Sheltered by the Cowboy

by Carla Cassidy

  She might have sobbed in relief when they reached the motel office but she was too frozen to cry. Brody immediately released his hold on her as he greeted Fred Ferguson, the owner of the motel.

  “Heck of a night,” Fred said, his gaze behind his dark-rimmed glasses drifting from Brody to Mandy.

  “The road is definitely treacherous tonight,” Brody replied.

  “So are you both stuck?”

  “Yeah, we’re both in a ditch down the road. We each need a room for the night,” Brody replied.

  “That’s going to be a problem,” Fred replied.

  Every frozen muscle in her body tensed. What now? “A p-p-problem?” she managed to stutter through her chattering teeth.

  Fred nodded. “I’ve only got one room left.”

  Brody visibly stiffened. “Only one?”

  A wave of dread swept through Mandy. Apparently she would be spending the night with a man who didn’t like her and definitely didn’t respect her. Could this night get any worse?

  “A double?” Brody asked hopefully.

  “Nope, it’s a single with a queen bed.”

  The night just got worse. She watched, dumbfounded, as Brody slowly pulled his wallet out of his pocket and released a deep, audible sigh. “I guess we’ll take it.”

  * * *

  Brody had had a long, rough day and the idea of being locked in a motel room with the voluptuous, beautiful Mandy Wright was a candle on the top of a crap cake.

  He grabbed the key Fred placed on the counter and then headed out the door with Mandy trailing just behind him. There was no way he was going to crawl into bed with her tonight. Hopefully there would be a comfy chair in the room where he could sprawl until morning.

  He had a feeling if he found himself under the sheets with Mandy, something would happen and they would wind up having sex, and he refused to be another cowboy she’d bedded and then tossed aside.

  At room four he unlocked the door and opened it, reached inside to turn on the overhead light and then stepped aside so she could go in before him. She walked into the center of the room and turned to face him.

  Her full lips were blue and her dark hair hung in wet strands around her shoulders. She shivered uncontrollably, and he shut the door more forcefully than he intended. “Go get in a hot shower,” he commanded. “You’re soaking wet.”

  “But... I... I don’t have anything else to put on,” she replied, her lips barely moving.

  Brody frowned, then walked over to the bed and yanked off the blue-and-gray spread. “Use this to wrap up in until your clothes can dry.” He thrust it into her arms.

  As she turned and disappeared into the bathroom, he released another deep sigh. He shrugged out of his own coat and then turned up the heat in the room.

  The room was one of the smaller ones the motel had to offer, and the chair, which he’d hoped would be big and comfortable enough for a night’s sleep, wasn’t. It was a spindly straight-backed chair in front of the window that would assure no sleep at all for the night.

  He held his hands over the heat that had begun to blow from a vent. He could still smell her, a scent of brown sugar and vanilla that was intensely appealing.

  At the sound of the shower running, he tried hard not to visualize a naked Mandy. Far too often in the past he’d fantasized about a naked Mandy. Jeez, this was going to be tough.

  A glance out the window showed him that the snow was still coming down. The snow wasn’t so bad, but the icy mixture that had preceded it would have the whole town at a standstill.

  He sat down on the edge of the chair and pulled off his boots. The bottoms of his jeans legs were wet, but there was no way in hell he intended to strip down. It was bad enough that Mandy was going to wear only a bedspread when she got out of the bathroom. A wave of warmth swept through him at the very thought.

  Of all the women in town he could have been snowbound with, why did it have to be the one woman he was attracted to? A woman who, rumor had it, ate men for breakfast and spit them out by dinner? Not that he would care. He didn’t ever want a relationship with a woman.

  At least she hadn’t moaned and groaned on the miserable trek to the motel. She’d soldiered up, lowered her head and had done what needed to be done without a single complaint, although she had to have been miserable.

  He looked at his watch. It was just six thirty. What were they going to do to pass the rest of the evening? His stomach growled and he almost wished he’d picked up that meatloaf dinner from the floorboard and brought it to the room. He’d not only skipped dinner but also missed lunch. He wondered if she’d eaten dinner.

  Maybe he’d check out the motel vending machines and see if he could grab something there. With that thought in mind he pulled his boots on once again.

