Protecting His Cowgirl: Brotherhood Protector World

by Mary Winter

  “You suggested it?” Shelby glanced at Jenny and wished she could throw a bucket of ice water on her friend’s smug smile. She smelled a setup.

  “I don’t have to stay in the house if you don’t want me to.”

  Oh, but she did. The husky rasp of his voice sensitized each and every nerve ending, and behind her sports bra her nipples pebbled. Her body ached. “Why don’t we go for a ride?” she said, leading Charlie back down the lane. She had an unused pasture they could ride in, and right now remaining in the saddle gave her the feeling of power. Like she could run away if things got too hot. With Bull, she suspected they’d get really hot really fast.

  “Sure,” Jenny answered for them. “It’s a beautiful day. Lead the way.”

  Shelby said a silent prayer of thanks to her friend and led the way into the pasture, pausing to open the gate, then closing it behind everyone. Somehow the group sorted itself out and she found herself riding next to Bull. He didn’t say anything. She liked that in a man, knowing when to keep quiet and let her think. Because if she thought about it too much, she’d be falling head over heels into something she really didn’t feel as if she deserved.

  After what Caid had dealt with when it came to cattle thieves, he didn’t want to leave Shelby alone for a minute longer than necessary. Unless he was reading his signals all wrong, she wanted him. The feeling was mutual. From the first time he’d seen her in the cafe, he’d imagined her lying beneath him, that red hair spread out all over his pillow. He wondered if the color was natural, and hoped he’d have a chance to find out. Unlike Jenny’s situation, this one looked purely amateur.

  In fact, he’d made a mental note to check plat plot? maps to see who owned the properties surrounding her. From what he could tell, someone had led out the steer on an ATV or maybe even a bicycle. It certainly didn’t add up to a big time cattle-thieving operation. If he had to take a guess, he’d say some kid had done it. Except around here, most kids familiar enough with cattle to lead them away like this probably had horses and livestock of their own.

  He glanced beneath the brim of his hat to the woman riding next to him. Her red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. The sleeveless plaid shirt revealed muscled arms, and breasts the perfect size to fill his palms. Her worn jeans cradled her hips, her legs endless enough to wrap around his waist. He bit back a groan and adjusted in his saddle. If he had just a fling with her, no doubt Jenny or Caid, or both of them, would tan his hide.

  “How long you been working for Hank?” Shelby asked. “Jenny told me about how you helped her with that situation. She said you were a good man.”

  So she’d been asking about him. Good. A good man, though? A good man didn’t let his buddy get shot out of the sky. A good man didn’t wake up in a cold sweat at night, visions of his friend twirling down from the sky like a limp rag doll. He swallowed hard. He’d been called a great many things. Good man hadn’t been one of them. At least not to his face.

  “About eight months. Took a couple of smaller jobs, then helped out Domino and Jenny.”

  Shelby paused for a moment. “Oh, you mean Caid. Yeah, that was freaky.”

  “Freaky. Yeah,” he admitted, though he would have used other, stronger language to describe the way Jenny’s ex-boyfriend had hooked up with a UFO exploitation show that wanted to show off pictures of mutilated cattle—her cattle. He shook his head. “You haven’t seen anything or have any leads on your situation, do you? Any boyfriends I should know about?” He turned and arched an eyebrow at her.

  A pretty pink flush spread over her cheeks. “No. No boyfriends, ex or otherwise, that you need to know about. I haven’t dated anyone since moving here.”

  The revelation shook him. A sexy woman like her not having any partners? She worked at the café, which gave her all sorts of opportunities to meet people. Never mind that he hadn’t dated anyone since a short fling a year or so before he was discharged from the service. A life like his…he figured most women didn’t want to know that the man they loved parachuted into danger. Sure, Mustang and Domino had settled down; he didn’t plan on doing the same.

  Shelby led them back to the road and her house.

  “I should be able to return this afternoon and set up the cameras. I can have them wired to any device you want, so you can watch them too.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  Neither one of them mentioned the fact that he’d be staying over. “You know, if I bring these cameras, you might as well talk to Hank about hiring me officially.”

