Daddy in Cowboy Boots (Montana Daddies Book 9)

by Laylah Roberts

  Marisol didn’t have much experience with men. This was the first time she’d gone out for a meal with a man who wasn’t one of her aunt’s conquests. And even those meals were rare. Although she remembered Harry taking them often. Her aunt would complain, because instead of an upscale restaurant, they’d go to a family restaurant.

  And he would always open the door too.

  Was Linc like Harry? A decent man? She hoped he was what he seemed to be. Funny, kind, generous. But too often someone hid their true colors. She’d have to be careful.

  It’s not like you’re going to get involved with him, even if that is something he wants.

  “Marisol? Did I shock you into silence?” he asked as he led them towards a booth at the back.

  People called out to him and he waved with a smile. Obviously, he was well liked around here, which eased something inside her. She couldn’t imagine people treating Saber or Tiger like this.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Sometimes I get caught up in what’s going on in my head.”

  He raised his eyebrows as he waited for her to slide into the booth. To her shock, rather than sitting across from her he moved in beside her.

  “Anything wrong?”

  She carefully adjusted her sleeves, making certain to cover the bandage on her wrist. She’d figured it was the easiest way to cover the bruise. If anyone asked, she’d just tell them she’d burned it. Easier to explain than the bruise that wrapped around her wrist.

  “No, of course not. What were you saying about weddings?”

  Was he trying to ask her if she was married?

  “Ahh, well, see I still have to get Clint and Charlie a wedding gift.”

  “Isn’t their wedding tomorrow?” She gaped at him.

  “Yep.”

  She couldn’t stop the startled laughter from escaping.

  “Do you usually leave things to the last minute?”

  “No, I’m usually very organized. If this was a work thing, I would be all over it. But this is a shopping thing. I hate shopping.” He batted his eyelids. “Help me. Please.”

  “And what makes you think I’m any good at shopping, huh?”

  “You’re a girl, aren’t you?” He grinned to let her know he was joking.

  She gave a mock-growl. “That’s very sexist. Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I like shopping.”

  “You’re quite right. I do apologize.” He placed his hand on his heart, with a sad sigh.

  “Do they have a gift registry?” she asked.

  “No, they said no gifts.”

  “Umm.” She didn’t know how to point out the obvious.

  “I know they said no gifts, but I want to get them something. Even something small. Clint has been good to me over the years. He hired me on when I had very little experience, taught me everything he knows and now he trusts me to manage his ranch.”

  She loved the hint of vulnerability in his gaze. Linc wasn’t a man who was afraid of showing his emotions. Of admitting when he was wrong. Or doing something silly to make her laugh, like strutting his stuff along the street.

  “Hmm, that’s a tough one.”

  A waitress came along, looking slightly harried. “Sorry. We’re a waitress down today. What can I get you to drink?”

  “I’ll take a sweet tea,” Linc said, looking at her expectantly.

  “The same please.” She nearly winced. Drat. She didn’t know why she said that. She hated tea.

  The waitress nodded and headed away. Linc passed her a menu. “I already know what I want,” he told her a bit sheepishly.

  “Eat here often?” she teased. She could hardly believe that she was sitting here, eating lunch with a gorgeous man. And that she dared to tease him. This was the closest she’d ever gotten to a date. She thought she’d be shy and jittery.

  But Linc was different. There was something about him that put her at ease.

  “Well, whenever I get into town, I do. They make the best burgers here, though.”

  “Ooh. That sounds nice.”

  “Good, two hamburgers with fries it is then, please, Sally,” he said to the waitress as she brought their drinks back.

  “Oh, but . . .” she said as the waitress left. She’d been going to see what was cheapest on the menu. She didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity.

  “Sorry. You didn’t want the burger.” He winced. “I jumped the gun. I’ll call her back.”

  “No, no.” She didn’t want to make a fuss. Especially not when the diner was so busy. “That’s fine. I just need to go to the bathroom first.”

  “Of course.” He slid out then held his hand towards her. She reached up to grab his hand, realizing too late that her sleeve had ridden up.

  He froze as he stared at her wrist. Then his gaze met hers. “What is this?”

  5

  Linc stared down at the bandage. Had she had that last night? He thought back. He hadn’t noticed it, but it could have been easy to miss in the dark.

  “Marisol,” he said in a deep, commanding voice that had her staring at him in shock. This was the firmest he’d been with her, so her surprise was understandable.

  “Oh that,” she said with a nervous laugh. He could already tell that she was going to lie and it made him grind his teeth in anger and frustration. “It’s nothing. I was dealing with hot wax at work and burned myself.”

  “Can I see the burn?”

  “Oh no. It’s fine. I put cream on it.” She couldn’t meet his gaze as she spoke. “Could I get up now?”

  He nodded, unable to answer her without demanding the truth. As she disappeared into the bathroom, he slid into the booth and tried to decide what path he wanted to take.

  If he didn’t intend to see her again, to take this further, then he could just let this go. It worried him that she had to lie to explain the bandage, though. Made him wonder about what really happened.

