Guardian Cowboy

by Carla Cassidy

  Sawyer stepped out into the cool night, the air a welcome relief to the hot anger that coursed through him. He wasn’t just ticked off at Janis. He was also irritated with his friends, who had obviously been in on the whole thing all along.

  Geez, he’d been so worried and had felt so guilty when he’d believed he’d had sex with Janis and had no memory of it. The whole reason he’d invited her out to dinner the next night was that he’d thought they’d been intimate.

  But you enjoyed having dinner with her, a small voice whispered in his head. And he’d enjoyed her company since then. Still, he couldn’t believe what she had done to him.

  He leaned against the front bumper of his truck, let out a deep sigh and stared up the street. Bitterroot shut down early on weeknights and there wasn’t a soul on the street except him.

  And why was he still there? Why wasn’t he already in his truck and driving home?

  He had to admit, the whole thing had given him a wake-up call he’d needed for a long time about his drinking. On that same Saturday morning he’d gone to speak to Cassie about the possibility of him becoming foreman once Brody Booth stopped working on the Holiday Ranch.

  Brody had found love with Mandy and they now lived on a big spread. Everyone knew he was just biding his time before quitting the Holiday place.

  For the first time in his life, Sawyer had wanted to step up and take on additional responsibility, but Cassie had turned him down. She’d said something to the effect that she didn’t believe the other men respected him enough to follow his lead.

  That night he’d carried a bitter disappointment with him to the bar and he’d tried to drink it away. He’d guzzled his beer down with purpose and, like usual, he hadn’t remembered anything after the first couple of beers.

  Cassie refusing to consider him for the foreman’s job coupled with believing he had made love to a woman while drunk and having no knowledge of it had made him rethink his drinking.

  Hell, he didn’t even enjoy it that much. Before he could get a nice little buzz going, he always passed out. Was it really possible Janis had a genuine concern about him?

  She didn’t appear to be the type of woman who would do something like that just for grins and giggles. Maybe she really had done it because she cared about him.

  At the moment he was too confused to do anything but head home and get a good night’s sleep. He’d figure out how he felt about Janis tomorrow.

  He climbed into his truck and instantly spied a piece of paper tucked beneath his windshield wiper.

  “What now?” he muttered. He rolled down his window, reached out to grab the paper and then turned on the dome light.

  Stay away from her.

  Printed in bold, black letters, the words stared up at him. His heart had been racing with anger but it instantly quieted. He looked up and down the street once again, but there was still nobody to see.

  As he looked at the note once again, his heart began to beat more quickly. What in the hell? There was no question in his mind that the “her” was Janis.

  What was going on? Was this the same work as the person who had spray-painted the back of the bar? If that was the case, he had serious doubts the culprit was Zeke Osmond.

  Then who? Did Janis have another boyfriend? Somebody she’d been seeing that Sawyer knew nothing about? Did she maybe have an ex-boyfriend who might be ticked that Sawyer was moving in on what he still thought of as his territory?

  The anger he’d felt toward Janis slowly ebbed away. He liked her and he wanted to pursue a relationship with her to see where it led. The note only made him more determined to not stay away from her.

  He sat in his truck and thought about everything until it was closing time. Once the bar went dark, he pulled around to the back, got out of his truck and knocked on her door.

  She answered immediately, surprise on her features. “Sawyer,” she said and opened the door wider to allow him inside.

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  Her gaze searched his face. “I was afraid you’d never want to talk to me again.” She motioned him toward the chair. When he was seated, she sank down on the edge of the bed.

  “I was definitely angry with you,” he admitted.

  “I know.” She seemed miserable with her shoulders slumped slightly forward and her expressive eyes radiating despair.

  “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t fool me out of any meanness.”

  “Oh, Sawyer, being mean to you wasn’t ever a thought in my head.”

  “Then I think it best if we put all that behind us and we start over.”

  “Really?” Her eyes instantly lightened and relief was evident on her pretty face. “I’d like that a lot.”

  “And now there’s something else I want to talk to you about. Are you seeing somebody else?”

  Once again she looked at him in surprise. “Heavens, no.”

  “Is there an ex-boyfriend lurking around who has been trying to get back together with you?”

  “The last boyfriend I had was over two years ago. He didn’t even live in Bitterroot and I heard through the grapevine that he got married two months ago. Why are you asking me these questions?”

  He stood and pulled the note from his pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to her. “That was under my truck windshield wiper when I left here.”

  She stared at the note for a long moment and then looked back up at him. “Are you sure this is about me?”

  “I’m not seeing anyone else and haven’t for a very long time. It’s definitely about you.”

  She dropped the note next to her on the bed as if it burned her fingers. “I can’t imagine who would do such a thing.”

  “I can’t, either, but I think we need to call Dillon.”

  “Do you really think that’s necessary?”

  He nodded, pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and sat back down in the chair. “I do. This needs to be reported, especially on top of the spray-painting incident that took place. I’ll call him.”

