Guardian Cowboy

by Carla Cassidy

  It wasn’t until Adam had decided in his sick mind that Cassie had to die that all his crimes were uncovered. Thankfully, Dillon had shot Adam just before he’d killed Cassie with an ax. Adam had not only tried to kill Cassie, he’d also killed a new hire at the ranch.

  But most horrifying of all was the discovery that, years ago, he’d killed seven teenagers because he hadn’t thought they were good enough to work for Big Cass Holiday.

  So, was one of his “brothers” hiding a dark side? Did one of them have a secret crush on Janis and had spray-painted the building because she’d hooked up with Sawyer? He just had trouble believing that of any one of them.

  So, who else had been in the bar at closing time to know?

  It was definitely possible Zeke Osmond had done it as a childish attempt to get revenge on Janis for dumping a beer on him. That would be in keeping with the nasty personality of the man.

  Zeke worked on the Humes’s ranch next to the Holiday property. All the men who worked for Raymond Humes shared the common trait of being nasty troublemakers. The bad blood between the Humes and the Holiday Ranch cowboys was the stuff of legend.

  If Zeke was responsible for this, Sawyer would have no problem taking him to the woodshed, so to speak. No man should do something like this to a woman...ever.

  He could only imagine the gossip that would have fired through the small town if morning had come and the spray-painted words had been seen by everyone. Bitterroot was a place that loved its gossip.

  He didn’t know who was responsible and he was confused about his feelings toward Janis.

  Normally, Sawyer was a man who took his time when it came to romancing a woman. Sometimes he took so long the woman lost interest. But he intended to only be married once, so it was important that he got it right.

  Lately he’d been thinking a lot about love and marriage. Maybe it was because so many of his friends had gotten hitched in the past year. And he wanted children. He wanted to be the kind of father he used to dream about having as a little boy.

  Was Janis his forever woman? He had no idea. Everything had happened so fast with her. He’d invited her out to dinner because he’d felt obligated after the night before.

  But he’d enjoyed her company throughout the evening. He’d noticed that she was pretty before, but having her all to himself instead of seeing her in the bar had been surprisingly exciting.

  Something about the sparkle in her caramel-brown eyes drew him in. Her smile and her easy laughter were more than a little bit sexy. There was no question he was attracted to her in a way he hadn’t been before.

  And he’d already slept with her and didn’t remember it.

  When he reached the Holiday Ranch, he pulled his truck into the oversize shed that held all the cowboys’ personal vehicles. In the distance was the big, two-story house where Cassie and Dillon lived. In the opposite direction was the bunkhouse.

  The bunkhouse was set up like a motel with twelve small units that housed each of the men. At the back of the building was the dining and rec room. Cord Cully, aka Cookie, provided three meals a day for the ranch hands.

  It had been in the dining room that Cassie and Dillon had gotten married on Valentine’s Day. All the cowboys and their wives and girlfriends had been invited. Sawyer had attended the event alone.

  Janis was right. Love and marriage had definitely been in the air in Bitterroot over the past several months. Maybe that’s what had Sawyer thinking more and more about marriage.

  He entered his bunk and tossed his hat on the bed. The room was small, with a single bed against one wall and a chest of drawers on the other. There was a closet and an adjoining bathroom. The only things decorating the walls were pictures of Sawyer with his mother that he’d taken with him on the night he’d run away.

  He sank down onto the edge of the bed and dragged a hand through his hair. Janis Little is a whore. Yes, it was very possible Zeke had done it, a bit of childish revenge for a dropped drink. Hopefully this would be the end of it.

  But if it wasn’t Zeke, then who in the hell would do such a terrible thing?

  Chapter 3

  It was almost noon before Janis pulled herself up and out of bed the next day. She’d been up late listening to Miguel and James work outside.

  There was no way to describe the shock and horror of the night before. Of all the things that could have been painted on the building, the word “whore” had taken her back to some very painful teenage years. Years that she preferred to not think about ever again for the rest of her life.

  She now made herself a cup of coffee and then sat on the chair on one side of the bed to drink it. Aside from the horrifying discovery at the end of the night, she’d thoroughly enjoyed her time with Sawyer.

  Physically, she was very drawn to him. The copper of his eyes was both warm and a bit unusual. His cinnamon-colored hair was a bit too long and with more than a hint of curl. It begged for fingers to dance through the thick strands. His face was all interesting lines and angles weathered to a beautiful bronze and he had a smile that warmed everyone in proximity.

  She had also thoroughly enjoyed their conversation. She’d found him both intelligent and fun. Smart and with a good sense of humor, it was a heady combination in a man.

  Oh, yes, she was definitely drawn to him. But she doubted she would hear from him again unless it was on a Saturday night when he came into the bar with his buddies for drinks.

  Who would want to be with a woman somebody had called a whore? Why on earth would he want to get involved in this kind of drama? And, as if being called a whore wasn’t bad enough, he thought she’d fallen into bed with him without having any kind of a real relationship with him at all.

