Cowboy Command (4 page)

“
Thank you for getting my luggage.  It’s cold out there.”

He started the truck and they pulled away smoothly heading
down a dark, deserted road.  She studied his profile as slyly as she could, admiring the square jaw and classical bone structure. 

“
Your welcome.  This valley gets some bitter winds in the winter,” he said.

She couldn
’t really see anything out of the windows.  It was too dark but at least the cab of the truck was toasty warm.  She was almost lulled into relaxing when something darted in front of the headlights and he had to slam on the brakes and swerve to miss it.  His arm flung out in front of her despite the fact she was wearing a seatbelt.

“
Fuck!  Shit!  Are you okay?  That was a coyote that ran in front of us.”

“
I’m okay.  Is the coyote all right?”

“
He’s fine.  We didn’t hit him.”  He grimaced.  “Shit, I didn’t mean to say fuck. I mean, I didn’t mean to say shit.  Aw hell, my daddy’s going to kick my ass if he finds out I swore in front of a lady I just met.”

That made her smile.  It also made him more human. 
“Your secret is safe with me.  I think my virgin ears can stand a few cuss words.  I might use a few of my own every now and then.”

“
Virgin ears?”  Seth laughed.  “I haven’t been with a virgin since high school.”

“
You’re not with one now,” she retorted.  “That honor has come and gone.  I was a freshman in high school.  Billy Sanders, was the grandson of my church pastor.”

“
That’s young.  I mean, for a girl that seems young.”

“
How old were you?”

“
Sixteen.”  Seth’s grin spread a mile wide.  He must be imagining that night.  “Sixteen, in the back of my old man’s Chevy four by four.  Damn, those were the days.  I have sweet memories of that night.  That night and Sheryl Albright.”

“
I have fond memories, too.  Billy eventually went into the clergy himself.”

Seth glanced at her with a frown before turning his eyes back to the road.

“I’ve heard a girl’s first time isn’t usually very good.”

She shrugged. 
“It wasn’t bad.  I thought it was exciting.”

Seth smiled again. 
“Damn, girl.  You got me talking about sex and we just met.  How did you do that?”

She laughed and looked out the window, the scenery passing in a gray and black blur. 
“My mother once said I could have a meaningful conversation with a place mat.  Total strangers tell me their life stories in line at the grocery store.  It’s a curse, I guess.”

“
Seems to me it would come in handy.  We went from barely speaking to each other to talking like friends in nothing flat.”

She looked back at him. 
“It’s a curse.  Trust me on this one.”

The start of all her problems was being someone anyone could talk to.  That
’s what Randall had said.  He could talk to her about anything.  This trip to Montana was the culmination of one bad decision after another, starting with Randall Simon.

“
Evan asked me to get you a place to live and I’ve fixed up the apartment above the sheriff station.  The apartment is in the center of town so you won’t need a car.  It’s small but you can always move elsewhere later if you like, as long as I think the new location is safe.”  He slid her a sidelong glance.  “I was hoping you could start work the day after tomorrow, but we can wait a few more days if you like.  I’m between secretaries at the moment.”

Fatigue and depression were starting to creep over Presley.  She shrugged.

“I can start in the morning, if you want.”

He looked surprised. 
“Are you sure?  Don’t you want to unpack and rest?  How long have you been traveling?  You’re probably tired.”

She hadn
’t slept more than thirty minutes at a stretch in the last twenty-four hours.  “We left about ten last night, while it was dark.  I haven’t exactly been sleeping very well since this all blew up, so to speak.  I might as well be productive.”

“
I imagine it’s been tough.”  He never took his eyes off the road.

“
Tough?  I’m looking at tough in the rear view mirror.  My car was blown up, and my house was set on fire, destroying everything I own.”  Her voice cracked.  “A few hours ago I had a different name.  I’ve been given a new driver’s license, check book, credit cards, and past.  They actually went to the trouble to create a past for me.  I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois.  I’ve never fucking been to Wheaton, Illinois.  I had to practice talking about myself on the flight here.”

Her eyes started to brim with tears and she fought to keep them from falling.  She
’d always hated women who cried and whined.  Crying and whining wasn’t going to change any of this.

Seth pulled the truck over on the shoulder and handed her a handkerchief. 
“It’s going to be okay.  You’ll like Harper.  Nice people, nice town.  I’ll try not to be an ogre of a boss.”

He gave her a lopsided smile.  He really was a handsome man.  Even in the dim light, she could see he had a square jaw and a nice smile.  She swiped at her wet cheeks, sniffling.

“I’m sure you’ll be a good boss.  You’re a nice man.  You must come from good parents.”

