Brenda Minton - Her Rancher Bodyguard

“I need ranch clothes because you seem to think I’m going to have to be removed from Austin.” She sat down in the chair across from him as he leaned back and brushed a hand through his short dark hair.

“I’ve seen your closet. You don’t need clothes.”

“Maybe not, but I can’t take another day cooped up inside. Lucy has to run to Stephenville today to check on her mom. So I’m stuck with you. And we’re going shopping.”

“Can I have coffee at least?”

“Yes, you can have coffee. I’ll even prove my worth by making it. I do know how to do a few things.”

He gave her a serious look. “Stanford, I’m not the one who doubts your abilities. You are.”

“Great, we’re getting Freudian again. I’ll make the coffee and you climb back under the rock you crawled out of.”

He groaned and stood. “I was happy under that rock.”

He followed her to the kitchen, and as she started the coffee, he rummaged through the refrigerator. “I should have gone to the store.”

“I have toaster pastries in the cabinet,” she told him.

“I’m not a fan of starting my morning with pure sugar.”

She slid the sugar jar down the counter and grinned. “Go for it, it might sweeten you up.”

The doorbell rang. He glanced at her, all cowboy, sleepy and a little bit grumpy. A dark brow shot up. He pushed himself away from the counter and headed for the front door. She watched from the safety of the kitchen as he looked through the peephole.

“Who is it?”

He put a finger to his lips and pointed toward the bedroom. She obeyed, even though she wanted to stay, not only to see who it was, but because he shouldn’t be left alone. But the look on his face told her she shouldn’t argue.

Lucy was just waking up when Kayla walked into the room.

“Who’s here?” she asked, brushing long hair from her face.

Kayla peeked out the door but Lucy pushed it closed. “I’m not sure who it is,” she admitted.

“Then, I doubt Boone wants your head sticking out.” Then Lucy was strapping on a sidearm and slipping out of the room, leaving Kayla very much alone and in the dark.

Minutes later the door opened and Lucy peeked in.

“All clear.”

“Who was it?” Kayla asked as she followed the other woman to the kitchen.

“Absolutely no one,” Lucy answered as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She took a sip and frowned. “Did you make this?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t ever do that again.” Lucy poured the coffee down the drain. “There wasn’t anyone at the door. There was a letter.”

“Where’s Boone?”

“Checking the building.”

Kayla headed for the door. “Alone?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lucy followed, pulling her back before she could reach for the doorknob.

“I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“And this is how it starts,” Lucy said with an exaggerated roll of her dark brown eyes. “He’s got pretty eyes, they say. He’s a gentleman, they sigh.”

“I don’t care about his eyes. I’d rather him not get shot in my building.” Kayla went back to the kitchen. “It would make a mess in the hallway.”

Lucy laughed. “I’m not sure I like you, but you’re okay.”

She was used to people not really liking her. But for some reason, this hurt more than usual.

“Boone can take care of himself,” Lucy continued. “He’s smart and he’s well trained.”

The front door opened. Kayla didn’t look, because if she looked Lucy would draw conclusions that weren’t accurate. It wasn’t his eyes, his smile or anything else. As she poured more water into the coffeemaker, she realized she didn’t know what it was about Boone. She didn’t really want to delve into it because it might cost her.

“I’m not sure how they’re slipping out of here, but they’re gone.” He limped as he headed for a seat at the bar.

“You okay?” Lucy asked, as she finished making the coffee that Kayla had started.

He arched a dark brow at her.

“And you have the letter?” Kayla asked, not asking about his health. It was obviously a topic he wanted to avoid.

He pulled on latex gloves and held the letter up for Kayla to see. “Recognize that handwriting?”

“It’s the same as the other letters. I don’t know who it belongs to.”

He slid a knife under the seal and pulled out a letter and a picture. His brows drew together as he read and his mouth tugged at the corner. Was he laughing at this, as if it were a game?

“It isn’t funny, Wilder. This is my life.”

He held up a picture. “Care to explain why you were crossing the border, princess?”

She leaned against the counter and buried her face in her hands. Next to her Lucy snickered. Kayla didn’t blame her. If she wasn’t so humiliated, she’d laugh, too. In the past she would have laughed with them. It was all a big joke. But not really. In truth it was her way of striking back at her father for hurting her.

“Well?” His voice was soft, luring her out of her thoughts.

“It was after my mom died. I went to Mexico. Two weeks of stupidity. I was slowly killing myself, intentionally, unintentionally, I’m not sure. I lost my passport.”

“You could have called Daddy,” Lucy said.

“I could have, but what fun would there have been in that? A friend stayed behind with me. We met some people. And somehow we ended up being smuggled across the border. The rest of our group met up with us and brought us home.”

“You really think that’s a game?” Lucy said sharply.

“No, it isn’t a game. I’d like to think I’m a somewhat better person now. I’m still working on it, though.”

Lucy raised both hands. “Yeah, okay. What about the letter, Boone?”

He spread it out on the counter. “It’s a warning. Requesting the first payment or the story gets leaked to the press. And it warns us not to let you out of our sight.”

“What do I do now?”

Boone slid the note back inside the envelope. “It’s time to go to the police with this information. I know your father wants to keep it quiet, but someone tried to hurt you. That same someone has followed you. They’ve been in your apartment.”

“He isn’t going to agree with you,” Kayla warned. “This is stuff he’d like to keep private and someone wants to make it public. Going to the police...”

“Might stop them. If it’s made public, they’ll stop trying to get money for secrets that are no longer secrets. Or scandals that aren’t scandals, but public knowledge.”

Kayla walked away, taking the darkest of her secrets with her, away from the prying eyes of two people who didn’t care, not about her. They cared about doing their jobs. They cared enough to keep her safe. But her past was hers. As angry as she was with her father, she wouldn’t let other people destroy him.

“Hey, we have to deal with this.” Boone followed her to the deck. The sun was beating down and the concrete was hot under her feet. She sat down and he pulled up another chair to sit facing her.

“I’m not going to the police,” she said, determined to have her way in this.

“We don’t have a choice. I’m going to call your dad and he’ll back me up on this. I don’t know what it is between the two of you, but I’m pretty sure you both care more than you let on.”

“Yes, we care.” She looked away, to the potted palm in the corner and the flowerpot that she’d picked up at a discount store because it looked cheerful. She didn’t know what it was called or how she’d managed to keep it alive.

“Are there more letters?”

She shook her head. “I threw them away. At first I just thought it was a nuisance. But then I started feeling as if I was being followed, and I’m sure they’ve been in my apartment more than once.”