  A vision of Mandy clad in a red, white and blue sparkly bra exploded in his mind. It wasn’t just a fantasy. It was what she’d worn at the Holiday Ranch barn dance the month before. She’d been a sizzling sight as she’d danced and laughed and stirred something inside him that had been dormant for years...desire.

  It had been a costume party and she’d come as a patriot, and since that night he’d had a hard time getting her out of his head.

  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

  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 stretch
ed 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.”

  “Are you gay?”

  He released a small laugh. “Nope.”

  For a moment she couldn’t remember what they’d just been talking about. All she could think of was that low, slightly husky and very sexy sound that had escaped him. She turned and grabbed her corn chips off the nightstand and then faced him once again.

  “Why do you date so many men?” he asked.

  She looked at him in surprise. “I’m twenty-nine years old, I’m single and I’m looking for the toad who will become my Prince Charming. So far, they’ve all just been common toads.”

  “Maybe your standards are too high,” he replied. Once again he wasn’t looking at her but rather peering someplace over her head.

  “Probably,” she agreed easily. “But why would I lower my standards as to who I want to spend the rest of my life with? I want a man who loves me desperately, somebody who will always have my back no matter what. I’ve never, ever had anyone like that in my entire life.”

  “What about your family?”

  She masked that particular pain with a small laugh. “My mother died when I was ten. A month after her death, my older brother ran away and never came back. My father pretty much hates my existence and only keeps me around so I can cook and clean for him.”

  Afraid that she had sounded too harsh about her father, she continued, “Dad hurt his back nine years ago and had to go on disability, and he never got over my mother’s death. He needs my help and I’m glad to do it. All I want is to be good enough that he’ll be proud of me and love me.”

  Jeez, what was she doing baring her soul to him? She really didn’t know him at all. She grabbed a chip from her bag, not wanting to think about how alone she’d felt for most of her life.

  “You never heard from your brother again?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “When Graham left he never looked back. I think maybe it helped break my father’s heart even more and that’s what made him so hard and bitter. So, what about you? What’s your family story?” She didn’t want to think about her brother or her father anymore. It hurt too much.

  He stared up at the ceiling, as if contemplating whether to share anything with her or not. “You’ve probably heard that all of us cowboys at the Holiday Ranch were throwaway kids. Cass Holiday took us in when we were all in our early teens.”

  “Everyone in town has heard the story,” she replied.

  “I was fourteen when my father threw me out of the house because he caught me smoking a cigarette. It was almost a relief to be
forced to leave. Like you, I lost my mama when I was young. My father was a brutal man with an uncontrollable rage inside him and that rage was usually focused on me.”

  He turned to look at her, his eyes dark and unreadable. “I was fairly lucky. I’d only been out on the streets about a month when Francine Rogers, a social worker who was friends with Cass, offered me the chance to work on a ranch and brought me to Cass.”

  “I didn’t know Cass well before she died, although I’ve heard all kinds of wild stories about her.”

  His lips curled up in a beautiful smile that stole her breath away. “She was quite a character...tough as nails, yet she made all of us feel valued and wanted. Most of us probably would have died on the streets if not for her.”

  “It’s so nice she gave you all a second chance.”

  “She gave us hope and while we were all a little worried when Cassie, her niece, took over, everything has been different, but fine.”

  Mandy released a small sigh. “I’m hoping someday I can get to a really good place with my father.”

  Brody’s smile disappeared. “And what if that doesn’t happen?” he asked.

  “Then I’ll just have to be content with the knowledge that I did everything I could for him,” she said with more assurance than she felt. “See?” she added with a wide grin. “We’re getting along just fine. We have a lot in common.”

  He quirked a dark eyebrow upward. “Bad childhoods don’t necessarily make us good friend material.”

  She wasn’t sure why it was so important to her, but she wanted him to come away from this night seeing her as so much more than her crummy reputation.

  “Do you like pizza?” she asked.

  “Who doesn’t?” he replied easily.

  “What about Mexican food?”

  “There isn’t much I don’t like to eat,” he said.

  “That’s great. You like to eat and I love to cook. That’s something else that makes us potential friend material.”

  For the next couple of hours they talked about all kinds of topics. They both enjoyed country and western music and disliked hard rock. Autumn was her favorite season and he liked spring the best. The more time that passed with light conversation, the more they relaxed with each other.