  She’d wanted to tell him the truth last night, but everything had ended on such a bad note, she hadn’t gotten it done. And she needed to tell him. If nothing else, so that he knew she wasn’t the kind of woman to just fall in bed with a random guy.

  She shoved away thoughts of Sawyer, finished her coffee and went into the bathroom for a long shower. Her work schedule today was from three to closing time at midnight. The bar was open until midnight Mondays through Thursdays, and then stayed open until two on Fridays and Saturday nights. The place opened at eleven thirty every day.

  Sundays, the bar was closed and Janis usually had the day off on Thursdays. However, she intended to talk to Gary about working without pay for the next couple of Thursdays to pay back whatever he’d had to give the men who had painted the building the night before.

  She dressed in the T-shirt that advertised the bar across the chest and jeans that were her usual uniform. She then turned on the small television on the dresser in an effort to find something to take her mind off Sawyer and the horrible spray-painted message.

  At least the weather report was for a nice spring warm-up over the next few days. Everyone would welcome nicer temperatures without the blustery wind.

  By three o’clock she was more than ready to go to work. She was sick of her own brooding and ready to visit with the patrons who came in.

  The minute she entered the bar proper, Annie rushed over to her. “Guess what I heard?” she asked.

  Every one of Janis’s stomach muscles instantly tightened. Oh, God, had somebody seen the spray paint before it was covered? Was she now the topic of all kinds of rumors and speculation around town?

  “What did you hear?” she asked, holding her breath to wait for the answer.

  “I heard that a certain woman was seen having dinner with a hot cowboy last night. I want all the details.”

  Janis laughed with more than a little bit of relief. “First, I want to know how you heard about it.”

  “You know my grandmother is good friends with Halena, who told her this morning while they had coffee together, and then my grandmother told me. Now...details please.”

  “I had the chicken
wrap with french fries and Sawyer had a burger and fries,” she told her. “Then we both had dessert and coffee.”

  “Don’t make me slap you upside the head,” Annie replied. “You know that’s not what I care about. Did you like him? Did he like you? Are you going to see him again? Did he kiss you?” The words tumbled out of Annie’s mouth in usual Annie style.

  “I like him. I don’t know if he likes me. I don’t know if I’ll see him again. And it’s none of your business if he kissed me.”

  Annie’s eyes sparkled. “So, he did kiss you! Was it a sweet kiss or a hot, tongue-and-all kiss?”

  “Annie, stop,” Janis replied with more laughter. She could always count on her friend to pull her out of the doldrums. Annie was unfailingly cheerful and truly interested in everything and everyone. “It was just dinner out...no big deal.”

  “I know you’ve had a crush on him forever, so him asking you out is a very big deal,” Annie stated. “Who suggested dessert? Him or you?”

  “He did.”

  “That’s awesome. That means he likes you and wanted to spend a little more time with you,” Annie proclaimed.

  “And I’m sure some of the customers around here would like the two of us to quit chatting and get to work,” Janis replied.

  “I hate it when you act like the manager of this place,” Annie said with a fake pout.

  “Do I need to remind you that I am the manager of this place?” Janis laughed as Annie danced away to the section she’d be working that day.

  Janis greeted Chance Aldrich, who worked as their part-time bartender. He had a ranch on the outskirts of town, but Janis guessed things weren’t going too well there for him to have to pick up extra money bartending.

  There were several people already in their usual places in the bar. Lester Caldwell, one of the grumpiest old men in Bitterroot, sat at the bar, nursing a whiskey. Lester complained about the drinks, the food and the music, yet he sat on the same stool every afternoon from about three to five.

  Myles Hennessy was also a regular. A pleasant man in his late fifties, he shamelessly flirted with the waitresses and loved the bar’s pulled pork sandwiches with fried pickles.

  For the most part Janis enjoyed the people who frequented the bar. It was only occasionally, on a busy Friday or Saturday night, that too much alcohol combined with too much testosterone and a fight ensued.

  “Hi, Lester,” she said as she greeted the old man. “Can I get you a fresh one?” She gestured to the empty glass before him.

  “Okay, but don’t water it down none. I swear every drink I get in this place is watered down to profit the bar,” he grumbled.

  She knew there was no reason to waste her breath explaining to him that if he wanted a whiskey on the rocks and nursed it for over an hour, the odds were good the ice cubes would melt and water down the alcohol. He would concede the point and then find something else to grouse about.

  As the evening approached, more people came in and, thankfully, it was impossible for Janis to think about anything but filling orders.

  At six o’clock Sawyer walked in alone. He greeted several people as he wove his way to a booth in Janis’s section. Janis couldn’t help the way her heart leaped at the sight of him.

  “Sawyer, I don’t usually see you in here during the week,” she said in greeting.

  “I wanted to come in to see how you were doing,” he replied. He placed his brown cowboy hat next to him on the seat.

  “I’m okay,” she replied.

  “I wanted to call you earlier, but I realized we didn’t exchange phone numbers last night. Want to do it now?”

  Her heart fluttered. “Sure.” She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket, pleased that last night’s drama hadn’t put him off.

