Sheltered By The Cowboy

As the sound of the shower stopped, his entire body tensed with an uncharacteristic anxiety. He quickly moved back to the chair and picked up the television remote from the table. She’d be coming out of the bathroom at any minute. At least the television would provide a welcome distraction from her. He punched the on button and stared at the message that danced across the screen.

No Signal Detected.

The bathroom door opened and she walked out, a vision wrapped in a bedspread.

This was definitely going to be a long night.

Chapter 2 (#ubf8d1cbe-b218-5df4-88b5-c52aea6ecee4)

The hot shower had been heavenly. Of course, she would have liked to have her own shower gel and a hair dryer and all the comforts of home, but she’d been grateful that her purse had contained a hair brush, lip gloss and a little bottle of her favorite body spray.

She wrapped the spread around her like an oversized towel, leaving her shoulders bare, but hiding anything that shouldn’t be shown.

Of all the men in the town, why did she have to be stuck here with Brody? The other women at the café called him the brooding one. He might be hot and handsome, but he didn’t seem to possess a glimmer of a sense of humor or even the ability to smile...at least, not at her.

Still, she’d been oddly attracted to him for a long time, despite his stern countenance and the fact that she felt like he somehow judged her and found her lacking.

Her heart beat just a little more quickly than usual when she walked out of the bathroom. He looked at her, and for just a moment, as his gaze slowly swept up and down her, she felt completely naked.

“The television isn’t working,” he said and stood, his gaze shifting to some point over her right shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to get hungry before this night is over. I’ll check out the vending machines. Do you want something?”

“Whatever you can get. I haven’t eaten since just before noon,” she replied.

He pulled on his coat and flew out the door as if the very devil himself was chasing him. Mandy drew a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. This whole situation was definitely awkward and would probably only get more so as the night wore on.

She jumped up, went into the bathroom, grabbed her wet Santa costume and carried it into the main room. She draped it and her wet tights over one of the heater vents.

Maybe she and Brody both could relax better once her clothes were dry and she was dressed again. They just had to make the best of things for the night.

Instead of sitting on the edge of the mattress, she plumped up the pillows on what she decided was going to be her side and then stretched out.

She considered calling her father to tell him she was stuck for the night, but then decided against it. The last thing she needed right now was for him to tell her she was stupid and a huge disappointment to him. She’d heard that song from him enough times to last the rest of her life.

Besides, when she didn’t make it home, surely he would realize she might be stuck somewhere. The last thing George Wright would ever think to do was worry about his only daughter.

She tensed as Brody came back into the room, his shoulders and hair once again snow-covered. “I got one of everything the vending machine offered. I figured we can each pick what we want.” He set two sodas on the dresser and then began pulling goodies out of his coat pockets. “I hope you like cola.”

“Cola is fine...thanks,” she replied.

By the time they finished picking at the snacks, Mandy had scored a chocolate cupcake, a bag of corn chips, roasted peanuts and a cherry pie. She placed all the goodies and one of the sodas on the nightstand next to her and then patted the other side of the bed.

“You might as well get comfortable and relax, Brody,” she said. “It’s going to be a long night.”

He scowled and placed his snacks on the other nightstand. He then shrugged off his coat, pulled off his boots and stretched out next to her on the very edge of the bed.

“If you take a deep breath you’re going to fall right off the side,” she said.

“I’m fine,” he replied curtly.

She propped herself up on one elbow to face him. “Are you going to be in a bad mood the whole night?”

He looked at her in surprise. “What makes you think I’m in a bad mood?”

“Gee, I don’t know. Since you scowl all the time, it’s hard to tell when you’re in a good mood.” She consciously ignored the crazy warmth that swept through her at his nearness. His body heat radiated toward her and the scent of him was so pleasant.

“I’ve just been thinking about all the things I should be doing around the ranch. I’m acting as foreman right now and I should be there.” He leaned over and grabbed a package of potato chips off his nightstand.

Mandy knew Brody worked on the Holiday Ranch, and the local gossipmongers had been buzzing about everything that had taken place there over the past month.

“I still can’t believe Adam Benson killed all those people,” she said. “He seemed like such a nice guy...always with a pleasant smile,” she said pointedly.

Seven unsolved murders had taken place on the Holiday Ranch fifteen years ago and Chief of Police Dillon Bowie had been determined to solve the crime. It wasn’t until ranch foreman Adam tried to kill ranch owner Cassie Peterson that Dillon was finally able to solve the crimes and make sure Adam would never hurt anyone again. Adam had been killed when Dillon saved Cassie. Since then, Dillon had moved in with Cassie, and there was talk about a wedding in the near future.

“All of us were surprised. None of us had any clue how dangerous and sick Adam was.” He ripped open the bag of chips and offered it to her.

“So, you’re now the new foreman there.” She plucked out a chip and popped it into her mouth. It was vaguely irritating to her that he hadn’t really looked at her since he’d returned to the room with the goodies.

“Temporarily,” he replied. “Cassie offered me the position, and I took it for now with the understanding that I might not be the best man for the job.”

“Other than your obvious lack of people skills, why wouldn’t you be the best man for the job?”

“I do fine with most people,” he replied with a touch of irritation.

“So then it’s just me you don’t want to be nice to.”

He finally really looked at her, his dark brown eyes perfectly matching the brown in his plaid flannel shirt. Dear heaven, the man was so hot. His broad shoulders filled his side of the bed and his jeans fit tight on his slim hips, flat abdomen and long legs.

“Mandy, I don’t really know you.”

“Then tonight is a perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other better. Maybe we could even walk out of here in the morning as friends. I could always use a new friend. I don’t have many.”

“And why is that?” He gazed at her curiously.

Warmth swept into her cheeks. “I’m sure you know why most women don’t like me. With my reputation, I wouldn’t like me, either.” There, she’d mentioned the elephant in the room.

“Your reputation?”

She released a small, slightly bitter laugh. “Don’t play dumb with me, Brody Booth. I know what people say about me behind my back, that I’m fast and loose and wild, but you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”

“I’m just wondering how Butch Cooper is going to feel in the morning when word gets out that we spent the night together.” He returned his gaze to some point just over her shoulder.

“Butch is old news. We broke up soon after Cassie’s barn dance. I’m not seeing anyone right now. What about you? Is somebody going to be upset with you about tonight?” She’d never heard anything about his personal life.

“I don’t have anyone in my life and I don’t want anyone.”

“And why is that?” she asked curiously. “Don’t you want to get married and eventually have kids?”

“Nope.”