like a missing puzzle piece.

  He hated missing puzzle pieces.

  As the beauties emerged from down the hall, he did the mental shake thing again, and slid the omelets on three plates, then set them on the table.

  “Kebie!” Amelia squealed, then released her mother’s hand to rush through the open living room, straight into his arms.

  He scooped up the smiling bundle of sunshine in a pretty purple jumper. “Good morning, pumpkin. Don’t you look pretty today.”

  “Kebie,” she repeated, laying another of her wonderful, wet kisses on his cheek.

  Wonder if he could get one from her pretty momma? He glanced at the approaching woman wearing hip-hugging jeans, emerald T-shirt and a frown.

  “Why are you here?” she asked, sliding into a chair, blue gaze direct, and just a little bit annoyed.

  “That’s the funny thing, darlin’.” He winked, deciding to keep things light. “I own the place,” he replied, hooking her daughter in the highchair they’d hauled from Harland County.

  Last night, Shayla had insisted they take enough ‘familiar’ things so her daughter wasn’t freaked out by the change of scenery. Seemed to work. He studied the little sweetheart. Amelia sat babbling while she pounded the tray with her fork. In her left hand. A smile tugged his lips.

  Southpaws rule.

  “I know that, you goof,” her mom said, leaning toward her daughter to tie a yellow bib around the little angel’s neck. “I mean, why aren’t you at work?”

  “Oh.” He shrugged. “Bossman told me to take the day off.”

  She settled back in her seat with a humph. “Look, Kevin. It’s bad enough my life is turned upside down. I don’t want you to be put out, too.”

  Enough with the kid gloves. He reached across the table and grabbed her knotted hands. “Look at me, Shayla.” He waited for her blue gaze to rise, then
continued. “If I had something pressing to do today, I would’ve gone in to work. I promise.”

  She studied him a moment, then seemed satisfied with whatever she saw, because she nodded and relaxed under his touch. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” he repeated, giving her a light squeeze before releasing her to dig into his steaming omelet. “Now, eat up. Melted cheese is always best eaten while warm.”

  She put a forkful in her mouth, closed her eyes and moaned.

  Ah, hell. His body tightened in response. He wasn’t getting up anytime soon. Jeans were cutting off the circulation to his brain. He swallowed. Hard. Then forced his gaze away from the ecstasy lining her face. Damn. If that’s how she looked with a mouthful of bacon, egg and cheese, how the hell would she look if he was buried deep inside her?

  The image those words conjured shot his blood pressure to unsafe, and need rushed through his body in a fierce, unrelenting wave. Son-of-a-bitch. He gripped the edge of the table, clenched his jaw and concentrated on opening doors and window in his mind-palace. He needed to relieve the pressure before it relieved itself in an unwelcomed, messy way.

  Cripes. He hadn’t had a mess in his pants since the seventh grade when Missy Phelps shoved his hand under her bra in the barn. That was his first, and last, mishap. But if he wasn’t careful, he was going to up that number to two.

  The redhead was potent. He reached for his glass of water and downed every last drop.

  “You okay?” Baby blues blinked at him from across the table.

  “Yep.” He nodded, picking up his fork and stabbing his eggs. Best to focus on breakfast. Not dessert. And if she could just not moan again, he’d be able to get through the meal without incident. Yeah, that would help.

  “How’s Mrs. Avery?”

  A good subject. A safe subject. He stared straight at the woman and sent her a reassuring smile. “She’s good. I talked to Jace an hour ago, and he said she hasn’t had any problems. Then, of course, she had to grab his phone and proceed to interrogate me about you.”

  “Me?” Shayla inhaled. “You mean she doesn’t hate me?”

  “Of course not. It’ll take a h…ole lot more than that to upset the ole’ gal.” He glanced at Amelia, glad to see she hadn’t picked up on his almost slip of the tongue. He could hear Mrs. Avery now. ‘Mustn’t cuss near the baby.’ His gaze bounced back to Shayla. “She is worried about you, though. Made me promise to tell you not to worry, and that your secret is safe with her.”

  Anxiety pinched her face. She set her fork down and leaned back in her chair. “Do you think she’ll tell her quilting buddies? Because the more who know, the better chance he’ll find me.”

  “Mrs. Avery won’t tell a soul. I promise,” he replied. “That woman is a rock. Impenetrable and strong. Your secret is more than safe with her.”

  The single mother stared at him a moment, then apparently satisfied with what she saw in his eyes again, she released a breath and nodded. “Okay. Good.”

  “Yes, it is. So, eat up.” He glanced at his watch, then back at his pretty guest. “I have the car picking us up out front in a half-hour.”

  “Car? What for?”

  “To take us to Sea World, of course.”

  “Sea World?” She balked. “But that’s hours away.”

  “Three hours and eight minutes, depending on traffic.”

  “But…I…it’s early January. It’ll be too cold.”

  He smiled. “It’s supposed to hit sixty-two degrees there today. Stop your stalling. We’ll be there by lunch, and back here by sundown. Let’s go have some fun.”

  Fun.

  They’d had fun all right. So much so, Shayla could honestly say it had been the best day of her life.

  Stepping out of the shower later that night, she dried off and had to admit Kevin had been his usual charming self, and then some. He’d been sweet and attentive, never letting her or Amelia out of his sight. And even when women had hit on him, and there had been plenty, he’d always been polite but firm, telling them he was with her.