  But if he decided that he did want to know her better, then he’d need to make it clear that she’d crossed a line with him. One that she shouldn’t cross again. At least not without consequences.

  Okay, bringing up consequences might be going a step too far. One step at a time.

  He glanced over at the bathroom door, she’d been gone a while. He hoped she was okay. Just then, she walked out and came towards him. He slid out.

  “Oh, you didn’t have to move,” she said.

  He shook his head. “Safer for you to go in first.”

  She blinked at him in confusion.

  “Wall on one side. Me on the other,” he said in clipped sentences.

  “Right,” she replied, giving him a small, worried smile. “Are you all right?”

  He tapped his fingers against the table then turned to her. “I know you just lied to me.”

  Her face paled. Those expressive caramel-colored eyes stared up at him, trying to get a read on him. There was an anxious air around her. He instantly wanted to soothe her. To reassure her that no harm would come to her. That she was all right. They were all right.

  But he knew that he had to start as he meant to continue on. Allowing her this one lie could bleed into more lies. Bigger ones. And he couldn’t allow that. Lies and rejection were big triggers for him. So she needed to know this now.

  And if he was too much for her, then he needed to know that too.

  Maybe it was crazy to be so interested in someone this quickly. But Linc had watched so many of his friends find their other halves recently and it made him impatient and yeah, a bit lonely. He wanted someone of his own. Someone to come home to at night, share dinner with, laugh or commiserate with over their days. Someone to curl up around in bed and wake up to in the morning.

  And he was drawn to her.

  So yeah, maybe he should make this clear from the start.

  “Lying is something I can’t ever tolerate, Marisol,” he told her firmly. Her breath hitched, her eyes widening even further. “I get that maybe you don’t feel comfortable telling me the truth since we don’t know ea
ch other that well. But that doesn’t mean you need to lie. If I ask you something that makes you uncomfortable, that you don’t feel you can answer honestly, then you tell me that. Don’t make something up, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered. “But what if there’s something going on and I can’t talk about it, then won’t you be mad at me for not telling you?”

  Their food arrived and he took a moment to answer. “We don’t know each other so I get there might be things you don’t want to tell me. As we get to know each other and you come to trust me, I would hope you would confide in me, tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’m not used to trusting in people,” she told him.

  “It can be tough. But when you find the right people, it can also be the easiest thing in the world. I’m here if you want to tell me something. Anything. All right?”

  “All right.”

  He picked up his burger and took a bite, noticing the way she just stared at her food, looking sad.

  Fuck. This wasn’t the conversation he’d meant to have. This wasn’t even a proper date and things had taken on a very serious tone.

  “Hey.” He reached out and lightly touched her hand which was resting on her thigh.

  She jumped with a gasp, flinching back.

  Mierda!

  “Sorry, Mari. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “Sorry, my mind was a million miles away.”

  He heaved out a sigh. “I’ve messed this date up completely, haven’t I?” He hated that sad, confused look in her eyes.

  “This is a date?” she asked, looking surprised.

  “Well, I was hoping it was.” He still held onto her hand. “But if you’re not interested in me like that, it can just be two friends sharing a meal.”

  She gazed away from him. “It’s not that I’m not interested. I am. You’re gorgeous. But I . . .” She cleared her throat and he frowned slightly wondering what she’d been about to say about herself. He got the feeling he wouldn’t have liked it. “But my life is a bit of a mess right now. I’m not sure I can offer you anything.”

  “All right, then we’ll be two friends sharing a meal. Of course, you actually have to eat for that to be the case.”

  Disappointment filled him, but he forced himself to push it deep. This wasn’t rejection. She said she wanted more. That things were complicated.

  He just needed to remove all the complications.

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  She shook her head. “No, but thank you.”

  “Come on, eat something for me. Here.” He picked up a fry and held it to her lips. She opened her mouth and took it. Something moved inside him. A possessive beast that wanted to claim her.

  Mine.

  Christ, slow down, man.

  Her tongue came out and licked the salt from her lips. He nearly groaned.

  “Are you okay?” she asked him.

  He grinned at her. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m sorry if I got a bit intense just now.”

  “It’s okay, I understand. I’m just not used to anyone, well, caring about me I guess.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal. But it hurt him to think of no one caring for this girl.

  “I care, Mari.”

  She liked the nickname. It made her feel special.

  She wasn’t sure why he cared when he barely knew her, but it filled her with warmth. She turned back to her food to hide her confusion. Even though she wasn’t hungry, she knew she had to eat. She drank some sweet tea, barely holding in a grimace at the taste.

  “Don’t you like sweet tea?” he asked.

  “Umm.” What to say? He’d just told her not to lie. She sighed. “Not really.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Then why’d you order it?”

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. “I guess because you did. I get flustered sometimes. Say the wrong thing.”

  “Okay, so what would you like to drink?”

  “Diet coke.”

  He raised his hand to the waitress.

  “Oh, but she’s so busy. It’s okay, I’ll drink it.” She reached out again for the sweet tea.