  “I don’t think I could afford that. I hear Hanks’ operatives are expensive, though I guess you’re worth every penny.”

  “Sure am, ma’am.” He gave an exaggerated wink and tipped his hat to her.

  Shelby laughed. “Cocky too.” She nudged Charlie who needed no urging to race back to the barn, and a moment later, she was racing him back to the barn—and home.

  A phone call with Hank brought the discovery that his prices were more than reasonable, especially for a job this light, and by the time Bull returned with the cameras, she’d officially hired him. He had brought Leroy over with Jenny’s permission, and had ridden him back out to the front pasture to set up cameras along the fence and the alley leading back to the yard. She sat on the front porch, a glass of lemonade in her hand, and kept looking to see if she could see him.

  “Silly,” she muttered to herself. Then she took a long drink. Condensation sent droplets of water cooling her hand, and she wiped it on her forehead. The day had turned warm and she licked sweat from her upper lip. What she wouldn’t give to lick sweat off of Bull’s chest. Oh damn, she’d ridden with the guy once and she was falling for him. An itch that only he could scratch. She propped her bare feet up on the porch railing, her denim shorts riding high on her thighs. Who cares if he saw her? She’d already moved file boxes off the bed in the spare room and had even changed the sheets.

  Two weeks, she figured, since the previous thefts had come that far apart. If she could stand living with him for two weeks, that was all she had to worry about because by then whoever was doing this would be back, they’d catch him—or them—and then he’d be onto his next assignment. She could do this, live with him and make sure he never knew about that alter ego she worked hard to keep buried.

  She drained the last of her lemonade and smiled when she saw the dust cloud coming toward her. Bull cantered Leroy back to the barn, or maybe Leroy had been the one to make the decision, judging by the grim set of Bull’s jaw. She admired his kissable lips for a moment, then swung her legs down to stand.

  “Don’t move on my account. I got him,” Bull said, giving a strong cue for Leroy to slow. He did, almost on a dime, and Shelby winced as Bull bounced against the pommel of the saddle. “Damn stubborn mule,” he muttered. “I got the cameras set up. Let me take care of Idjit here, and then I’ll show you what we got.”

  “Okay.” She watched as he dismounted and led Leroy to the barn. Jenny had said much the same thing about the horse, so while Bull certainly could handle him, he apparently felt the same way. She went into the house, refilled her glass, and sat down at the table with her laptop, making sure a fresh browser window was open.

  Bull entered a few minutes later, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, with an apology for his dirty boots.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse in here than any dust you might track in. There’s a reason I redid the house in laminate as soon as I could.” She pointed him in the direction of the bathroom in case he wanted to freshen up.

  When he emerged, his face and hands washed, his hair slicked back wet, she fought the image of the two of them in the shower “cleaning up” together. He sat down and pulled a laptop out of the bag. A few keystrokes later, and he brought up camera images from her pasture. She recognized the highway and the alley leading to her house. A few cattle grazed at the periphery of the images. “So here are the cameras. They’re solar-powered, and the signal they run on is strong enough to reach the house and p
robably anywhere on the property. It’s encrypted. No one will see them, and I doubt anyone will notice they’re there unless you point them out. I can put out the obligatory ‘this property is protected by camera surveillance’ signs if you want. Montana doesn’t have any set rules on the books, so it’s your call.” He went on to talk about the cameras and how to operate them, and on his laptop brought up the browser window where she could watch them. “Do you want me to set it up on your computer?”

  Shelby shook her head. Better to be safe and keep everything under her control. “If you can give me the information, I think I can set it up.” She followed his commands, putting in the IP address and then the codes to access the cameras. As soon as the page came up she bookmarked it and figured she could find it again. That would reassure her at least that she could see her pasture at any time. “So you’re hoping we’ll see whoever is doing this and catch them?”

  Bull nodded. “That would be the easy way.”

  In his eyes, she saw it usually didn’t happen the easy way.

