Protecting the Princess

by Carla Cassidy

  “Get accustomed.”

  “Fine, tell me your rules, then I’ll tell you some rules of my own.” She intended to try to be as pleasant as possible for the duration of having to suffer his company.

  “I’m not thrilled to be making this trip.”

  “Yes, I have that impression.”

  “I’ll take you to a store where you should be able to get everything you need, but rule number one is that you don’t leave my side…not for an instant. If anyone asks, and they probably will, your name is Anne Jones and you’re a friend of mine from New York.”

  “Won’t that make people suspicious?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “The fact that you have a friend.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, letting her know she’d scored a small point. “I was on assignment in New York last month,” he said. “If anyone asks. That’s when we met each other. The second rule is that once we’re out in public you understand that you could be at risk. If I ask you to do anything, you comply immediately. You don’t hesitate and you don’t ask questions, you just do what I tell you to do.”

  She slid him a sideways glance. “You like that, don’t you?”

  “What?”

  “You like having people who ask how high when you tell them to jump.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just doing my job.”

  “Is that it?”

  “For now.”

  “Okay, now here are my rules.” She sat up straighter in the seat. “When we’re out in public you treat me with respect and you stop looking at me like I’m stupid, because I’m not.”

  “I never said you were stupid,” he countered. “Is that it?”

  “No, I have one more.” She saw his fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “You have to get me something to eat while we’re out. I missed breakfast and I have a feeling we won’t make lunch and that means that cranky old cook of yours won’t feed me again until dinnertime.”

  A whisper of a smile curved his lips, softening his features and sending an unexpected curl of heat through her stomach. “If Smokey heard you call him a ‘cranky old cook’ he’d tie you to Dante’s horns.”

  “Who’s Dante?”

  “The biggest, meanest bull in the Midwest.”

  She noticed his hands had relaxed on the steering wheel. She turned her attention out the passenger window, wondering about that momentary surge of heat that had swept through her when he’d smiled.

  Hunger, she decided. That had been a hunger pang, nothing more. She looked at him once again. “Smokey…how did he come to work for your family?”

  “Smokey worked as my father’s foreman. He took care of things on the ranch while Dad worked Wild West Protective Services,” Tanner told her, then continued. “Two months before my mother’s murder Smokey was thrown from a horse and trampled nearly to death.” He shook his head. “My father always refers to that summer as the black summer.”

  “It must have been terrible,” she said softly.

  He gave a curt nod. “Anyway, with Mom’s death and with Smokey no longer able to take care of the ranch work, Dad brought him into the house to help out. Smokey held us all together while we were growing up.” His affection for the old man was obvious in his voice.

  “Has he always been so…so…” She fought to find a word to describe Smokey.

  “Yes,” he replied. “Smokey has always been gruff and outspoken. But he also has a knack for organization, runs the house like a well-oiled machine and has a heart of gold.”

  She digested this information, unsure that she believed the crabby old man had a heart at all. “Your brothers and sister, do they all work for the agency?”

  “All of them except Joshua. He left about a year ago and moved to New York City.”

  “Really? What does he do there?” She had a feeling she’d like the urban Joshua far better than she liked Tanner.

  “He’s a stockbroker.” A wrinkle furrowed his brow.

  “Where is everyone else?” she asked, curious about him and his family. As an only child Anna had always wondered what it would be like to have siblings.

  The wrinkle disappeared from his forehead. “Right now we’re all pretty well scattered to the wind. Zack is closest. He’s on assignment in Oklahoma City. Clay is in New Orleans. Dalton is in Las Vegas and Meredith is down in Texas.”

  “You’re close to all of them?”

  He shot her a quick glance. “I’d die for any one of them.”

  A wave of longing stuck her as the familiar loneliness welled up inside her. She stuffed it down, refusing to allow it to take hold of her. “Tell me more about your family. What are they like? Are your brothers as mean and bossy as you are?”

