“You’re right. I’m just a woman. I can’t do anything.”
“That’s right and don’t forget it. I’ll be seeing you, you can make sure of that.” He tipped his hat and walked away.
The shudder of revulsion she’d been holding back throughout the entire encounter with him rippled through her. Most of her run-ins with Randy had been harmless. This time though, there was a sinister hint to his words. She would have her hands full making sure she kept well away from him while still keeping her eye on her assignment.
Shaking off the remnants of disgust she made her way to her car. The shower was calling and she couldn’t wait to wash away the last fifteen minutes.
The crowds at the barbecue were insane and finding anyone would be nigh on impossible, so it was just as well Faith was sticking close to the other barrel racers. Tiffany, a native Houstonian, was leading them around the cook-off area.
“I’ve saved the best barbecue place for last,” she announced as she led them down another alley. The aroma of smoked and grilled meats surrounded them and regardless of the fact she’d eaten so much food, the smell didn’t make her stomach churn.
“I’m not sure I can eat another mouthful, “Sadie, another barrel racer, announced. “If it’s the best, you should’ve brought us here first.”
“Yeah, Sadie’s right, Tiff. What were you thinking?” Faith winked at her friend.
Tiffany laughed. “Trust me, you can fit in a taste, besides we only went to two places. How you can guys be full already? The samples weren’t that big.”
“I’m trying to watch my weight,” Sadie comment, patting her flat stomach.
Tiffany rolled her eyes and linked her arms with Faith and Sadie. “Yeah okay. Come on, let’s go.”
Faith chuckled, enjoying being with the two girls. The three of them hadn’t really known each other well the first time she was competing. Sadie had just come on to the scene as Faith was pulling away. Tiffany had had another group of girls she’d hung out with. But the three had connected at the first rodeo Faith competed in with this new assignment. Spending time with the women, Faith had found out that Tiffany’s father was battling cancer and she was determined to win enough money to help pay for his treatments. Faith couldn’t help but admire Tiffany for helping out her parents.
As they approached the next cook-off tent, Faith’s eye was caught by a tall man standing off to one side, sampling one of the plates of food. He was dressed all in black, including the cowboy hat that sat atop his head. His back was to them, but she couldn’t help but admire the width of his shoulders and the way the material stretched when he lifted the fork to his mouth. From his wide shoulders, his body tapered down to a nice waist. The jeans he wore cupped his ass nicely.
He was one hundred percent prime alpha male and she couldn’t deny, if he asked her to join him, she definitely would. The way he was standing seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t place where she might have seen this guy before.
Immediately Tiffany stopped and Faith almost tripped over her. “Hey, a little warning next time,” she grumbled.
“Oh. My. God. Check out that fine piece of ass dead ahead,” Tiffany exclaimed.
Faith knew exactly who she was talking about, the same guy she’d been admiring only seconds ago. “You talking about the guy dressed in all black?”
“Uh huh. He can leave his hat on my bedpost any night he wants,” Tiffany responded, and Faith looked at her friend to see if she had drool coming out of her mouth.
The man they were all admiring turned and tipped his hat up a bit making his face more visible. Faith’s breath caught in her throat.
Greg?
No way, her eyes must be playing tricks on her. No way was that Greg. He lived and worked in Virginia. He shouldn’t be standing in Houston at the barbecue cook-off.
“No way,” gushed Tiffany. “Is that Greg Robertson? Holy shit, has he improved. I mean he was cute when he was a teenager, but now he is gorgeous.”
Speaking was impossible for Faith, her mind was racing a million miles a second trying to rationalize what fate was doing to her. Two accidental meetings had to mean something, didn’t it? Especially here at this event where there were thousands and thousands of people attending.
A smile broke out over Greg’s face and he started toward them.
“Ohhhh he’s coming this way,” Tiffany whispered, acting like a lovestruck teenager meeting her tv idol, not a woman approaching thirty. Then again, Faith’s heart beat had ratcheted up a few notches and she was sure the closer Greg got he’d be able to see it pounding out of her chest.
