Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (6 page)

His grin was too sexy and way too knowing. “Honey, I’m here for the duration. Until this harasser is caught I’m your house guest.” He looked around the large room. “Will I be bunking on the couch again or do you have a guest room?”

All the air seemed to be sucked from Kaylee’s lungs. “You can’t stay here,” she sputtered, her mind immediately rejecting the idea but her pulse picked up at the mere thought of a man this sexy sleeping just feet from her own bed. “Aren’t you supposed to be heading for Florida?”

“I was, but now I’m here courtesy of Logan and Ava Wright. You are welcome.”

“So you don’t really want to be here,” she replied tartly. “I can take care of myself, Reed. I don’t need a babysitter. A rude one at that.”

She’d gone too far. She could see that now. Reed’s grin had disappeared and his soft hazel eyes had grown cold. He dropped his bag and stalked over to her until he was peering down from his six-foot plus height.

“You don’t have any fucking idea what you need, Kaylee. Logan asked me to be here because Ava is worried about you. She thinks you won’t be careful, that you’ll do something stupid and get yourself hurt. At the moment I’d have to agree with her. You’re being foolhardy because you’re embarrassed about last night. Well, tough. I’m doing a friend a favor and staying here to
babysit
you. The least you could damn well do is be polite about it.”

Kaylee swallowed hard and took a deep breath. The man was right. She was being a bitch and all because of her stupid antics last night. He was giving up his time off and she was acting like he was the criminal, not the letter-sender.

And she was scared.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I am embarrassed. You probably think I’m a slut or a drunk. Maybe both.”

His expression softened and a ghost of a smile crossed his features. “I don’t think either one of those things. I think we went out to dinner and you had a drink that made you tipsy, featherweight that you are. That lowered your inhibitions and let you drink more. That’s it, honey. When was the last time you went out anyway?”

“A while ago,” she admitted. “I work most of the time. In the evening I read or watch television. I guess I’m kind of an introvert.”

“Me too,” he agreed readily. “So let’s put last night to rest shall we? You had a little too much to drink and we kissed. Period. End of story. Now back to my original question. Is there a guest room?”

Kaylee nodded and pointed to the stairs. “Second door on the right. The bathroom next door will be yours. I have my own.”

“Sounds good, although I can sleep anywhere.” Reed bounded up the stairs two at a time while Kaylee stood frozen to her spot on the floor. She was going to be sharing a home for the foreseeable future with the hottest man she’d ever met.

Eat? She was too damn nervous to eat. She might never eat or sleep again.

What in the hell had she done? No, what had Ava done?

Grabbing her purse from the foyer table, she found her cell and punched a few buttons. She knew Ava would have her own phone right next to her.

“Hey, girl. I didn’t expect to hear from you again today. Did Reed make it back?”

Kaylee took a slow, calming breath. This wasn’t anything to yell about but she’d been manipulated into a corner.

“He did and that’s what I want to discuss with you. Why did you and Logan send him back? I’m perfectly capable of dealing with this on my own.”

“You need someone to help you with this,” Ava replied. “Reed knows how to catch criminals so he’s the perfect person.”

Kaylee’s stomach churned at the thought of having Reed in her home day after day. He was too disturbing. Too handsome. Too…everything.

“I love you like a sister Ava, but it was presumptuous. You should have talked to me first. It’s my life. Mine.”

She heard Ava’s swift intake of breath and instantly felt crappy for her harsh words. Ava was trying to help but she didn’t know everything that had happened between Kaylee and Reed.

“You’re right. It was presumptuous. And pushy. And bossy. And I don’t regret a bit of it. I know you. I know how you are. You just want everything to be okay so you can have your quiet time to write. Well, this isn’t going to just go away. It has to be dealt with, and dammit, I don’t know anyone better to deal with it than Reed, except for Logan and he can’t be there. So you’re going to accept help, do you hear me? Your rigid independence is simply going to have to take a back seat. So get over it.”

Unable to stay upset with her best friend, laughter bubbled from Kaylee’s lips. “Get over it, huh? That’s classy. Let’s say that I can let someone help me, although I’m not admitting that I need help. What about Reed? He has places to go, people to see. How long is he supposed to hang out here and look for this person?”

“The man hasn’t taken a vacation in over five years so he’s got months of time saved up. The new mayor in his town made him take some of it. But if you feel guilty you can always show him around the area. Make sure he enjoys himself.”

Kaylee was fighting a losing battle. Reed was here and currently unpacking in her spare room. Ava wasn’t going to give in, and honestly that nasty letter had shaken Kaylee’s sense of well-being. If Reed could help find the person who wrote it, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

“I’m reserving judgment about whether this is a good idea, just so you know.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you,” Ava laughed. “So…what do you think of Reed? Hotter than sin, isn’t he?”

Kaylee plopped down on the couch with a sigh. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“That is so funny. I think I said the exact same thing when I first started spending time with Logan. But I do remember your advice. I distinctly remember you telling me to go for it.”

“I don’t think I said that,” Kaylee said indignantly. “I probably just said something like have fun.”

“You wanted me to take his picture with my cell and send it to you.” Kaylee could hear the gales of laughter coming from Ava through the phone. “Reed is just as sexy but in a different way. He’s so cool and emotionally contained.”