  Those green eyes splashed her with a look of cool mock indignation. “I’m not mean, except with people who force me to be.”

  She ignored his little dig. “Are your brothers and your sister as good as you are at this protection stuff?”

  “No, but eventually they will be. I’ve answered enough of your questions. You talk too much.”

  “Just practicing a little civility, but I’m sure that’s alien to you.” She fell silent as she saw the small town of Cotter Creek in the distance.

  She hadn’t explored the town when she’d first arrived. She’d gotten off the bus and had gone directly to the offices of Wild West Protective Services.

  As Tanner turned down what appeared to be the main street, she looked around with interest. They passed a post office, a bank and a grocery store.

  The buildings looked ancient and were covered with the dust that seemed to be everywhere. Still, there was a certain charm in the stately old structures. Pots of bright-colored flowers decorated the front of many of the stores and awnings shielded the windows from the midday sun.

  Tanner pulled up in front of a store with a pink awning and the words Betty’s Boutique on the plate-glass window. A pleasant relief swept through her as she realized within minutes she would have new clothes to replace the ones she’d had on since the shooting at the airport in California.

  Tanner cut the engine, unbuckled his seat belt and turned to look at her. “Okay, we go in, get what you need, then get out.”

  “Wait…I have a problem,” she said as a sudden thought struck her.

  “What?”

  “I don’t have any money. I spent my cash on the bus ticket from California. I have a wallet full of credit cards but I have a feeling that’s the last thing you’d want me to use.”

  “A credit card purchase would be an easy trail for somebody to follow,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. Get what you need and I’ll charge it to our account.”

  “I’ll pay you back,” she assured him. “As soon as my father arrives, I’ll see that you’re paid back for any expense you have incurred.”

  “I’m not worried about it.”

  “I am. I don’t want to owe you anything.”

  He nodded and together they got out of the truck.

  She certainly hadn’t expected designer fashions or a vast selection, but nothing had quite prepared her for Betty’s Boutique.

  The center of the store held racks that were filled with sturdy jeans and cotton shirts in all sizes. At the left of the store was a single rack of dresses, dresses that Anna could tell at a glance were like nothing she’d ever worn before.

  “Morning, Tanner,” a chirpy little voice called from the back of the store. The voice belonged to a plump, gray-haired woman who hurried toward them. “Don’t see you in here too often.” She gazed with open curiosity at Anna. “And who might this be?”

  “Anne, this is Betty. She owns the store. Betty, this is Anne, she’s a friend of mine from back east,” Tanner said.

  “I knew she wasn’t from around here, not with them fancy shoes.” She pointed to Anna’s dainty navy sling-back shoes.

  “Actually, I’m from New York City,” Anna said. “And it’s nice to meet you, Betty.”

  Betty smiled a
t Anna, a sly smile. “Now I see why Tanner doesn’t dally with any of the local women.”

  Anna sensed Tanner stiffening beside her. With impish mischief she smiled up at him and grabbed his arm. “He might not dally with the local women, but trust me, he dallies just fine. Don’t you, darling?”

  Tanner’s arm was so rigid she felt that if she moved it just a little it would snap in two. A quick glance up at him let her know he was angry and eventually she’d pay, but at the moment she didn’t care.

  Betty released a high-pitched laugh, then winked at Anna. “I knew he probably had some pretty woman stashed somewhere. The rest of those West boys have always liked the women. Now, what can I do for you folks today?”

  “I’m in need of some new clothing,” Anna said as she released Tanner’s arm.

  “Ranch clothes,” he said. Tanner placed an arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her, his eyes gleaming with what couldn’t be mistaken for anything but payback. “My sweet Anne arrived with suitcases full of fancy designer things, but nothing strictly functional for mucking out stables and helping out around the place.”

  In that instant Anna saw her dreams of a couple of sweet little dresses fly right out the window. She was unsure what “ranch clothes” were, but was certain she probably wouldn’t like them.