“
You’ll meet them eventually.  You’ll meet everyone in Harper.  You won’t be able to help it.”

“
Please don’t take this wrong, but I just want to go home.  I just want to testify and get my life back.”  She didn’t want him to take it personally.  Wanting to go home had nothing to do with him.  “None of this is your problem,” she said briskly, handing him his handkerchief back.  “It’s my problem and I need to deal with it.  I don’t have any choice.”

He started the truck and pulled it back onto the road. 
“That’s where you’re wrong.  My job is to make sure you stay safe.  I can’t help you get back to wherever it is that you come from, but I can protect you while you’re here.”

“
Florida.”

“
Huh?”

“
I’m from Florida.”

Seth burst into laughter. 
“That explains why you didn’t have a coat and they couldn’t find you one.  I thought that was strange.  By the way, it’s okay if you tell me about your past, but don’t mention it to anyone else.  I’m sure Evan told you secrets are a good thing in this situation.”

“
He did.  I won’t say anything.”  She sighed.  “It was eighty-five degrees yesterday.”

Seth grinned with delight. 
“It got into the fifties yesterday, and down below freezing last night.”

Presley shivered. 
“Yeah, I felt it when I got off the airplane.  How do you stand it?”

“
You’ll see in the morning.  The beauty of this area will take your breath away.  You look at something that amazing and you don’t care what the temperature is.”

She wasn
’t sure she would ever be able to ignore the temperature but decided to keep her thoughts to herself.  He sounded like he really believed what he said.

“
Are we almost there?”

She needed to get out of this truck and find a place to curl up in the fetal position for a few hours.  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat enjoying his warm scent, a mixture of something woodsy and something warm, reminding her of a roaring fire and a soft, flannel blanket.  She wanted to curl up on his lap and draw comfort from that warmth and his innate strength.  She mentally slapped herself.  Men couldn
’t be trusted to provide comfort and care, only sex and heartache.  If she hadn’t known it before Randall, and she should have, she knew it now.

“
About another forty-five minutes.  We chose an out of the way airstrip that’s rarely used.  You can close your eyes if you like, maybe catch a nap.”

She wouldn
’t sleep but closed her eyes, slumping against the window.  She wouldn’t need to talk to him if she pretended to be asleep.  She didn’t want to talk about things any more.  It only made her depressed and she wasn’t the type to be depressed. 

No matter how depressing reality actually was.  She would keep thinking about going home.  Keeping the thought would get her through this. 

She wanted her life back.  She only needed to figure out how to make it happen.

Chapter Three

“
Pass the butter, son.”  George Reilly, Seth’s father, and the patriarch of the Reilly family, held out his hand.  Seth passed the dish and looked back down at his plate.  He didn’t really want to talk about his upcoming day, as was the norm at breakfast time.  The fact was he didn’t really know how he felt about the woman he had vowed to protect. 

She was more beautiful than he
’d expected, and definitely younger.  Evan hadn’t described her at all, but for some reason he’d pictured her differently.  Perhaps older and more cynical.  She’d worked for a billionaire financier for the last six months, after all.  Seth had been shocked to find her quite young and astonishingly pretty, with her long wavy brown hair and her golden brown eyes.  Her complexion was clear and creamy with a touch of gold, probably from the Florida sun.  He hadn’t been able to discern if her figure was as attractive as her face in the large coat she wore, but from what he could see she looked tiny and delicate.

Or maybe she looked delicate because he could remember how sad she
’d looked with tears running down her face, making a mess of her mascara.

He
’d also been surprised by how easy she was to talk to.  He’d always had trouble making casual conversation with strangers, but she had him talking right out of the gate.

“
You’re quiet this morning.  Rough day ahead?  Setting up a speed trap or something?”  Seth’s brother, Jason, grinned at his own joke and shoveled more pancakes into his mouth.  His pretty wife, Sarah, elbowed him in frustration.  “Will you please chew your food?  You know you get indigestion if you eat too fast.”

Jason paused to give his wife a loving look.  Seth came from a long line of love.  His grandparents, now retired in Arizona, had been married more th
an sixty years.  His parents had been married for over forty years.  Jason was married to his high school sweetheart, Sarah, with a baby on the way.  His older brother, Sam, was married to Cindy, the girl from the ranch down the road.  When Cindy had shown up at the local watering hole with another cowboy, Sam had quickly dispatched the other man and closed the deal.  Two months later they were married and seven months later they had a beautiful baby girl, Amie.  Sam had recently built a new house on the family ranch so he and Cindy didn’t always come to eat at the ‘big house.’  Seth and his brother also had their own homes, but Seth found it easier to eat with his parents.  It wasn’t worth it to cook for only one person.