  A big shock. She towel dried her hair, then combed it out before slipping into her terry robe. Sure, Kevin had been at the park and she had been at the park. They were there together, but she hadn’t known he was with her. That shouldn’t make her feel so good. Dammit. But it did. Even now, as she double-checked Amelia tuckered out in her crib with the stuffed penguin Kevin bought, which the sweetie insisted on calling a goggy, the euphoria of the whole day spent under his care, in his attention, still had the ability to steel her breath.

  She was being foolish. She knew. Knew it well. The guy had been glued to her because of her situation. Not because he wanted to be with her. And yet, she was good at pretending, which she had done the whole day. Pretended they were together, like any normal couple, having a fun outing.

  A smile still tugged her lips. It had been fun.

  Tip-toeing to the nightstand to grab the monitor receiver, Shayla glanced at the photo a professional photographer had taken of the three of them. It had happened near a picnic area, right after the cute little three-year-old girl Amelia had been playing with saw her father and ran to him yelling daddy. Of course, this prompted her daughter to run to Kevin yelling the same endearment.

  Bless him. He’d scooped her up, not missing a beat, but Shayla could’ve sworn she’d seen a flash of pain and longing darken his eyes, but in a blink it was gone and had her questioning if the emotions had been present at all.

  She slipped the monitor in the pocket of her robe and sighed. None of it made any sense. Now panic, yes, that emotion she could understand going through the Casanova’s eyes. But pain and longing? No, that was crazy. She must’ve misread his expression.

  With a shake of her head, she quietly slipped from the room, hoping to grab something cold to drink and watch a little television without disturbing her host. He’d disappeared into his room when they’d gotten back. Amelia no doubt tuckered the guy out. Shayla wished she was tired. For some reason, she was all keyed up.

  Probably the business with her deadbeat dad.

  Her gaze scanned the living room she approached. So inviting and warm. She had to admit, she was a bit stunned by Kevin’s penthouse. Having expected cold, modern, black and white, sleek furniture and decor, Shayla had been pleasantly surprised last night to walk into an apartment done in rich, warm earth tones. Beautiful, polished, mahogany wood floors ran throughout the penthouse with taupe walls, rich mahogany furniture in the bedrooms and living room, including an ornate coffee table with matching end tables, and a gorgeous six-foot credenza against a wall. Floor to ceiling windows ran along the east side, capturing a breathtaking sunrise earlier that morning. She’d come out for a glass of water and stood, transfixed, watching the golden mass rise and illuminate the Houston skyline. Truly amazing.

  Like Kevin’s couch.

  In the middle of the room sat the biggest, softest looking couch she’d ever seen, and it had a chaise built right in. Shayla was itching to sprawl out on the piece with a good book. Too bad she didn’t have one with her. But there was a giant sixty-inch television above a stunning stone fireplace.

  That would do.

  She glanced behind her at the closed bedroom doors. The television appeared to be far enough away from them. She didn’t think she’d disturb Amelia or Kevin if she sat down and watched a show or two.

  Flipping on the baby monitor in her pocket, happiness lightened her steps, and rounding the corner to the living room, she let out a startled squeak as she smacked into a hard, warm…naked wall.

  “Sorry, darlin’. Are you okay?” asked the naked wall, grasping her arms, nothing but a towel covering his lower half.

  She nodded, because thanks to her reflexes, her palms were flat on some incredible pecs, and the feel of warm, wet skin and sprinkling of hair did funny things to her insides. Like steal her voice, and breath, and made her dizzy, and perked her nipples.

  She had a hankering to drizzle him in chocolate sauce and lick him clean. Tw
ice.

  Stifling a moan, she hoped to goodness her robe was thick enough to camouflage her suddenly, heavy, needy breasts, reaching out, yearning to press into the hot, hard, sexy sinew that was Kevin. His gaze dropped right to them. Guess not. He clenched his jaw, tightened his grasp, then lifted his gaze. A deep, navy, hungry gaze.

  Holy cowboys…

  “Shayla?”

  She swallowed, despite her suddenly dry throat. “Yeah?”

  “Are you wearing anything under that robe?”

  Funny how she was parched up north and wet down south. She slowly shook her head. “N-no.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  He continued to stare at her, through eyes that held a similar delicious promise his kisses had held in the past. Shayla knew she should run. She should release his tantalizing flesh, step out of his grasp, and turn and run like a little girl to her room.

  But she didn’t. In fact, she didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Mostly because she couldn’t feel her legs and something was squeezing her chest real tight.

  “You need to stop looking at me like that,” he breathed, voice rough, and sexy as hell. “You’re making it very hard for me to be a gentleman.”

  Her need for him was too damn strong. She was so done. No more fighting this physical attraction.

  “Maybe I don’t want you to be.” She cocked her head and skimmed her hands down his ridges, delighting in the way his flesh quivered under her touch.

  He released her arms to clamp her wrists with his hands. “Be very careful, darlin’. We’ve already established we’re combustible.”

  “I know,” she said, fingering his happy trail.

  “Shayla.” He groaned. “You’re killing me.”

  “That’s not my intention.”

  Uttering an oath, he plastered her against the nearest wall and lifted her hands above her head. “What kind of game are you playing?”

  “It’s no game, Kevin,” she said, need rushing through her body so fast she shook. “I want you. You want me. It’s a matter of fulfilling each other’s need.”