  “And boots,” he added. “She definitely needs a pair of good, sturdy boots.”

  Half an hour later Anna stood in front of the counter and watched Betty ring up the purchases: three pairs of jeans, several T-shirts and short sleeved cotton shirts, and a pair of boots.

  She’d picked out the boots herself, insisting on a red pair. Tanner and Betty had chosen the rest of the items. They’d even picked out a hat for her, a brown cowboy hat that she thought looked ridiculous on her head.

  She had managed to snag two bras without a hint of lace on either one of them and several pairs of panties…no-nonsense white cotton. It had amused her that Tanner had looked distinctly uncomfortable as she’d made the underwear selection.

  He might be the best bodyguard in the world, but he was obviously a man not comfortable with all things feminine and somehow that weakness made him less intimidating and more human.

  They were just about to leave the store when he turned to her, a frown once again riding the center of his forehead. “We didn’t get you nightclothes,” he said. “Don’t you need a gown or a pair of pajamas or something?”

  With the knowledge of his discomfort in mind, she smiled sweetly. “Oh no, that’s not necessary. I always sleep in the nude.” To her immense satisfaction his face blanched then filled with color as the muscle in his jaw ticked overtime.

  Chapter 4

  Tanner could have lived a long time without knowing that the princess slept in the nude. The minute the words left her mouth he’d been cursed with a vision that had sent his pulse rocketing and had dried every ounce of moisture from his mouth.

  Shopping with her had been difficult enough. It had been obvious by the expression on her face that she hadn’t been thrilled about the sturdy jeans and no-nonsense shirts he and Betty had chosen for her, although she proclaimed to adore the boots she’d picked out, a scarlet red pair embossed with flowers.

  It had been particularly uncomfortable to watch her paw through the panties and bras, commenting that they were all so simple and plain. He had a feeling even simple and plain would look sexy on her.

  He shifted the bag of her new clothes from one hand to the other, trying to think about something else.

  She seemed to be holding no grudge after their spat in the kitchen earlier this morning. That surprised him. He’d thought she would be the type to pout and hold a grudge long after the fact.

  He now stood outside the shop, waiting for Anna. He shifted from foot to foot, fighting a wave of impatience. Not all of the new purchases were in the bag. She’d insisted that she change into some of her new clothes before leaving the store.

  Knowing that they’d been alone in the store with Betty, he’d decided to step outside to wait for her. He knew Betty kept the back door of the shop locked so the only way for anyone to get inside was through him, which wasn’t going to happen unless he knew the person trying to enter posed no threat.

  As he waited for her, he tried to shove the image of a naked Anna from his head and instead focus on his surroundings.

  He knew this town and most of the people in it. He saw no strangers walking the streets, no reason to be concerned or alarmed for Anna’s safety.

  There seemed to be little chance that the assassins would guess that Anna would take a bus to a small Oklahoma town. He thought she was probably safe for the moment, but that didn’t mean he intended to relax his vigil.

  The gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans and hidden by the tails of his untucked shirt was a familiar companion, as was the knife strapped to his shin. He knew how to use both quite effectively and hoped he wouldn’t have to while Anna was in his care.

  “I look positively ridiculous.”

  He whirled around to see her standing in the doorway of the shop. Again his mouth went unaccountably dry and his pulse rate accelerated. The jeans fit her like a second skin, showing off her slender waist and clinging to her long legs.

  The scarlet-red T-shirt matched her boots and the color enhanced her creamy complexion and blond hair. The shirt also pulled taut across her full breasts.

  The cowboy hat sat on the very back of her head, looking as if it would slide off and to the ground, if she moved her head at all.

  She didn’t look ridiculous. She looked like a model that had stepped off the cover of a cowboy calendar. All she needed was a big horse and a lasso and she’d be every cowpoke’s fantasy.