  “Can I get you the usual?” she asked once they’d shared their numbers. His usual would be a tall glass of beer.

  He hesitated a moment and then shook his head. “No, I think today I’d like just a plain soda with a couple of limes thrown in.”

  She tried to hide her surprise. “Okay. I’ll be right back with it.”

  Annie met her at the bar. “Oh, my God, Janis. He must be so into you,” she said. “He never comes in here by himself or on a weekday.”

  “I know,” Janis replied. But he wouldn’t be so into her when she told him the truth about their night of passion. She needed to tell him. It was possible he was just being overly nice to her now because he felt guilty about that night.

  But she didn’t tell him that evening, or the next when he once again showed up and ordered a soda with lime. Instead, when she was between waiting on people, she stood next to his booth and they continued to get to know each other better.

  Wednesday evening when he came in, she knew she couldn’t put it off another minute. So far their conversations had been pleasant. They’d talked about the nicer weather and his work around the ranch.

  He’d told her that Trisha Cahill, who’d married fellow ranch hand Dusty Crawford, was pregnant and that Dusty was over the moon. In turn, she’d told him that she’d heard rancher Abe Breckinridge and his wife, Donna, were down with the flu and that Janine Willis, who worked at the grocery store, had taken a fall and broken her hip.

  They’d talked about nothing in depth and she still had no idea how he’d react when he learned what she had done to him.

  Even though she got to know him better the more time she spent with him, she’d like to know him even more. She wanted to know what he dreamed about, what life events had made him into who he was, and what he looked for in the future.

  But she feared she’d never get to learn those things once she told him how she’d fooled him. And he had every right to be quite angry with her. What had seemed like a funny idea at the moment didn’t feel quite so funny now.

  She glanced across the bar to where he was in a booth visiting with Chad Bene who worked on the Swanson ranch. The two men were laughing at something and she wished she was seated next to Sawyer in the booth and having fun.

  He glanced in her direction and the look he gave her felt sinfully intimate and warmed her from head to toe. Oh, she didn’t want to come clean with him. She didn’t want the budding romantic relationship with him to end.

  She couldn’t completely lose her head. She had to remember that the romance she believed might be building between them was based on her lie.

  If tonight went as the other two nights had, Sawyer would stay until about ten or so and then leave to go home. Usually by ten on a weekday the bar became fairly deserted.

  Tonight, no matter what was going on in the bar, she was going to have that conversation with him. She absolutely, positively, couldn’t put it off any longer.

  As the clock quickly wound down to the designated hour, a ribbon of tension twisted around her stomach and pressed tight against her chest.

  There were only three people left in the bar. They were all seated in Annie’s section when Sawyer reached next to him on the booth seat for his hat, a sure sign that he was preparing to head out. She couldn’t let him leave tonight without knowing the truth.

  She approached the booth. “You getting ready to leave?”

  “It’s about that time,” he replied. “I know tomorrow is your night off and I was wondering if you’d be interested in eating dinner at the café with me again.”

  “I’d love to. But, before you leave, there’s something I really need to tell you and it might make you renege on your offer.” Dread and tension once again pressed tightly in her chest.

  He frowned and set his hat back down on the seat. “And what would that be?”

  She sucked in a deep breath and then released it.

  “We didn’t sleep together the other night. I mean, we slept together, but we didn’t have sex.”

  His frown deepened and a dark wariness jumped into his eyes. “What are you talk
ing about? I was there.”

  “Well, you mostly weren’t there,” she replied. She stared down at the booth table, unable to meet his gaze as she continued. “You were passed out, like you usually are at the end of a Saturday night. It was kind of a joke, but I also wanted to show you how vulnerable you are when you get in that state. It frightens me for you.”

  When her words were met with a weighty silence, she finally looked up. Anger. It was written in the darkness of his eyes, in the grim slash of his lips. Every line in his face appeared sharper and his shoulders were stiff.

  “Did everyone have a good laugh at my expense?” he asked, the words clipped and curt.

  “It wasn’t like that,” she quickly protested. “I didn’t do it for my own humor, although I will admit it was kind of funny seeing your reaction when you woke up in my bed the next morning.”

  Her words did nothing to soften any of the hardness in his gaze. He leaned over, grabbed his hat once again and worked the brim between his fingers.

  “Sawyer, I’ll admit something else,” she continued hurriedly. “I told you I had a crush on you and I meant it. It’s the truth. I didn’t like the idea of you being passed out to the point that you could become a victim. You could get beaten up or robbed when you’re in that state. You could be taken advantage of by an unscrupulous woman.” The words tumbled out of her in a desperate rush to take his anger away.

  “So, you decided to be the unscrupulous woman?”

  The press of tears burned at her eyes. This was going so much worse than she’d ever thought it would. “I’m sorry. I should have never done it.”

  “Yeah, you got that right.” He got up from the booth, slapped his hat on his head and walked away from her toward the door.

  She watched him go until he disappeared from her sight. So much for a romance with Sawyer Quincy. She’d be lucky if he ever spoke to her again.

  * * *