He stopped in front of them. “Faith Timberly as I live and breathe, fancy seeing you again so soon.”
Faith ignored Tiffany’s elbow in her ribs. No doubt she wanted to know what Greg was talking about. Clearing her throat, she dredged up a smile and hoped it looked less like the grimace that it felt like. “Greg, this is a surprise. How are you?”
Should she give him a hug? That would be bound to give Tiffany lots of gossip fodder.
The decision was taken out of her hand when Tiffany extracted herself from the little group and wrapped her arms around Greg’s neck.
“Hi Greg, it’s so good to see you again. Where have you been hiding?”
Over the top of Tiffany’s head, Greg caught her eye and mouthed who is this?
The temptation to let him try and remember himself was huge, but the guy hadn’t really known Tiffany back then so she decided to help him out. Checking to make sure Sadie wasn’t watching her, she mouthed, Tiffany Holland.
His eyes widened in acknowledgement and remembrance. “Tiffany, it’s good to see you and I’ve been around. Busy and all that.”
After longer than was polite, Tiffany lowered her arms which allowed Sadie to step forward. Sadie wasn’t as forthright as Tiffany and just held out her hand. “Hi Greg, you don’t know me. I don’t think you were competing when I started, but I’m Sadie Pine. I’m also a barrel racer like Faith and Tiffany.”
Greg shook her hand and Faith bit back a grin when Sadie winced slightly at the strength. Faith was sure Greg didn’t mean to hurt her, but Sadie was tiny so any grip was likely to cause her some pain. But what she lacked in size she more than made up for in determination. She was a tough competitor and Faith’s closest competition. Between the two of them they’d been trading first and second places since Faith started back up. However, Faith had won the last few races, and even though Sadie appeared polite to her face, Faith had caught some distinctly evil looks from the other woman.
“Are you ladies about to try Bill’s Barbecue? It’s really good if you are,” Greg commented as he released Sadie’s hand and stepped a fraction closer to Faith.
What? Did he think she was going to protect him from Tiffany?
Tiffany was a man hunter, but Faith was sure Greg could hold his own. The guy fought insurgents on a regular basis. Tiffany wouldn’t present a challenge to him.
“Yes, we are,” giggled Tiffany, clearly determined to get Greg to notice her. “Bill is my dad.” She finished proudly.
“I guess you don’t eat much of his barbecue then.” There was a hint of venom in Sadie’s voice. Faith was taken aback. Yes, she’d been on the receiving end of some dirty looks from Sadie, but as far as Faith could tell, Sadie and Tiffany were best friends. Perhaps there was a little jealousy in the relationship after all.
“Well I’m not around as much as I’d like to be,” Tiffany said as they all started toward her dad’s barbecue tent. “But when I am, I like to take advantage of eating as much as I can. Daddy doesn’t make it all the time, Mom does most of the cooking.”
Faith was acutely aware of Greg walking close to her, every now and then his hand would brush her arm and little fissures of electricity zoomed up her arm. “I bet you miss him, Tiff.”
“Yep I miss them both. Daddy!” she squealed and ducked through the small space between the side of the tent and the table to give her dad a bear hug.
&nb
sp; A pang of longing pierced Faith. Her dad gave great bear hugs. Maybe she could squeeze in a trip to visit them when this rodeo was over. Her parents were aware that she was in Houston, but there was never a dull moment at the ranch so getting away, even for a weekend, proved difficult and she’d told them not to bother to come and watch her because she’d be busy.
“How are your folks, Faith? Still busy at Ranch Quattro?”
The fact Greg remembered the name of her parent’s ranch stunned her. “Yeah, they are. I’m impressed you recalled the name.”
Greg looked at her intently. In the dim light the gold flecks of his eyes stood out. “You’d be surprised at what I remember, Faith. How was Colorado?”
“Colorado?” Why would he be asking her that?
“Yeah, you said you couldn’t come to Joker and Suzie’s wedding because you were in Colorado. Did you lie to me, Faith Timberly?” There was no censure in his voice, when she would’ve expected there to be plenty.
