Lynette Eason - Rodeo Rescuer

“Did you recognize your attacker?” the policeman asked.

“He had on a mask, but I know it was Hank Newman.”

The officer lifted a brow. “How do you know that if he had on a mask?”

“Because I recognized his cologne. And—” she drew in a deep, cleansing breath “—it’s not the first time he’s tried to kill me.”

“Oh.” The policeman frowned and wrote something in his little notebook. “All right. Anything else?”

She looked at Seth. “When you pounded on the door, it startled him. He loosened his grip enough for me to get away and get the door open. Thank you for that,” she whispered.

“Hey, I owed you. You saved me from a trampling today.” He gave her a gentle smile. Her tension lessened by a fraction. She smiled back but it was shaky and tight.

“I just wish I could have kept him from getting away,” Seth muttered. His leg was on fire, but not so intensely he was unable to ignore it. For now. Tomorrow would be worse, he knew.

An EMT approached. “Ma’am, would you like us to take a look at you?”

She shook her head. “I’ve been through this before. There’s nothing you can do for a bruised throat.”

Seth finished telling his side of the story and the officers left, armed with Hank Newman’s photo, but Seth knew they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest the man. He’d had a mask on. Tonya might believe it was Hank, but without solid proof, the creep would continue to be free to terrorize her.

Unless Seth did something to protect her. He mulled that thought over while friends and fellow roadies hugged Tonya and told her they were there for her.

“Tonya! Tonya! Where are you?”

* * *

Tonya spun to find herself engulfed in Mia’s slender arms. She winced at the tight hug, her new bruises protesting, but she didn’t pull away. Her best friend finally let her go and stepped back to give her the once-over. “Are you all right? I just heard someone broke into your motor home.” Her eyes landed on Tonya’s throat and widened. “What did he do?”

“Tried to strangle me. Again.”

“Again?”

“Yes.”

“So you were right. He was here.”

“ Is here. I saw him earlier on the grounds and at the hospital. I have no doubt it was him in my home.” She swallowed hard. “He’s back and apparently he wants to see me dead.”

Mia paled. “What are you going to do? You still have a show to do tomorrow. Not to mention the contest in a couple of weeks.”

“Don’t worry—I’m not going to leave you in the lurch.”

“Are you kidding? Your life is more important than some stupid show. I can handle it. And there are always other contests out there. You just do whatever you need to do.”

Tonya’s heart gave a grateful beat. “Thanks, Mia, but I think I’ll be all right. Hank is probably long gone by now.”

A slight pause. Mia eyed her. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

Tonya sighed. “No, not really, but I refuse to let that loser send me running again. I’m not going to let him ruin my reputation in this business. I’ve worked hard to get where I am.” Even though the thought of standing her ground and fighting back terrified her.

“But—”

“But nothing. I’m staying.” Saying the words made it so for her.

“Okay, okay.”

Tonya pulled in a deep breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.”

“No, it’s fine. Let me know if you need me to do anything. You want to come stay with me?”

Tonya considered that. “What about Monty?”

“I’ll kick him out. He can bunk with Jake or one of the other guys.” When Tonya still hesitated, Mia rolled her eyes. “Come on. You know my brother won’t care.”

“All right. If he says it’s okay, I’ll stay with you. Thanks. I’ll have to get something to cover up the hole in my roof and then I’ll get someone to walk me over.”

“Great. I’ll go get your bed ready.”

“Thanks, Mia.”

“Of course.” Tonya watched her friend walk away, still in shock over the events that had transpired. Fortunately, Mia’s fifth wheel was only a few rows over.

“I have some tarp I can put over the hole until you can get someone out here to fix it,” Seth said.

“Thank you.” She bit her lip and let her eyes linger on his handsome face. He really was a good guy.

“I’ll walk you over to Mia’s and then come back and do it.”

She frowned. “I can help you.”

“No need. Won’t take but a few minutes. You need to rest.”

“What about your leg?”

“It hurts, but it won’t keep me from doing what needs to be done.” He nodded at her motor home. “Get what you need for the night. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Tonya struggled with the notion. She wasn’t the kind of female who needed a man to take over or take care of her. She’d grown up with that for the first two decades of her life with four older brothers. Part of her wanted to rebel and assert her independence, but Seth didn’t come across as doing it because he thought she couldn’t. He genuinely seemed to want to do it because it would be helping her, not controlling her. She’d learned how to discern between the two. Finally, she gave a slow nod. “Okay. Thank you.”

“I’ll go get the tarp and be right back.”

She watched him go. Then turned back to face the steps that would take her into her home. Where she’d just been attacked. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn’t want to go inside. Not by herself. A hand fell on her shoulder. She jumped and screamed.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m sorry.”

Seth. Tonya slapped a hand over her thudding heartbeat. “You scared me to death.”

“I’m sorry. I called your name twice.”

“Oh. Didn’t expect you back so soon.” She twisted her hands in front of her. “I was just going in to pack.”

“And you don’t want to go inside alone.”

She flushed, surprised he read her so well. Then again, she hadn’t realized he’d been watching her either. “Not really.”

“Come on.” He took her hand and led the way up the steps and into the motor home. She gave his fingers a squeeze and blinked at the mess.

“Wow.”

“Wow is right,” he echoed. “You really put up a fight.”

“Yeah.” She stepped over the ottoman and the pillows from the couch that had somehow wound up on the floor. “I’ll be just a minute.”

“No problem.”

She stopped at the bathroom and peeked inside. Plastic and glass littered the area. The fan hung by a short wire from the ceiling. She sighed and gathered her toiletries and shut the door.

Ten minutes later, she had a packed bag. She walked back into the living area to find everything put back in its place. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m saying that a lot, aren’t I?”

He winked at her. “Hey, you saved my life. I owe you.”

“Stop saying that. I did my job.” He frowned and she rubbed her eyes. “That didn’t come out right.”

“I understand. Come on. I’ll walk you over to Mia’s. I have a friend in the area who owns an RV shop. I’ll call him and see how fast he can get you fixed up.”

“That would be amazing.”

He smiled and her heart flipped. She froze. No, no, no, no. She couldn’t be attracted to him. She couldn’t. She’d sworn off buckaroos. She’d vowed never to get involved with someone in the rodeo ever again. And what was her traitorous heart doing? Going all crazy over Seth Starke. A buckaroo. Just like Daniel had been. It was just a reaction to the stress, to finding comfort in his arms, to...something. Anything but that she was truly drawn to him.

She cleared her throat and stepped toward the door. Confusion flickered in his blue eyes, but he didn’t say anything, just followed her outside.