  “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll catch whoever is doing this.” He reached across the table and cupped her chin. “I don’t want you to worry. You won’t even know I’m here. I’ll head out in the morning, or maybe even at night, and come in to sleep. I don’t need much sleep.”

  “Neither do I,” she said.

  “Then we’ll have to think of something to do.” He brushed his finger across her chin.

  “I guess we will.” She turned her laptop away from him, then shut the lid and pulled away. Her grandfather clock chimed and she jumped out of her chair. “I haven’t gotten lunch yet. Let me get us something.” She hurried into the kitchen and he watched her move between the counter and the refrigerator, thinking something had startled her. He sensed she had secrets and that made him want to learn about his cowgirl.

  Chapter 3

  Shelby washed dishes, the heavy weight of knowing Bull would start asking questions weighing on her. She ought to have put a lock on the third bedroom door, but that would have looked odd. Or would it? She frowned. They sold interior locking room doorknobs; she’d looked at the local hardware store when she’d started her side gig five years ago. Until tonight…until Bull’s arrival…her second job hadn’t bothered her. She lived alone on a few hundred acres. No one heard her; no one could see anything. She’d have to work when Bull left, and that was going to mess with her pocketbook even worse than the price tag Hank had given her for this job.

  She sighed, started toward her bedroom, and stopped. Bull slept in the room next to hers. She didn’t want to bother him. Instead, she grabbed a glass of ice water and headed for the front porch.

  “Going to be a beautiful night tonight,” Bull’s low voice came to her from the shadowed end of the patio.

  She stifled a shriek, nearly dropped her glass, and rested a hand against her chest. “I thought you were sleeping.”

  “Told you. I don’t need much sleeping and you looked like a woman on a mission in the kitchen. I didn’t want to bother you so I slipped outside.”

  How a man built like him, several inches over her own not-short frame, and broad as a brick wall, had sneaked outdoors…she’d never know. Had to be part of his military training.

  “I hope I’m not bothering you.” She sat down in her porch swing and rested her feet on the banister. She loved this place. From here she saw most of her acreage and had a good view of the barn and outbuildings. Occasionally deer would come to the pond in the west pasture to drink, and she’d sit here silently watching them.

  “Not at all. It’s never a bother to be joined by a pretty woman.” He tipped the hat he seemed to wear everywhere in her direction. To bed? she wondered, then shoved the thought away. When he’d touched her chin at lunch she’d sworn the heat building in her core was going to detonate. The man had a lethal touch that could turn a woman to a quivering mass of need with a single caress. She didn’t dare see what his kisses were going to do.

  “Bull. Greer. We can’t.” Shelby swallowed hard. “This has got to be business.”

  “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, Shelby.” He stood and crossed the space between them until he stood in front of the porch swing. His position put her gaze at level with his crotch, and she motioned for him to sit down next to her. He did, the swing creaking a bit at his bulk, but it held. He stretched his arm along the back, his fingers just brushing the back of her neck.

  She shivered.

  “You used my given name, so I guess I’m in trouble. I haven’t heard a woman call me that since my mama about five years ago.”

  Something about the wistful note in his voice made her think that he’d lost his mother. “She’s gone?”

  He nodded. “Had an aneurysm. Was gone in an instant, I guess. Happened while she was at work. I’m just glad I’d spoken with her the night before and told her how much I loved her.”

  “That’s good. It’s very important,” Shelby replied, not wanting to think about her own parents. Some things she couldn’t go back in time and retrieve, and she had no idea they would have been her last words to them. She sighed and shoved the bad memories aside. “You going out tonight?”

  “Thinking about it. Certainly wouldn’t hurt. Unless you have other ideas?” He turned to face her, and she made the mistake of looking directly in his eyes. His dark brown eyes held heat and appreciation, and if her man-dar wasn’t out of commission, he was about to kiss her.

  “Greer,” she cautioned, hoping the use of his first name would slow him.

  He cupped her chin, his fingers soft against her skin. “Just a taste. Then we’ll know and can put it out of our minds.”

