Return of the Cowgirl

by Eve Gaddy

  “If I am married, and I don’t believe I am, then my husband is a criminal who I was so afraid of that I ran away regardless of the fact I was carrying his child.”

  “Maybe the baby wasn’t his. Maybe you’re in love with someone else,” he said a little desperately. “The father of your baby.”

  “You’re really grasping at straws, aren’t you? I think the fact that I was on the run proves that whoever the father was, I didn’t want any part of him.”

  “Maybe.”

  “What are you so afraid of? Or are you not attracted to me and you’re having a hard time telling me that?”

  He let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, I wish that was the problem.” He looked at her and shook his head. “Stop looking at me like that. You’re a beautiful woman and I’m a single man who hasn’t been with a woman in way too long.”

  She was full-out smiling now.

  “Damn it, Glenna, we’re all alone here. The room is soundproof. I could do anything I wanted to you and you couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”

  “Oh, yes, I could.” She walked to the nightstand and picked up his gun. “I could shoot you.”

  “You could try. But you might miss. I taught you how to disarm a gunman. Do you really think I couldn’t disarm you?”

  “This is stupid, Mitch,” she said, laying down the gun. “You’re not going to do anything I don’t want you to do, and I’m not going to shoot you.”

  This was getting way out of hand. He decided the only way to deal with it was to ignore it. “I’m going to order dinner.”

  “Chicken.”

  He picked up the receiver and looked at her. “Damn straight.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Last night it had taken Glenna a long time to fall asleep. She spent a while thinking about what had passed between her and Mitch. And what hadn’t happened.

  That went well, Ms. Realist said.

  Hey, he admitted he was attracted to me, Ms. Ever-hopeful answered.

  Sort of. It wasn’t much of an admission. What do you think you’re doing?

  If you must know, I wondered if kissing Mitch might bring back some memories. Like of the father of my baby. You know, the baby I can’t remember either?

  Oh, bullshit. You want to kiss him because you think he’s hot. It has nothing to do with getting your memory back.

  Not true. Or not totally. I like him. He’s an interesting guy. I feel like I know him, which at this point is a huge plus. Besides, Mitch makes me feel safe. And right now I find that extremely attractive.

  Was it any wonder she dreamed about him when she finally fell asleep?

  And now it was morning. Time to get out of South America and into the US. To see her family, a family she didn’t know from a hole in the ground.

  “How long is our flight?” Glenna asked Mitch, pouring herself another cup of coffee from the breakfast tray he’d ordered.

  “The one to Houston is about ten hours. Then we have a layover overnight. There aren’t any flights to Bozeman until the next day.”

  “So we’ll be traveling for two days.”

  “You got it.”

  She’d have some time in the US before getting to Montana. More time with Mitch. Would he leave Marietta as soon as he dropped her off? Or would he stick around for a while? Maybe he would, since his brother lived there.

  Glenna was jumpy, half expecting someone to snatch her walking into the airport or even at the gate. But they made it on board without any problems.

  The flight was long and boring. Even though Glenna had bought a book at the airport gift store, she couldn’t get into it. Mitch ignored her, or tried to. She caught him watching her several times during the flight, when she’d thought he was asleep, but he never said much. Mostly, he slept. Or pretended to.

  Glenna tried to sleep but couldn’t. She tried several more times to read but the book she’d picked up—without reading the description—was about an abused woman running for her life. That hit too close to home, even though she didn’t actually know what had happened to her.

  Even so, she knew she’d been on the run at least since leaving the hospital. According to Mitch, for longer than that. Running, so Mitch thought, from the Villareals. She searched her mind for any memories of the Villareals or the ranch she’d lived on for a number of years. Bits and pieces. Fragments of dreams, scenes she couldn’t be sure were true or imagined.

  What was Rolando Villareal like—besides being a criminal? What made her leave the ranch? Finding out the Villareals were running a counterfeiting operation or was it something else? Something worse?

  “Mitch, wake up.” She shook his arm.

  “What?” He came awake instantly, sat up and looked around. “We aren’t there yet, are we?”

  “No, we still have hours. Have you heard anything from Felix?”

  He looked annoyed as he settled back in his seat. “You woke me up to ask that? No. For one thing, I’m not paying for an Internet connection when we’ll have one free tonight. For another, Felix only heard our story yesterday. He needs to verify that the money is counterfeit and he needs time to contact the proper authorities if it is.”

  “What if nothing comes of it? What if the Argentinian authorities blow him off? What if they’re on the Villareal’s payroll?”

  “Every law enforcement agency in Argentina can’t be on their payroll. Stop worrying. It’s out of our hands. Felix will handle it. You’ve done what you can and now you need to concentrate on getting your memory back and being with your family. Let the rest of it go.”

  They checked into separate rooms at the hotel. She shouldn’t need a bodyguard in the States. One more night and another plane ride and he could turn Glenna over to her family. The thought should have been a relief.

  It wasn’t.

  He should have been happy that the job was nearly done.

  He wasn’t.