  “Sawyer, I just want to tell you again how very sorry I am,” she said when he’d finished making the call.

  “I accept your apology and, if truth be known, I should probably thank you,” he admitted.

  “Thank me?” She looked at him curiously.

  He heaved a deep sigh. “Between you and Cassie, my eyes have been opened to my drinking issue.”

  “Cassie?”

  He frowned thoughtfully, remembering his conversation with his boss.

  “Last Saturday morning, I decided to talk to her about me possibly taking over the position of foreman when Brody leaves. Since he got hooked up with Mandy Wright, he’s been living on that big ranch of hers and we all know he’s about ready to quit the Holiday place to ranch on his own.”

  “So, what did she say?” She leaned closer to him, her gaze soft and her evocative floral scent swirling around his head.

  “She basically said she didn’t think I had the respect of the other men because of the nights they have to put me to bed drunk, although she didn’t say in it those exact words.”

  “Why do you drink?”

  “I always thought that’s just what we did. We worked hard during the week and then went to the bar to drink on Saturday nights,” he replied.

  “Do you like the taste of beer?”

  He frowned thoughtfully. He’d never really considered the things she was asking him about before. “It’s all right,” he replied.

  “I think you’re allergic to it or something.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “You think?”

  “I’ve never seen anyone totally pass out on so few drinks as you do.”

  “According to my mother, my father was a raging alcoholic who suffered blackouts. I’ve had a few blackouts, as well.”

  “Yo
u didn’t know your father?”

  “He disappeared from our life when I was four years old. When I was ten, we heard that he’d died. It’s a good guess that he died from his alcoholism.”

  “My father died from a massive heart attack when I was sixteen.” A deep sadness filled her eyes.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” he replied. “It stinks not to have a father.”

  “At least I had mine for sixteen years. You didn’t have yours for long at all. Do you have any memories of him?”

  “None,” he replied.

  Before they could talk any further, Dillon arrived. He looked at the note and then asked Janis the same questions Sawyer had asked her. Was she seeing anyone else? Was there somebody she knew who wanted to date her? Maybe somebody she’d turned down recently? Janis’s answers were the same...no, no and no.

  “It definitely looks to me like you’ve picked yourself up a secret admirer,” Dillon said. “And he might possibly want Sawyer out of the picture so he can make a play for you.”

  “So, what should we do?” Janis asked.

  “I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” Dillon said to her. “I imagine whoever it is will either make himself known to you pretty quickly or he’ll just give up and go away.”

  He then looked at Sawyer. “I also really don’t think you have anything to worry about, either. In my experience, anonymous notes rarely lead to any kind of violent actions.”

  Sawyer nodded, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to watch his own back a little more closely than usual. “I’ll take the note with me, but I imagine the only prints I’ll get will be from the two of you,” Dillon continued as he stepped to the door. “There isn’t much more I can do at this point.”

  “Thanks for coming out,” Janis said.

  “That’s my job,” the lawman replied with a smile. “I’ll let you both know if I manage to pull off any viable prints, but don’t hold your breath.”

  “I should probably get out of here, too,” Sawyer said when Dillon had gone. “You still up for dinner at the café with me tomorrow night?”

  “Are we okay?” Her eyes held a soft luminosity and her lips had never looked so darned kissable. He pulled her into his arms and settled his mouth over hers.

  He kept the kiss light and quick, but it wasn’t because her lips didn’t entice him to delve deeper. It wasn’t because she didn’t excite him on a physical level.

  It was because he really did want to take things slow with her. He wanted a do-over. Things had gotten off to such a crazy start with them and now that he knew he hadn’t made love to her, he was excited for them to slowly progress to that place.

  “So, how about I pick you up around five thirty tomorrow?” he said when the kiss ended.

  “I’ll be ready and waiting,” she replied. “I work the morning shift and get off at three thirty, so that gives me plenty of time to clean up.”

  Minutes later, when he was back in his truck and headed home, he thought again about the note. Was it simply from some timid soul who had a crush on Janis or was it the beginning of something more ominous?

  He figured if he wound up dead, it would either be from Halena Redwing pinching his butt to death or because they all should have taken the note more seriously.

  Only time would tell, and that thought did nothing to make him feel better.

  Chapter 4

  “I’ve looked forward to this all day,” Janis said to Sawyer as they entered the busy café the next evening.

  “Ah, you’re just here because they have great french fries,” he replied, his eyes filled with a teasing light.

  “There is that,” she agreed. She was thrilled that he didn’t seem to harbor any bad feelings toward her. She definitely liked a man who forgave easily.

  They spied an empty booth and wove their way through the tables toward it. Once they were seated, he gazed at her seriously. “How are you doing after last night?”

  “Better now,” she replied. “But I’ll admit I had a hard time getting to sleep. I keep thinking about all the men I have contact with at the bar and who might have written that note to you.”

