Cowboy to the Core

by Joanna Wayne

  “Just more of the weekend from hell.”

  His eyebrows arched questioningly.

  “I’ll explain later.” When she figured out exactly what she was going to do with this new information.

  Marcus slipped his arms around her waist. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you, but you sounded great up there crooning those romantic ballads. You didn’t tell me you could sing.”

  “And now that you’ve heard me, you know why.”

  “You could sing me to sleep any night.”

  Marcus. The truth hit her like a thunderbolt.

  He was the reasoning behind all of this. She should have realized it from the beginning. He hadn’t dropped into her life for her protection. He was here for Ella’s. It wasn’t just any bodyguard Dani should hire.

  That should make it easier to walk away from him in a few minutes and head back to Austin on her own. It still wouldn’t be easy, not with him looking at her like she was the topping on a sundae and just waiting to be devoured.

  He trailed a finger down her cheek, letting it stop at her lips.

  She struggled for breath. “I have a proposition for you, Marcus.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Chapter Seven

  “I want to hire you to protect Ella Somerville.”

  Dani’s statement did serious damage to Marcus’s ego. He dropped his hands to his sides. “Is that your solution for getting rid of me?”

  “No. I was getting rid of you anyway. Wait, that didn’t come out the way I meant it to.” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m going back to Austin this afternoon. I definitely don’t need protection there, but I think Ella might.”

  “She may,” Marcus agreed, “but I can’t take her on.”

  “Why not?”

  “I have a woman to protect in Austin. I’m good, but I can’t be in two places at once.”

  She put her hands out, palms up and looked at him with those expressive, pleading eyes that could have melted an iceberg. “My hiring you was a mistake, Marcus. I never needed protection. It was Ella Somerville who was in danger. I misread the visions, but they’re perfectly clear now. I’ll pay you your standard protection rate. What is it, by the way?”

  “The price is negotiable. If you want to hire protection for Ella, I’ll arrange it, either with Cutter or with a bodyguard service out of Houston, but I’m going to Austin. End of argument.”

  She crossed her arms in front of her and struck a stubborn stance. “I’m not in danger, Marcus. What part of that don’t you get?”

  “The part where you’re wearing a green velvet ball gown and someone pushes a dagger into your heart.”

  “But it wasn’t me. It was just a woman who looked like me.”

  “In that case, I won’t charge overtime.”

  Her cheeks grew red. “If this is your idea of finding a way to get into my bed, it isn’t going to work.”

  Exactly the kind of accusation he’d expected when he’d made his decision. He had the argument for that. “You’re sexy, intelligent and spunky, Dani—all the qualities that I like in a woman. And if you want me in your bed, all you have to do is wiggle a finger in my direction. But that’s not why I’m following you to Austin.”

  “You won’t like my town house. It’s in the center of the business area, not on a ranch.”

  “I doubt we’ll be spending a lot of time there.”

  “You’re definitely not following me to Duran Muton, Marcus Abbot.”

  He adjusted his sunglasses. “We’ll work out the details later.”

  She groaned and marched away from him. She was furious, but he’d won the argument. That would do for now. He wasn’t psychic, but his instincts for pending disaster had never betrayed him.

  His cell phone rang. He took the call. It was Cutter.

  “I have some information on Ella Somerville.”

  “Fast work,” Marcus said.

  “I had help from Eduardo, best tech man in the business.”

  Cutter was lucky the guy was available for part-time research whenever they needed him. “Does Ella have a rap sheet?”

  “Not as Ella Somerville, but that could be an alias.”

  “How’s that?”

  “The Ella Somerville whose social security number was used at the hospital has been dead for two years. Not sure how Ella got the number, but she has a Missouri driver’s license under the same information.”

  “Were you able to find any employee records?”

  “Nothing.”

  Marcus pulled a black notebook from his back pocket and started scribbling notes. “What about her current stats?”