  He could go back to Texas, leaving any further investigation of Glenna’s case to his assistant, and take another job. A job that could lead him anywhere. Like back to South America, or anywhere else in the world. That’s what he did. He liked moving around. Staying in one place for too long didn’t suit him.

  Still, he could afford to take some time off to visit Austin. He hadn’t seen his brother in months. Austin was always after him to come to Marietta and stay awhile. Here was the perfect opportunity.

  Of course it had nothing to do with Glenna Gallagher. Glenna, who he wouldn’t be responsible for much longer. Glenna, who he’d wanted to kiss almost from the first time he saw her, sitting alone in the café in Chile. Glenna, who would have kissed him last night if he could have left his scruples behind.

  She should be able to make her own decisions. Damn it, she was a grown woman.

  A grown woman with amnesia, bozo.

  He heard a knock and then Glenna’s voice, asking, “Are you ready to get some dinner?”

  He opened the door and did a double take. Upon arriving at the hotel, she’d “borrowed” some money and gone to the gift shop. As a result, she wore a shirt he’d never seen and for the first time since he’d known her, she wore makeup. Her eyes looked enormous, with long black lashes and the color a deep emerald green. Her lips were fire-engine red, slick and inviting. She wore a simple, white, button-down blouse that on her looked anything but simple. Her jeans were the same ones she’d been wearing, tight enough to be very distracting when they weren’t paired with an oversized, long top.

  And her hair. Jesus help me, her hair. It had obviously just been washed. It gleamed dark red, full, curling and spilling over her shoulders and down her back. He wanted to sink his hands in her hair, tilt her head back, and ravage her with his mouth. And his hands. And any part of his body he could rub against her.

  “Mitch? Why are you staring at me?”

  My God, he was nearly struck dumb. “I’m not,” he gritted out. He stepped out into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

  It was going to be a long night. At least t
hey were eating at the hotel, so the meal probably wouldn’t take long.

  Wrong again. The service was excruciatingly slow.

  “Do you suppose the waitress forgot to put in our order?” Glenna said after half an hour.

  “I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe she did.” He flagged her down. “Do you know how much longer our food is going to be?”

  “I’ll go check.”

  “While you’re back there bring us some bread.”

  “That will cost extra.”

  He barely stopped himself from saying, “I don’t give a flying shit what it costs, just bring us some food.” But he managed to control himself. “Fine. Just bring us the bread, and soon.”

  After she left, Glenna shot him a mischievous glance. “I thought you were going to explode when she said it would cost extra.”

  “I’m surprised I didn’t.” His mood had nothing to do with hunger—not hunger that could be cured with food, anyway. The waitress brought out the bread, assured them that their meal would be there soon and left.

  Mitch picked up a piece of bread, slapped some butter on it and stuffed some in his mouth. “She said soon at least forty-five minutes ago,” he grumbled after he swallowed.

  Glenna helped herself to a piece of bread. “Too bad neither of us is drinking. I know why I’m not but why don’t you? Because you’re on the job? You’re not still worried about someone following us, are you?”

  “No.” Although there was nothing to stop the Villareals from hiring someone in the States to come for Glenna. They would almost certainly know she would be going to Montana, though they couldn’t be sure where they came into the US. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Meaning you think they’ll keep looking for me?”

  “No way of knowing. But you’ll be fine at your family ranch. Marietta is a small town and strangers stick out.”

  “That’s comforting. I guess.” She ate another piece of bread. “You never did say why you don’t drink. Am I being too nosy?”

  “No, it’s not a secret. I limit myself to one drink, and there’s a good reason for that.”

  “What is it?”

  “Not it. Her. Eliana.”

  “Your ex?”

  “Yes. We got married in Vegas, during a long, drunken weekend. I was really young and really stupid once. I don’t plan to repeat it.”

  “Do you honestly think you could be taken in again?”

  “No, but I’m going to make damn sure I’m not.”

  She tilted her head and studied him. “I think you’re much too cynical to fall for a con again.”

  “Not cynical. Realistic.” Their eyes met and he added, “I have a weakness for beautiful women.”

  She laughed. “Well, that lets me out.”

  “Are you kidding?” She didn’t know she was beautiful? “Have you looked in a mirror recently?”

  “Yes, right before dinner. I saw a redhead with freckles. Hardly a femme fatale.”

  Good God, she was serious. He shook his head. He knew they were getting into dangerous territory but he couldn’t leave it alone. “I don’t know how to break it to you, Glenna, but you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met.”

  She stared at him. “Wh—Wh—What did you say?”

  “Here’s your dinner,” the waitress said, plopping their dishes down in front of them. “Sorry it took so long.”

  Glenna sat unmoving, staring at him.

  “Eat your dinner,” he said, and applied himself to his.

  Chapter Fourteen

  How can he say something like that and then just calmly eat his dinner? Clearly, he was finished discussing it. Glenna tried to pretend like it was no big deal but it was. She’d worked hard the last few months to become invisible. And she’d succeeded because no one had given her a second glance. Exactly what she had wanted.

  When she’d changed her hair color back to the original red, she’d thought she looked good. Or at least better.

  But it was an undeniable shock to discover that Mitch thought she was beautiful.