Ahh, she told him she would be in Colorado so she couldn’t attend the wedding. He didn’t have to know she had still been in Virginia and could’ve gone. She’d said no for a reason and that reason still rang true now—she had to focus on the job at hand. She hadn’t been in Virginia to socialize. One wedding was enough. Besides, if she’d gone to Suzie’s the questioning she would’ve got from all the girls would’ve been more intense than it had been at Erin’s.
“I was in Colorado last weekend and didn’t arrive into Houston until Monday.” Which was exactly what happened, but her flight had been from New York and not Denver.
He shrugged. “If you didn’t want to go to the wedding with me you could’ve just said no. I wouldn’t have been offended, you didn’t have to make up some excuse.”
Now there was disappointment in his tone, and she didn’t like it, but the chance to explain further was lost by Tiffany thrusting paper plates under their noses.
“You guys have to try this. You won’t regret it.”
Faith instinctively reached for it so the contents on the plate wouldn’t end up splattered down the front of her top. She forked a large portion of the meat into her mouth and groaned at the burst of flavors exploding in her mouth. The sauce was sweet, with a hint of spice. “Oh wow, that is amazing,” she said when she swallowed. “What do you think, Cowboy?” His nickname slipped off her tongue.
“Cowboy?” Tiffany queried. “Why are you calling him a cowboy?”
Faith hadn’t been aware the other woman still stood near them. “Umm, I don’t know, it just slipped out. You can’t deny he’s dressed like a cowboy.”
Faith didn’t know if Greg wanted the whole world to know his nickname. Hell, didn’t SEALs have to keep their identities on the down low because of the jobs they did?
“Well I guess you do have a point,” Tiffany simpered and ran a finger down the buttons on Greg’s shirt. Faith wanted to slap her hand away and shout mine.
What the hell?
She couldn’t think like this. Getting distracted on a job could mean the difference between life and death. For her sake, and Greg’s, she needed to keep her distance.
“Look, I um, I need to go. I’ll see you guys later.” Forcing a smile to her face, she disposed of her empty plate in the nearby trash can and walked away.
She turned and lifted a hand in a small wave when she heard Tiffany’s what and Greg calling her name. Strangely, Sadie stood to the side, a contemplative look in her eye.
What was that all about?
Chapter 3
Greg watched Faith’s retreating figure, frustration firing through his body. When he saw her standing behind him, he thought he’d conjured her up. He’d been thinking about her a lot over the last couple weeks since Italy’s wedding.
All the girls had asked him how come he hadn’t brought her to Joker and Suzie’s wedding. When he explained he’d invited her but she’d declined, they all wanted to know what he’d done to her. They hadn’t believed him when he said nothing and that she was the one who walked away from him.
The guys had given him a hard time at PT and he’d taken it on the chin, what else could he do? If he did anything else they’d all know that his attention wasn’t fully on the task. Fortunately for the next two weeks he’d be in Houston with his family and the rest of the team would be off doing their own private thing.
Both newlywed couples were honeymooning, including Robot and Antonia. Red had gone to visit his screenwriter friend in California. T-Rex and Brielle were staying close to home because after Suzie and Joker’s wedding, he’d announced they were expecting their first baby.
“Greg, I asked if you wanted to join us?” Tiffany’s voice grated on his every nerve. He was sure she was a nice girl, but the girl he wanted to spend time with had disappeared into the crowd and the chances of him finding her were slim if he didn’t get a move on.
“Thanks, but I need to get going. I’ve got to go and meet my parents. I came with them tonight.”
While not a lie, it wasn’t exactly the truth. His parents were indeed at the cook-off, but they’d arrived separately, he didn’t need to find them.
“Oh, are you sure you can’t stay with us?” Tiffany pouted. Greg noticed the look of contempt in Sadie’s eyes as she looked at Tiffany, as though she didn’t really like the girl at all. If that was the case then why was she hanging around with her? The ins and outs of women’s friendships were confusing, and unlike the friendship with the wives of his teammates. That relationship was true and sound. A blink and the look was gone from Sadie’s eyes.