  “She manages one of the dress shops and has been traveling the Renaissance circuit and living with one of the jousters for the past few months. The guy’s name is Kevin Flanders.”

  “Did you run a check on him?”

  “It’s in the works. Early feedback indicates he may be operating under a fake name as well.”

  “Have the police learned anything new from Ella?”

  “She hasn’t spoken to them at all as yet. The doctor says she’s not responding to verbal stimuli, meaning she may be scared to talk. At least that’s how I read that. What about you? Did you pick up any info from the wedding guests?”

  “Pretty much the same, except that I also heard that Kevin, or Kev as he’s known around here, is hotheaded and likes to gamble. A friend of the best man who also travels the festival route says Kev tried to borrow five hundred dollars from him a few weeks ago. When he told him no, Kevin made some threats of violence. The guy didn’t take him seriously.”

  “Not sure why Ella would want to follow him around the country but there is nothing there to tie him to trying to kill her,” Cutter noted.

  “No, but someone wanted her dead, which leads me to one other complication. Dani wants me to protect Ella until the perpetrator is arrested.”

  “What did you tell her?” Cutter asked.

  “That I already had a job. It took some convincing, but I think she’s finally accepted that I’m going back to Austin with her until there’s an arrest or we get a better handle on the situation and know she’s safe.”

  “Why would Dani assume responsibility for the safety of a virtual stranger?”

  “I’m not sure. Something to do with seeing her stabbed, I think.” He was really uncomfortable not giving Cutter the full truth. He’d talk with Dani about that. Client privilege shouldn’t rule out his being able to discuss the business of her protection with his boss and confidant.

  “I’d take on Ella’s protection for her,” Cutter said, “but I’m meeting with a bigwig from Homeland Security tomorrow afternoon regarding a top-secret investigation of drug dealers in Texas border towns.”

  “Covert, dangerous and going after the bad guys. That sounds right up your alley.”

  “Yeah. I’m hoping we can come to an agreement, meaning he’s going to let me run my own show my way. But there are plenty of good agencies in Houston that can supply a bodyguard if Ms. Somerville agrees to the arrangement. I’m not sure that she will, considering she’s not talking to the cops.”

  Marcus spotted Dani off to his right, in a circle of people standing near the rose-bedecked altar. From the looks of the hugging going on, she was bidding the bride and groom farewell. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll keep you posted if I learn anything new, and you do the same.”

  They broke the connection, and Marcus stood for a minute watching Dani. The sun lit her hair with streaks of gold, and her smile was devastating in spite of all she’d been through. Damn. He had to get past this attraction.

  The woman had only been in his life for a little more than twenty-four hours and already she had him panting after her. He couldn’t remember any woman crawling under his skin that fast.

  It could be the intrigue and danger she brought to the relationship, or maybe just that she was such a fascinating mix of sophistication and warmth, of secrets and vulnerability. Or it
could be that she was a knockout with her fabulous body, cute nose, full lips and expressive eyes.

  Hell, it was all of that, but he’d keep his libido in check if it took a dozen cold showers a day. He was here to protect, not to seduce. And the last thing he needed was to fall for a city girl like Dani, who probably had a dozen Austin businessmen fawning all over her. His heart wasn’t up to being stomped on again.

  On the other hand, one night with Dani might be worth the pain.

  THE GIRLS DRIPPED glittery fairy dust as they maneuvered their unwieldy wings into the backseat of Marcus’s truck. They were talking a mile a minute, mostly about the festival.

  It wasn’t that they were insensitive to Ella Somerville’s plight—they’d asked about her as soon as they’d woken this morning. But the Renaissance wedding had been unique and exciting for them and pretty much pushed last night’s violence from their minds. Dani envied them for that.

  She hadn’t told them yet that Marcus would be going back to Austin with them and staying in the guest room for a few days. Needless to say, Celeste would be thrilled. He’d won her over the second she’d found out he lived on a ranch with horses. Both she and Katie had already finagled invitations to return to the Double M for a short vacation next summer.