  “Did you come up with any answers?”

  “Unfortunately no. There are lots of men who are flirtatious with me, but it’s all harmless fun.”

  She didn’t want to tell him that last night, for the first time since she’d moved into the room in the back of the bar, she’d felt a bit creeped out. Was her secret admirer parked someplace nearby watching her door? After Sawyer had left, had her admirer crept up to her window to peer inside? Those were the kinds of disturbing thoughts that had kept sleep at bay.

  As ridiculous as it was, she’d felt eyes watching her, raising the hair on the nape of her neck and making it hard for her to breathe.

  “I don’t want to talk about that tonight,” she finally said. “I just want to talk about happy things.”

  He smiled at her. “So, what kinds of things make you happy?”

  “A rainstorm while I sleep and sheets that smell like sunshine,” she said thoughtfully. “Chocolate ice cream, and thinking about someday having my own house, and a wiggly little puppy make me happy. What about you?”

  He leaned back. “I never really thought about it much before, but listening to Mac strum his guitar and riding across the pasture on my horse makes me happy. Do you ride?”

  “No, I’ve never even been on a horse,” she replied.

  “Well, we’re definitely going to have to change that.” Anything else he was going to say was interrupted by Julia Hatfield arriving to take their orders.

  For the next twenty minutes they talked about the new menu items Mandy had added since taking over the café and what kinds of food they liked and what they didn’t like.

  Tonight Sawyer had ordered a fried-chicken dinner complete with a mound of mashed potatoes and corn. Janis had opted for one of the new items: a turkey and avocado wrap with fries on the side.

  As they ate, he entertained her with more stories about the men he not only worked with but had also grown up with, and of Big Cass who had taken a chance on them all.

  “She had a soft side, but she could also be as tough as nails. None of us ever wanted to disappoint her. She gave us all respect when most of us had never had it and she taught us to respect ourselves.”

  “I saw her around town once in a while, but I never met her,” Janis replied.

  He shook his head and smiled, a soft light in his eyes. “She was something else. It’s hard to believe she’s been gone for almost a year now. She definitely filled a hole inside me that my mother’s death had left behind.”

  “You and your mother were close?”

  “Very,” he replied. “It was always just her and me against the world. She was beautiful and loving, and pretty much the center of my world. I never doubted how much she loved me.”

  “That’s nice,” Janis said wistfully. “I felt that way about my father. I was his princess and he made me feel like the most loved person in the world.”

  “But you aren’t close to your mother,” Sawyer said.

  “No, I’m not. Tell me more about your mother,” she said in an attempt to deflect the conversation away from her relationship with her mother.

  She’d never shared with anyone the fact that her mother had never loved her. That her father’s unconditional and enormous love had never been quite enough to fill the void in Janis’s heart that her mother’s hatred of her had left behind.

  As they lingered over coffee, Sawyer told her about growing up poor and with a mother who struggled to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. “We ate ketchup spaghetti and lots of potatoes, and considered it a treat if she managed to buy any kind of meat.”

  “Didn’t she qualify for some sort of assistance?” Janis asked.

  “I’m sure she
did, but she didn’t believe in the government taking care of us. She said as long as she was able-bodied and could work, we’d get by,” he said.

  “What kind of work did she do?”

  “She cleaned houses. She said it was the best job for her because she could manage her hours so she was always there for me when I got out of school.” Sawyer’s voice was filled with his love for the woman who had given him birth.

  “And what kind of a kid were you? Were you good and dutiful or were you ornery?”

  “Maybe a little bit of both,” he admitted with a laugh. “I definitely had my share of ornery.”

  She smiled at him. It was so easy to envision him as a red-haired little boy with a naughty grin on his face and mischief in his eyes.

  She was sorry when their coffee was gone and the night had reached its logical conclusion. It was time for him to take her home.

  The night air felt almost balmy compared to what it had been. “Oh, I hope this means spring has really arrived,” she said once she was in the passenger seat.

  “All the men at the ranch can’t wait for nicer days. We’ve all been cooped up together for too long during the winter.”

  “Clay certainly doesn’t seem to let winter slow him down when it comes to dating,” she said. Clay Madison had a reputation for being the town’s Romeo.

  He laughed and shook his head as he started the truck. “That boy is something else. I think he’s dated almost all the single women in the state of Oklahoma, and the surprising thing is, they all continue to love him even when he breaks up with them.”

  She laughed. “He definitely comes across as a charmer with more than a bit of mischief.”

  “That he is,” Sawyer replied. He started to back out of the parking space but there was a clunk that halted him. “What the heck?” He threw the truck back into Park. “Sit tight. That feels like a flat tire.”

  He got out of the truck and walked around. When he got to her side, he threw up his arms and scowled.

  She rolled down her window.

  “Do you want the bad news first or the bad news last?” he asked.

  “The tire is flat?” she asked.