Interesting.
What was Sadie’s game? She had to have one. No one looked at a friend like she had been looking at Tiffany only moments ago.
“Yeah, Greg are you sure you can’t join us?” This time Sadie laid her hand on his arm and he tried not to shake it off. Her touch left him cold, unlike Faith who lit a fire within him.
Faith.
The longer they stood there the less chance he had of finding her. In fact it could be impossible but he wasn’t going to give up. He was a SEAL. If he couldn’t find her then he should give up his trident pin.
“Thanks, but I really need to get going. It was nice to meet you ladies.” He tipped his hat and strode away before either one of them could halt his progress.
He headed in the direction that Faith had gone. The crowd hadn’t thinned, and he knew from past experience that everyone loved the cook-off and carnival. It was the kick-off to three weeks of rodeo fun in the city of Houston. As a kid he’d loved going and watching the bronc riders. He’d dreamed of one day being one of those competitors. His parents had supported his dream, considering they had given him the bug by entering him in the mutton-busting contests from the age of four.
When he’d come back from Paris, devastated at the loss of his best friend, Zach, in a terror incident, they’d stood by him when he said that instead of going to college he was going to join the Navy. They’d also encouraged him when he talked about becoming a SEAL, believing in him that he could survive the rigorous training it took to become one. When he’d been freezing his nuts off in the ocean, he’d pulled on their belief in him to get him through it all.
They’d been in the crowd, proud smiles on their faces, when he received his pin. Of course, now he knew his mom worried incessantly about him whenever he called to let them know he was going on a mission. Sometimes all he had time for was to send a text to say he was going away and he didn’t know when he’d be back.
None of these memories was helping him to find Faith though. The crowd was too dense to even make her out. Everyone looked the same in their cowboy hats. Even his teammates would find it difficult to locate her.
He kicked himself for not following her the second she’d rushed away from the group.
The crowd parted, was that her? He turned to the left and what he saw had his blood simmering in anger. Faith was cornered by a man who looked vaguely familiar to him. He couldn’t place him though, maybe he was someone he’d
seen at one of the tents he’d stopped at to get food that evening.
Whoever he was, he was getting up close and personal in Faith’s space and Greg didn’t like it one bit.
He strode toward them, noting that Faith appeared to be holding her own against the guy, but that didn’t make him feel any better.
“You know you shouldn’t be wandering around here alone. Anything can happen.” He caught the scumbag saying when he got within hearing distance of them.
“There’s thousands of people here, Randy. I think someone would notice if you did anything.”
Randy?
Why did that name ring a bell? Hell in Texas there were plenty of people named Randy. It could be anyone. Yet his voice seemed familiar, and turning in on himself he concentrated on the nuances of the way he spoke. The tilt of his head. The way this Randy person’s shoulders curved inward a fraction. An image of a younger version coalesced in his mind.
Fuck, it’s Randy Williamson.
The asshole had Faith bailed up and Greg didn’t like it one bit. He’d always been a creep when he’d been on the circuit years ago. There had been rumors that he’d raped a competitor at a rodeo in East Texas but no girl came forward and he apparently had an alibi for the night in question.
“Look around, sweet Faith. Who’s looking for you? You were walking all by yourself, surrounded by people, and not one of them batted an eyelid when I led you over here.” Randy went to touch Faith on the cheek, and she batted his hand away. For Greg it was the last straw.
His anger had reached boiling point. No one touched his Faith.
Greg closed the small distance between him and Randy, when he stood behind the man, he grabbed him by the arm, whirling him around.
“What the fuck? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Greg turned up his nose as the stale scent of beer erupted from Randy’s mouth. His eyes were glassy and Greg wondered if there was a combination of alcohol and something else running through Randy’s bloodstream. “I’m with Faith, and that’s all you need to know.”
Guarding Faith Page 3