Seth was thirty-five years old and he
’d never been in love.  Not really.  He’d felt lust and even care, but never love.  He was pretty sure no one had ever been in love with him either, which made him wonder whether he was lovable at all.  Maybe he lacked something his brothers, and other people, had.  His girlfriend, Eliza, often told him he could be remote and controlling.  He knew she was right but he also knew without control and order there was nothing but chaos.  No one knew better than he what tragedy it could bring. 

“
Nothing special today,” Seth answered.  He might as well tell them.  They’d find out eventually.  There weren’t many secrets in a small town.  “I hired a new secretary.”

Jason laughed. 
“Are we taking bets on how long she’ll last?”

Seth
’s mother, Marion, poked her fork in Jason’s arm.  “Stop teasing your brother.  He’s had a run of bad luck with secretaries that’s all.  I’m sure everything will work out fine this time.”

“
I’d hardly call over a dozen secretaries a
run of bad luck
,” Jason smirked.  “I’d say that my hard ass, control freak brother is a jerk to work for.  There isn’t a woman in town who will work for him.”

Seth couldn
’t argue with Jason on that point.  He probably wasn’t the easiest man in the world when it came to his work.  “Maybe.  Hopefully she’ll do fine.”  He really didn’t have a choice.  He needed to keep an eye on her to keep her safe.  “She’s from out of town.”

His statement grabbed everyone
’s attention.  New people in town were always a hot topic of conversation. 

His mother smiled with enthusiasm. 
“Where is she from?  Is she married?  Does she have kids?  Where is she living? You should invite her to dinner tonight.”

His mother fired off her questions w
ith lightning speed.  His father patted her hand.  “Take a breath, darlin’.  Give the boy time to answer one question before asking another.”

His mother blushed. 
“Sorry, Seth.  It’s just exciting when new people come to town.”

Seth wiped his mouth with his napkin and avoided his mother
’s first question.  “She’s not married, and no kids.  She’s going to live in the apartment above the station, at least for now.  I cleaned it up and it looks pretty good.  I promise I’ll bring her to dinner one night soon.  I’m letting her get settled in.  She got in late last night.”

“
How did you find her?” Sarah asked.

“
She was a friend of an old friend.  She was looking to make some changes.”  Seth had already practiced this part of the story.  “You can grill her with questions when I bring her here.  Let her tell you about herself.  I only know her professional story.”

His mother wasn
’t done.  “She’s not married?  Is she pretty?”

Seth sighed in exasperation.  His mother was desperate to get him married off and seemed to think he was avoiding the institution just to frustrate her. 

“She is pretty.  And young, Mom.  Too young.  Besides, I have a girlfriend.”

Marion Reilly pursed her lips in disapproval. 
“There’s no passion between you and Eliza.  No spark.  You act more like buddies.  You need fire and desire, Seth.”

Seth wanted to crawl under the table.  He didn
’t want to talk about desire and fire with his mother, for chrissake.

“
Nothing’s wrong with a younger woman.”  George Reilly waved his fork.  “Your mother is younger than I am.  Priscilla was younger than Elvis.”

Seth
’s father loved Elvis Presley.  It probably wasn’t the moment to remind him that Elvis and Priscilla divorced. 

“
Her name is Presley,” Seth admitted reluctantly.  It wasn’t her real name but his parents would never find that out.

“
It’s a sign,” his mother crowed.

“
It’s not a sign, Mom.” 

“
It’s a sign that she’s the one,” his mother insisted, her eyes alight.

“
It’s only a coincidence.”

“
A weird one,” Sarah conceded.  “Is she nice?  Maybe I should invite her to lunch or something since she’s new to town.”

Seth remembered Presley
’s tears in his truck.  His heart had twisted at her heartbroken expression.  “I don’t know her well enough to say whether she’s nice or not.  She didn’t seem not nice.  She has a good work ethic.  She offered to start working today.”

“
I’ll come by sometime in the next few days and ask her to lunch.”  Sarah set her napkin on the table.  “It’s got to be tough moving to a town where she doesn’t know anyone.”

That was the whole damn point
, but Seth couldn’t say anything.  He wasn’t sure Presley was really looking to start a new life here.  She seemed pretty focused on getting back to the old one.

“
Give her some space to get settled in.  A new town and a new job would be overwhelming for anyone.”  Seth stood up from the table, wanting the conversation to be over.  “Excuse me, but I have an early morning.  I need to get Presley started in her new job.”