  Neither of them said much through the rest of dinner. She had no clue what Mitch was thinking about but she was wrestling with her feelings about him. Obviously, she was crushing on him. Because he was protective, understanding, and totally, seriously hot? Or simply because he was the only man she knew? How was she supposed to know the answer to that?

  Their rooms were on the same floor, a couple of doors down from each other. Mitch walked her to her door and waited while she got out her key card and opened it. “Tomorrow’s the day,” she said.

  “You look like you’re nervous.”

  “Of course I am. I’m meeting my ‘family’,” she said, making air quotes, “for the first time.”

  “Relax. They’re good guys. And they’re all married, except Dylan, and he’s engaged. You’ll have some women to talk to as well. You won’t feel out of place for long.”

  Sure I won’t. And once I see them I’ll instantly regain my memory.

  Fat chance.

  “What if they hate me?”

  “Your brothers? Why would they?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe their wives won’t like me.”

  “Now you’re just worrying to be worrying. There’s no reason the wives won’t like you.”

  Maybe. “Do you want to come in?” She didn’t know why she asked when she knew he wouldn’t.

  He smiled and shook his head. Then he touched the back of his fingers to her cheek, a gentle brush that nevertheless sent a little thrill up her spine. “Get some sleep.”

  Sleep. Would she dream of her past? Something important from her past? Or would she dream about Mitch? Her money was on Mitch.

  Getting to Montana was a long, if uneventful trip. They had to stop and change planes twice, which was a pain. But they finally arrived in Bozeman around mid-afternoon. After they landed, Mitch rented a car and they were on their way—all too soon for Glenna’s comfort.

  “They’re your family, not your enemy,” Mitch said after they’d been driving a while.

  Glenna yanked her gaze away from the Gallatin mountains to the east of them, to look at Mitch. “I know that. Why would you say that?”

  “Because you’ve hardly said a word since we got in the car at the airport and your expression is more suitable for someone facing a firing squad than it is for someone about to see their family.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” she snapped, though he had a point. “I’m a little nervous. BFD.”

  Mitch laughed. “Apparently, it is a big fucking deal. You’re more wound up now than you were after the failed kidnapping attempt.”

  Since that was true, she didn’t dispute him. Instead she said, “They may be seeing me but I’ll be meeting them. What if it’s all a big mistake and I’m not really her? What if once they see me in person they know I’m a fraud? What do I do then?”

  “You are Glenna Gallagher. I’m as sure of that as I am my own name, and I don’t have amnesia. How many times do I have to tell you that you are Glenna?”

  “A lot.” She answered to the name Glenna now. Mitch had been calling her by that name since they met, and by now it didn’t sound so strange. But she didn’t feel like Glenna Gallagher, the long-missing sister. She didn’t know who she felt like, only that it wasn’t this woman the Gallagher family badly wanted her to be.

  Mitch pulled off the road. “We’re getting close to the turnoff. Take some time to pull yourself together. Look around. See if any of the scenery rings any bells.”

  They had been in Paradise Valley for a good while now, heading south on Highway 69. It was beautiful, with the trees and fields turning green in the late spring weather. The horses and cows were out in the fields, along with their offspring. Crops were growing, some just starting, some more established. It was a breathtaking panorama of land, set in between two mountain ranges: the Absaroka to the east and the Gallatins to the west.

  And none of it was one bit familiar.

  Her distress mu
st have shown on her face because Mitch put his hand on her shoulder with a comforting squeeze. “Don’t push it. Your memory will come back when it’s ready.”

  She felt tears prick at her eyes and furiously willed them away. She refused to believe she was a crybaby on top of everything else. “You can’t possibly know that.”

  “Thinking the worst won’t get you anything but upset. Will you let me set you up with my brother? I don’t know if he can help you, but if he can’t he might know someone who can.”

  His brother, the neurologist. What the hell. It couldn’t hurt. “All right. Thanks.”

  “Anytime. I wish I could do more.”

  “You can.” She leaned across the console and said, “Kiss me.”

  “That won’t help you remember anything.”

  “I don’t care. That’s not why I asked. I don’t know how long you’re planning to stick around but I don’t want you to leave without at least getting to kiss you.”

  He looked into her eyes for a long moment but didn’t speak.

  “And don’t pretend you don’t want to. I may have amnesia but I’m not stupid.”

  “Hell,” he muttered. He put his hands on either side of her face, brought her close and kissed her.

  My God, did he kiss her.

  His lips were soft, his mouth moved over hers slowly. His tongue slipped inside her mouth, tasting, teasing. Slow. Deliberate. Achingly hot. She tasted him as he tasted her, until her breasts tingled and an ache throbbed between her thighs. He kissed her as if he had all day, as if kissing her was his sole focus. Glenna put her arms around his neck, wishing they weren’t in the car so that she could get closer to him.

  Finally, Mitch broke the kiss and dropped his hands, moving away from her at the same time.

  As first kisses went, it was a doozy. Not that she could remember any other kisses. Still, something told her that kissing Mitch had been anything but ordinary. Glenna put her fingers to her mouth. “Wow.”