The Cowboy Target by Terri Reed

Author:Terri Reed
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2012-09-11T04:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

“Maybe it’s his bank account number,” Wyatt said.

“Could be.” She studied the digits: 41557922-104952393. “Is this George’s handwriting?”

He nodded grimly. “Yes.”

“It could be a life-insurance policy number or a loan number. I’ll have Simone run them. She’s really good at ferreting out information in the cyberworld.”

“Who’s Simone?” He sat back down on the couch.

“A coworker. She’s the closest female friend I have. A former homicide detective out of Detroit. We bonded over our shared law-enforcement pasts.”

Though Simone’s past was much darker than Jackie’s. Jackie had picked up on hints of this but had been unprepared when Simone had finally opened up. The painful truth had made Jackie’s reasons for leaving the Atkins sheriff’s department seem petty in comparison. Simone had had to make a difficult choice—to let the man who killed her childhood best friend either live or die.

In the end, her fellow officers had taken the decision out of her hands, but going through the turmoil had left a deep scar.

“I appreciate what you’re doing for us,” Wyatt said.

“My aunt and uncle think of you and Gabby as family.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

She held his gaze. A deep longing welled to the surface. She wanted to be included in those feelings of family, of belonging. Even though she had her parents and her friends at Trent, she knew there was something missing in her life. She’d never let it bother her before coming to the ranch. Now the hollow space inside of her ached like an abscessed tooth, and she was coming up empty-handed on ways to numb the pain.

She liked this man way too much.

Which didn’t bode well for her peace of mind.

Yanking her gaze from his, she focused on the myriad books lining the shelves. She rose and crossed the room to read the titles on the spines. Lots of nonfiction books dealing with ranching and horses and cattle.

The fiction titles ranged from popular fiction to classics. She reached for a dog-eared copy of the complete work of Edgar Allen Poe. She could still remember reading the “The Pit and the Pendulum” in high school. She’d had to write a paper on the story. Though she’d received an A, she couldn’t recall what she’d written.

“That’s one of my favorites.”

Wyatt’s voice came from close behind her. Awareness darted down her back. The man was much too light on his feet. She replaced the volume. “Kind of dark, don’t you think?”

“I went through a dark phase,” he commented and reached past her to pull another thick book from the shelf.

Warmth from his big body touched her like a heat lamp. His spicy aftershave and the fresh scent of shampoo swirled around her, making her skin tingle. She fought the yearning to turn her head and lay her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt, to nestle into the expanse of his chest.

The sound of glass crunching from outside the window raised the fine hairs at the nape of her neck.

Reacting instantly, she reached for Wyatt with her good arm and dragged him to the ground.

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