  Dani was still dubious about Marcus’s insistence to be her protector. She was flattered by his concern, but the chemistry between them grew more combustible by the second. This wasn’t supposed to happen to people her age. Not that she was old at thirty-three, but she was well past the instant-infatuation stage.

  Only it was happening.

  Marcus slid behind the wheel of his truck. “Ready to roll?”

  Celeste pulled off her worse-for-wear wings, accidentally bouncing them off the back of Marcus’s head in the process. “Sorry. I don’t think fairies are supposed to ride in trucks.”

  “Maybe they ride horses,” Marcus said.

  “Ooh. Lucky fairies,” Celeste crooned. “Can we go horseback riding before we drive back to Austin?”

  “Yeah, can we?” Katie added. “Puh-leeze. We don’t have school tomorrow so we don’t have to do homework or go to bed early.”

  “I’ll be glad to take you riding,” Marcus said, “but you’ll have to clear it with Dani.”

  The chorus of pleading was louder than the crickets had been last night. They didn’t have school tomorrow due to a teacher’s conference, but she did have work. Still, another hour or two wouldn’t put them home all that late.

  “You love to ride, Mom,” Celeste said. “And you won’t have to follow that same old trail that you think is so boring when we go to the stable near our house.”

  “I didn’t bring riding clothes.”

  Marcus pulled onto the highway. “You can borrow some old jeans from Linney. In fact, since the girls don’t have school tomorrow, the three of you could just stay over another night. We can build a fire out back and roast wieners and marshmallows.”

  That bought a whoop and holler from the girls. Marcus was not making this easy. But if she stayed, it would likely mean her spending the night again in the cozy cabin with Marcus. No chaperones. No one to know if he kissed her again. No one to know if the temptation grew out of control and she ended up in his bed.

  Her insides started to melt at the thought.

  Marcus nudged his black hat back a few inches, letting a lock of dark hair fall over his forehead. “If you’d like, we can drive to the hospital in The Woodlands after the horseback ride. You can talk to Ella Somerville and see for yourself how she’s doing.”

  Now that was dirty pool.

  Marcus knew she couldn’t turn down that offer and wondered why she hadn’t thought of it herself.

  If Ella was still in as much danger as the masked lady predicted, then she should be glad to accept Dani’s offer of protection. Even better, if her boyfriend, Kevin Flanders, was there and she could see him in person, she might pick up an extrasensory indicator as to whether or not he was behind the attack.

  “Please, Mom.” Celeste leaned forward and put her hands on the back of Dani’s seat. “Let’s stay another night on the ranch. Linney might even let us help with the horses in the morning like we did today.”

  “You can go horseback riding, and I’ll think about spending the night,” she said, though the more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

  She didn’t have any appointments or meetings tomorrow, so it wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice to take a vacation day. She considered Marcus’s offer.

  A horseback ride with a man who could heat her blood with a look and a trip to the hospital all but invited more disturbing visions into her mind. Dani wasn’t sure which frightened her most.

  THE GALLOPING RIDE ACROSS sun-drenched pastures and along shady, wooded trails proved the perfect antidote for the worries and stress that clogged Dani’s mind. Her lungs expanded to take in the brisk, clean air, and her spirits lifted to exhilarating levels.

  She might have gone on like this for hours. The horses shouldn’t. They stopped to rest them beside a meandering river that cut through a forested area. Marcus slid to the ground, looped the reins of his magnificent steed and walked over to help Dani and the girls dismount.

  “Look, there’s a doe,” Celeste called.

  The doe looked up, froze for a second and then darted back into the brush.

  “You frightened it away,” Katie said.

  “You’ll see more,” Marcus said. “This is a popular late-afternoon gathering spot for the herd.”

  Two squirrels scurried across the carpet of pine straw a few feet away and then chased each other up a towering pine tree. A crow squawked at them from a lofty branch.