  “Mari, put the sweet tea down and back away.” It was said jokingly but there was an undercurrent of command in his voice.

  She slid her hand back under the table as he ordered a diet coke. Reaching out, he slid a few strands of hair behind her ear. “From now on, if you’re given or accidentally order something you don’t like then tell me, yeah?”

  She couldn’t imagine this situation coming up again but she nodded in reply.

  “You’re such a sweet, little thing, aren’t you?”

  Marisol wasn’t used to someone talking to her this way. It made her feel flustered. And special. Definitely special.

  “I’m making you feel awkward, huh?” he asked.

  “Just not used to people talking to me like this.”

  “You don’t like it? Want me to stop?”

  “No, I do,” she said hastily.

  He leaned in towards her. “Good. Because I like it too.” He glanced back down at her plate. “You need to eat a bit more.”

  She took another bite of her burger. She’d never had someone encourage her to eat. Her aunt was always telling her that she ate too much. Of course, she lived on air and alcohol so . . .

  “Tell you what, eat three more bites of that burger and I’ll buy you an ice cream sundae. They’re pretty good here.”

  Ooh yum.

  Although she wasn’t sure what was more delicious. The thought of the sundae, or the way he spoke to her. He reminded her of one of the Daddies in CJ Bennet’s books. And he was a cowboy.

  Double delicious.

  Chill, girl. You barely know him.

  Even though she didn’t intend to order the sundae, she took three hasty bites and he laughed at her. She blushed as she realized what she’d done. Seems her self-control was shot.

  “That was cute. Although make sure you chew all that, I don’t want you to choke on such a big mouthful.”

  Urgh. That was so not attractive, Marisol. Way to act like a sophisticated grown-up.

  As she was chewing, her phone beeped and she pulled it out of her bag. She sighed as she realized it was nearly time to head back. She swallowed and drank down some of her diet coke.

  Yum.

  “That was my alarm. I have to get back to work,” she explained as she slid the phone away.

  “You set an alarm as a reminder?”

  “Otherwise I tend to forget. One day, I was three hours late getting back because I got caught up in a book. My aunt was very unhappy with me.”

  “She owns the spa, right?”

  She nodded as he raised his hand to the waitress to ask for the bill.

  “Next time, I’ll get you that sundae.”

  She didn’t say anything. She doubted there would be a next time, but it was nice that he was thinking about it. She wished she could offer to pay. It seemed like that would be more polite.

  “Next time it’s my turn to pay,” she blurted out as the waitress dropped the bill and moved away to another table.

  He turned and gave her a firm look. “Definitely not. Old-fashioned views, remember?”

  She bit her lip. It didn’t feel right somehow.

  “Tell you what, you can repay me by giving me your phone number.”

  “You want my phone number?” Was he serious?

  “I do. That a problem? I was joking about you having to give it to me as payment for lunch. You don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing.”

  “Oh no, it’s not that. It’s just. I thought maybe . . . never mind. Here . . .” She opened the contacts in her phone and he tapped something in before giving it back to her.

  “I sent myself a text so I’d have your number.” He winked at her.

  She popped it into her bag without looking at it.

  “Now, I need you to give me some wedding gift ideas as I escort you back to the spa.”

  “You don’t have to do
that,” she said as he moved from the booth then helped her out. He still frowned slightly as he looked at the bandage. Thank God he couldn’t see the bruise underneath.

  He led her through the diner and held open the door then he walked on the road side of the footpath next to her. She kind of wished he’d offer her his arm again, but he didn’t.

  “So what do you think I can buy on short notice here?”

  “Hmm, let me think.”

  “Oh, and remember that Clint is loaded so he basically has everything he could ever want.”

  “You’re not making this easy on me.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s Clint who isn’t making this easy on me. What about a mug that says, Richer than Croesus but not nearly as handsome.”

  She burst into laughter. “That’s terrible.”

  “Not a good wedding gift?” he asked with a grin.

  “Not a good anytime gift. Especially not if you want to keep your job.”

  He waggled a finger at her. “You make a good point, Mari-girl.”

  They reached the spa after he’d given her a few other silly suggestions and she was practically bent in two with tears streaming down her face.

  “Marisol,” a cold voice snapped out.

  She looked over and winced as she saw her aunt climbing out of her BMW. Shoot, how had she missed her? Her aunt closed the door with a slam and strode over to them.

  Dressed in a red skirt that just covered her ass, a matching jacket and a black silk shirt with black high heels, she looked like she’d just stepped out of a meeting with the devil.

  Marisol wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

  “Who is this?” her aunt purred as she grew closer. She looked Linc up and down.

  “This is Linc. This is my aunt, Rosalind.”

  “Hello, Linc.” Rosalind held out her hand.

  Linc reached over and shook it. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “Not as pleased as I am to meet you.”

  Gah. Gross. She wondered what Saber would think to learn that her aunt flirted with everyone with a dick in a five-mile radius.

  “Aunt Rosalind just got engaged last night,” she told Linc.

  “Congratulations,” he said while her aunt shot her an angry look.