MR01 - Protect Me, Cowboy by Shelli Stevens

Author:Shelli Stevens [Stevens, Shelli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Published: 2016-09-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

He’d gone quiet again. He seemed to be speaking with his hands. Tracing them up and down her back in a way that made her all tingly and warm inside.

Claire wanted to roll over and pull Wyatt on top of her. Drag his head down to hers and make him kiss the hell out of her—

“So this singing in the band thing, it pays your bills?” His strained question interrupted her sexy vision. “It supports you?”

“No.” She laughed in genuine amusement. “The gig money is pocket change, really. I also work for a small bakery in Bozeman, but it doesn’t pay much. Just enough to keep me in the tiny room in a basement that I rent out of an older lady’s house.”

His fingers stilled and she could practically see the disbelief on his face, even if she wasn’t looking at him.

“And how do you think this is all working out for you?”

A hopeless grunt escaped. “It’s a bit like being seventeen again. Scary at first, barely having enough money to get by, and having pretty much zero friends.”

He cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry, but that sounds awful.”

She laughed at the disgust he couldn’t hide.

“It is awful. But it’ll get better, and at least I get the day old baked goods at half-price.”

He grunted. “You should get that stuff for free.”

“Probably. It just gets tossed anyway if it doesn’t sell by the second day. I get so mad, telling her she should donate it to a food bank or shelter. But she’s a total Grinch.” She shifted in his arms so she could lay more fully on her back. She stared at the ceiling, envisioning the stars they’d stared at earlier. “At least I’m doing it all in a beautiful place. You can’t beat the scenery in Montana.”

“No, you can’t. Marietta is much prettier than Bozeman though.”

She couldn’t really argue. “It is. You live in an amazing town.”

“I do,” he muttered. “You should’ve picked Marietta.”

“I didn’t know about it.” Amusement slid through her. “Marietta is barely on the map.”

“Maybe, but we like it that way. And it’s not too late for you to relocate.”

Her humor abated. She really had no response to that.

Marietta wasn’t her town. It was his. It was Katie’s. It was all the kind people she’d met so far. She was just a stranger passing through.

Her job and the band were both in Bozeman. She needed the money and the small sense of security.

When she didn’t reply he must’ve figured he’d gone too far, because he cleared his throat and added, “Either way, I’m glad you came to Montana.”

“Me, too.” That she could agree to.

“And I’m glad you finally trusted me enough to tell me the truth.”

The truth about her mess of a life? It was heavy stuff. She scooted closer to rest her head on his chest again.

Maybe she could forget about it for these next two days—could enjoy being a woman who just wanted to have fun with a man she had a crush on.

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