  “You look fine. You now look like you belong in Cotter Creek,” he replied, his voice sounding deeper than usual to his own ears.

  “Now you’re really scaring me,” she said dryly.

  He stepped closer to her and grabbed her hat, adjusting it more on the crown on her head. “There. That’s the way to wear a cowboy hat.”

  “Thanks, pardner,” she drawled, her breath warm and sweet on his face. For a brief moment they remained mere inches from each other. Her scent surrounded him and he had the craziest impulse to press his mouth to hers. Her lips parted, as if in open invitation.

  He jumped back from her, uncomfortable by their nearness and the crazy direction of his thoughts. What the hell was he thinking? “Where’s your other things?” he asked, aware that she’d come out of the store empty-handed.

  She waved her hands in dismissal. “I told Betty to throw them away. I certainly don’t ever want to see that blouse and skirt again.”

  “She’ll probably iron them up and hang them on a rack for resale. Not that people here have much use for designer clothes.”

  “If she can sell them, that’s fine with me. I certainly don’t want them anymore.”

  “Let’s get these things in the truck.”

  “Lunch. You promised,” she reminded him.

  “I haven’t forgotten,” he replied. He really didn’t like the idea of making her any more visible in the town. The less people who knew she was out at the ranch, the better.

  But there were few secrets in Cotter Creek and Betty would probably already be buzzing to somebody about Tanner West’s fancy big-city girlfriend. Trying to keep a secret was almost as impossible as having one in this small town.

  It was easier to take her to lunch and to let people think she was a girlfriend visiting from out of town. Let people think he had nothing to hide. Besides, the lunch crowd was usually small and they should be able to eat and get out in a short period of time.

  “We’ll go to the café, but if I see somebody I don’t recognize inside, we’re going to head right back to the ranch,” he explained as he stored her purchases inside the cab of his pickup.

  She eyed him through narrowed eyelids. “You wouldn’t pretend to see a stranger just to screw up lunch for me, would you?”

  At fi
rst he assumed she was just giving him a hard time, but as he held her gaze he saw that she was serious. It surprised him, that she thought he would do something like that.

  “Anna, you might not like me. You might think I’m bossy and controlling, but I wouldn’t lie to you just to steal a little pleasure from you. Now, let’s go get some lunch.”

  To his vast relief, she said nothing, but merely nodded, those big blue eyes of hers studying him as he led her toward the Sunny Side Up Café.

  “The dining choices are limited here in Cotter Creek,” he said as they crossed the street.

  “Well, there’s a surprise,” she said, again that edge of dry humor in her tone.

  He ignored her quip. “There’s the café and a pizza place about four miles up the road just off the highway.”

  “Right now I’m so hungry you could just tie me up to Dante and I’d eat him,” she said, and grinned up at him.

  That grin filled her face with warm invitation and sparked her eyes and, for just a moment, she wasn’t a princess with an attitude. She wasn’t spoiled, lazy and demanding. She was just a very pretty young woman whose smile warmed him from the inside out.

  Again he had a flash of a mental image of her naked in bed, her body sleep-warmed and her blond hair in tousled disarray.

  She’d thrown him off balance almost from the get-go this morning, first irritating him to distraction with their argument, then flashing tantalizing glimpses of her sense of humor on the drive into town.

  “Don’t get too comfortable over lunch,” he said gruffly. “I’ve got a lot of things to do when we get back to the ranch.”

  He was eager to get back to the computer. With the tidbit of information she’d told him earlier, that the rebels name had something to do with mist, he was hoping he could find something that would give him a handle on who he was dealing with.

  While he worked on the computer she could surely find something to do to entertain herself. He could use a little distance from her, at least until the thought of her naked body completely left his brain.

  “Not much of a lunch crowd, is there?” she murmured as they walked into the Sunny Side Up. Two old-timers sat at the long counter that stretched along one wall and three middle-aged women sat at a table near the front of the café.