  Dani stepped around an ant bed. “Nature is alive and well on the Double M.”

  “Yep, the good and the bad,” Marcus said, swatting a horsefly.

  “Can we take a walk along the creek?” Celeste asked.

  “You can,” Marcus said, “but that’s actually Martin River, named after and by Cutter’s great-grandpa when he settled here.”

  “That little stream of water is a river?”

  “Right on. It doesn’t look like much now, but it sometimes overflows the banks when the spring rains set in. It’s full of fish.”

  “And turtles,” Celeste said. “I just saw a big one slide off that log and into the water.”

  Celeste and Katie started walking, following the twisting bank of the rippled waterway. “Don’t get lost,” Dani called after them. “And don’t be gone too long.”

  “Let them explore,” Marcus said. “It’s good for the soul, and there’s nowhere they can go that I can’t track them in a matter of minutes.”

  “Sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “About some things.” Marcus stooped, picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water. “I worked and trained with the best.”

  “How do you train for a special operations unit? From what I’ve heard the tasks you’re called to do are extremely diverse.”

  “The training is just as diverse and more intense than most people can imagine. And it isn’t just about water operations. SEAL stands for sea, earth and land, the elements in which frogmen operate.”

  Marcus kicked away a few pinecones next to the base of a thick-trunked tree. He sat down, stretched out his legs and patted a spot next to him. “Room for one more.”

  She hesitated, then dropped down beside him. A heated flush swept through her as her jean-clad thighs rubbed against his. “Were you pleased when they assigned you to SEAL training?”

  “You’re not assigned. You volunteer, and you can back out anytime you decide you can’t take it. You just ring out and go.”

  “Ring out?”

  “Yeah. There’s a bell. You’re free to ring out anytime, twenty-four hours a day. A lot of guys in my class did.”

  “But not you?”

  “I knew what I wanted and was determined to make the grade. But it was tough. Seven hundred push-ups before breakfast was just
a starter. So was running miles in the sand and doing calisthenics until the sweat caked on you like mud, or walking into the surf with a telephone pole on your back. And if you messed up you got to dip in the cold Pacific waters and roll in the sand. Then you got to spend the rest of the day wet and sandy.”

  “It sounds like torture.”

  “Seemed that way, too, at the time. But in the end, the BUDS training is what ensures that every SEAL team member is able to pull his weight and do the job he’s assigned in any type of climate or terrain and in any situation. It’s also why I don’t believe in giving up.”

  Marcus Abbot, cowboy at heart, had passed all the tests. He was a man among men, yet sitting beside him on this glorious fall afternoon as the sun slid to the horizon, she sensed he was much more than muscle, brawn and determination.

  He caught her hand in his. “Do I sound like a blowhard?”

  “Not at all. What was it like in the heat of battle?”

  “Every battle is different. We worked as a team, and we were always so focused on the action and what was required of each of us that there wasn’t much time for thinking of anything else. It was the quiet hours when we were waiting for the danger that I remember most. That’s when I had time to look at my life and figure out what really matters to me.”

  “What does matter to you, Marcus?”

  “Being true to myself. I’m a simple man. I want to own a ranch, not necessarily a big one, but one where I can raise cattle and horses and have wide-open spaces to roam.”

  “No wife and houseful of kids?”

  “They’re not in the picture at the moment.”

  “No Double M I and P?”

  “At some point, I’ll be ready to give it up. I’ve had a lot of adventures as a SEAL, but I’m just your average cowboy. What you see is what you get.”

  He saw himself as a simple man. She saw him as extremely complicated. Intelligent, strong, brave, honest. Modest. A hero in every sense of the word. Not the kind of man a woman could walk away from easily. Yet someone had.

  “You said you were married once. What happened with that?”

  “Too many lonely nights, I guess. I came home thinking we’d buy a ranch and start a family. She’d started without me.”