“He makes me want to stomp on his foot to get a reaction.” The words popped out of Kaylee’s mouth before she could stop them.

“So he’s getting to you? Have fun, but just remember it’s only casual with him. Use him but don’t fall in love. You’re welcome.”

“You think I should be thanking you for interfering in my life?” Kaylee huffed. “Are you actually encouraging me to sleep with Reed Mitchell?”

“Tell me you haven’t already thought about it,” Ava scoffed. “He’s absolutely gorgeous and oozes sex. Something that you think about all day, every day. Maybe you’ll get some new material for one of your books.”

Kaylee wasn’t going to mention the kiss from last night. It was definitely going into a story.

“Reed might be sex on a stick but that doesn’t mean he’s interested in me. I sure as hell am not going to throw myself at him.”

Again. The first time had been too humiliating. What she could remember of it.

“Suit yourself.” There was rustling in the background of the call. “Listen, I need to go. Presley is here and she’s made me lunch. Call me later, okay?”

Kaylee hung up and stood to slip her phone back into her purse and almost choked on her spit. Reed was standing directly behind her, leaning on the banister. He looked calm, cool, and a trifle smug.

Asshole.

“How long have you been standing there?” Kaylee could feel heat suffusing her cheeks.

“A few minutes.” He straightened and shrugged.

“It was a private call.”

“Funny how I heard my name mentioned a few times, plus the phone was on speaker.”

A dimple in his cheek appeared. It was official. He was laughing at her.

“I’ll ask again. How long were you standing there?”

“Enough to hear that I better watch my feet. Are you ready to go to lunch?”

She was mortified. Again. He probably thought she wanted to go to bed with him—which she did—but she wasn’t planning to do anything about it. If anything, she’d been planning to keep her distance.

“I need to change.”

Brushing past him to climb the stairs, she halted when he put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax, Kaylee. You’re wound tighter than an eight-day clock as my dad used to say.”

“You’re always relaxed, I suppose,” she asked, not turning her head to look at him. “Must be nice to be you.”

“You’ll live longer,” he offered. “Take life as it comes, honey. No one here is judging you.”

Except for herself, and she was her toughest critic. Ruthless, in fact. A double-edged sword; it’s what made her a success as a writer and a failure with people.

“Thanks for the advice. Give me ten minutes.”

She hurried up the stairs and into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Space. She needed a little bit of space and breathing room. When she was with Reed it was as if he was larger than life, filling any empty space around him. She needed to be alone simply to catch her breath.

Reed Mitchell made her breathless indeed.

Chapter Six

K
aylee was fixing dinner at the huge island in the middle of her kitchen when Reed came down the stairs. Dressed in blue jeans, a white blouse, and her long auburn hair tamed into a braid she looked much younger than he knew her age to be. After he’d unpacked and they’d had lunch, he’d spent the better part of the afternoon researching his hostess, wanting to know more about her. Knowing about her life might help him catch whoever was harassing her. But she hadn’t made it easy.

Kaylee Blue wasn’t her real name.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. Writers often used pen names but for some reason he hadn’t thought she had. She was so upfront and honest it had taken him by surprise.

“What’s for dinner, Miss Carter? It is Caroline Carter, isn’t it?”

She looked up from where she was shaping some dough and wrinkled her nose. “I wondered what you were doing up there while I was writing. We’ve been busy, haven’t we? I would have told you anything you wanted to know if you’d just asked me.”

That was probably true. Other than being embarrassed about the heat and awareness that simmered between them she was pretty much an open book.

“Why did you change it? Caroline Carter is a nice name. It has alliteration. Kind of trips off the tongue.”

Kaylee smiled and slid the round piece of dough onto a pizza pan with a bunch of holes in it. “Because I wanted my privacy, although that is apparently shot all to hell if someone was able to send a letter to my home. I’ve been Kaylee for awhile now so I rarely even hear the name Caroline. Now the bank, the IRS, and the power company, they don’t know who Kaylee is but they like her money.”

“What do you want me to call you?”

“Writing Goddess? O Powerful One?” she teased as she smeared tomato sauce from a pan on the stove onto the dough. “Kaylee is fine. I answer to it and it makes things easier unless you’re planning to bill me for your services. Then send that to Caroline. She handles the bills.”

“You talk like she’s a separate person.” Reed straddled one of the stools at the island to watch her cook. Logan had said Kaylee knew her way around the kitchen.

“She is in a way. Just my old friends call me Caroline and I don’t see them very often. They’re all busy with families and jobs. Everyone else calls me Kaylee. What do you like on your pizza?”

She had bowls of toppings set out with pretty much anything a person could want on their pizza. Reed pointed to the sausage and mushrooms and his stomach growled in appreciation. He’d heard the bread machine going earlier this afternoon. She’d made the dough and sauce from scratch. This was going to taste delicious.

“And your family,” said Reed as she sprinkled the sausage on the pie.

“My family?” Kaylee paused and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Your family must call you Caroline, right?”

Her expression grew sad and she resumed topping the pizza. “I don’t have any family. Not close. I lived with my mother and grandmother when I was growing up. Mother died several years back and Gram died nine months ago. I moved back here to deal with her property.”

He’d known that from his computer work this afternoon but he’d managed to find her father and a few cousins on that side of the family.