  “I—” Her voice faltered as he dipped his head. “Just one,” she relented, giving him the consent he needed.

  His lips brushed across hers, as soft and gentle as a welcome spring rain, and just as refreshing. Only his lips and fingers touched her face, and yet every nerve ending lit with desire and need. Her body grew warm, her pussy wet as his lips moved over hers, and when his tongue traced her lower lip, she moaned and opened her mouth, inviting him deeper. Just one taste? Damn, the man was proving to be addictive, because suddenly she wanted to be sprawled across his body, her breasts flattened to his chest, and grinding her hips against his.

  She reached for him, bumping his cowboy hat to the wooden floorboards as she tangled her fingers in his dark black hair. He still hadn’t moved, kissing her as slowly and leisurely as if they had all the time in the world. When he pulled back, both of them were breathing hard.

  If that was her single kiss from him, then at least he’d made it a good one.

  His cell phone chimed from its holster on his belt. Bull frowned. “I’m sorry.” He stood and grabbed the phone. His frown deepened and he turned and went inside, his “hello” fading as the door closed behind him.

  She breathed deeply and propped her feet back up to give him privacy. Reaching for her drink, she took several long swallows before he returned.

  “Sorry, that was my buddy Wings. He was on the same team as Mustang, Domino, and I.”

  “Everything okay?” She didn’t need to ask; his tone indicated it wasn’t. She lowered her feet so he could join her again if he wanted.

  “He’s…in pretty rough shape, let’s say. Healing takes time.” Bull sat down beside her, though the conversation seemed headed to a halt.

  “I’m sure he’ll pull through.” She turned because the instant she said the words, the haunted look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. She’d seen that same look before, the one where the person tried so hard not to blame themselves, and yet they did. She rested her hand on his shoulder. “You’ll pull through. Whatever happened it wasn’t your fault.” His muscles tensed, and she curled her fingers around his arm. “You guys are strong and there’s lots of support out there.” The sun slipped behind some trees and shadows fell over the porch.

  “Yeah, there is. Thanks.” Bull laid his hand over hers. “And someday
I’m going to find out how you knew what to say to me just then, because something tells me you’re more than just a waitress at a café.”

  She shrugged and pulled back, not wanting to tell him just how true that was. “Well I do have a minor in psychology.” She stood. “I’m going to check on the horses for the night, and then if you want I’ll find something for dinner.”

  “I’ll cook. I brought some groceries from town. Put them in the fridge in your mud room.”

  “Oh. Thank you.” Not sure what to say to a man who cooked, other than thank you, she stood and slipped her feet into boots to hurry to the barn. Not only did he kiss like a dream, but he cooked. How was she going to let him go?

  ~* * *~

  Wings’ text bothered him. He lived with his sister, who lived close enough that he could continue to get treatment at the Martinsburg, West Virginia VA hospital, which was considered one of the best for PTSD treatment. His buddy’s physical wounds had healed remarkably well considering that he’d lost a lot of blood and had fractured both legs and several ribs. Passing out on the way down had helped him, because he hadn’t fought the landing and done more damage.

  I’m ready to be back in the field. So that others may live!

  The words he’d lived by haunted him. From what he could tell, Wings had come a long way, but still had a way to go before assimilating back into civilian society. He’d asked about Montana, and there were programs nearby for vets with PTSD, but Bull wasn’t sure his friend was ready to leave yet. Then again, he also didn’t possess a MD.

  Shelby’s on-target words bothered him. He hadn’t told her that there’d been an accident, though with the unit he’d been in, it was a good guess. Still, something nagged at him, almost as if she’d needed to tell herself things weren’t her fault a time or two, and he vowed to find out. He’d cooked them supper and she’d gone to bed. He tried not to think about her lying in bed, the sheets tangled around her legs. The room between them had a closed door; she’d called it her office. He debated checking it out, but didn’t, afraid of waking her. Instead, he sat in his room, staring at his tablet and the cameras, unable to sleep.