Luckily, his family seemed to accept the excuse.  He carried his plate into the kitchen then headed out the back door to his truck.  Today he
’d show Presley the job and hope she wouldn’t be too much trouble.  He didn’t expect much from her, actually.  She’d made it clear she was only marking time until she could go back home.  He didn’t blame her for that.  Hell, she was only a kid, really.  She probably wasn’t any more than twenty or twenty-one. 

He slapped his hat on his head and gunned the engine, heading for town.  He had a new secretary to train.

God help them both.

* * * *
*

The office was cold.  Presley rubbed her arms and flexed her fingers, stiff from the temperature.  She
’d been warm in the apartment upstairs for the few hours she’d slept.  She’d been shocked she’d fallen asleep but by the time he’d dropped her off, showed her the thermostat and a few food items he’d put in the kitchen, she’d been exhausted.

She walked over to the ancient coffee pot in the corner of the large room and growled.  She was a real caffeine addict.  Her local Starbuck
’s knew-her-by-her-first-name-and-regular-order type of caffeine addict.  She’d barely seen the town when they’d drove in the wee hours of the morning, but she was sure she hadn’t seen the familiar green and white mermaid logo.

She dug into a box of filters and started making a pot of coffee.  She hadn
’t been sure what time the workday started but she’d woken up after a few hours and figured there was no time like the present to start her new life.

Her new life.  She needed to woman up and stop whining about things. 
She’d cried in front of Seth last night.  He probably thought she was a real wimp.  Yes, she wanted to go home but that didn’t mean she had to bitch and moan about it.  She was here and she needed to make the best of her situation.  As Evan had pointed out, she could be here a really damn long time.

By the time she
’d finished her second cup of really crappy coffee, found several interesting notes from previous admins, and thoroughly explored the filing system, she had a list of things she wanted to work on or update.  Number one was that coffee pot.  Technology had made great strides in the preparation of coffee since nineteen seventy-five.

She was engrossed in list making when Seth pushed open the door, letting in a blast of cold air with him.  He looked surprised to see her as he shrugged off his coat and hung it on the tree next to the door.

She got up and poured him a cup of coffee.  “How do you take it?”

His eyes widened even further.  Maybe he didn
’t like coffee.

“
You’re getting me coffee?  My last secretary told me she wasn’t a waitress and to get my own damn coffee.”

Presley shrugged. 
“You looked cold.  I thought I’d be helpful.”

“
Thank you.  A dollop of cream and one sugar.”

She fixed his coffee and followed him to his desk on the opposite side of the room.  He grimaced at the file folders stacked in a teetering pile. 

“I didn’t expect you in so early.  You have to be worn out from traveling all night.”

“
I’ve been in about an hour or so.  I’d rather be busy, honestly.”

He took the mug from her gratefully. 
“That suits me.  I’m not sure where to start.  There’s so much that needs to be done around here.”

She held up her notes. 
“I’ve been nosing around a little bit.  Maybe if I go over what I’ve seen so far we can decide what I should tackle first?”

He nodded and settled into his chair
, indicating she should sit across from him.  “Sounds as good as any plan.  Shoot.”

Thirty minutes and another cup of swill later, Seth was wearing a dubious expression. 

“I can see you aren’t convinced.”

Seth tapped his chin. 
“I like everything to be orderly.  That’s why I set up the filing system the way it is.  You want to change it and then I won’t be able to find anything.”

She held up a piece of paper. 
“I found this shoved in a desk drawer.  I’m guessing it’s from a former secretary?  ‘To the next poor woman who has to deal with the Sheriff, he never puts the files back in the right place.  Then he yells.  Just stack all the current cases on his desk.’”  Presley eyed all the files stacked up.  “‘Then if he can’t find anything, he can just yell at himself.’”

Seth flushed a dark red and ran a finger around the back of his collar.  Apparently she
’d hit a nerve.

“
Some people have found me hard to work with, I gather.  I admit I can be difficult…and controlling.  At times.”

Presley hid her smile.  Seth was clearly a man
’s man but she’d had bosses who were much worse.  She had a particular memory of one who liked to throw office supplies when things didn’t go his way.  Another had punched several holes into the drywall.  They never in a million years would have said they were difficult to work with.

“
Admitting you have a problem is the first step.  Give me one week to reorganize things.  If you don’t like it, I’ll put everything back.  I promise.”

“
I haven’t even gone over the daily duties with you.  How do you know how to reorganize?” 

Seth seemed exasperated so Presley held on to her cool, calm demeanor.

“There were copious notes in the desk from the last several people.  I think I’ve got the schedule pieced together.”