Page 28 of The Cowboy and the Stray

"Anytime," I said, meaning it more than I probably should have. "Can't have you breaking that pretty neck on my watch. Think of the paperwork."

Tess shook her head, still smiling, and went to hang up her comb on the rack by the stall. I watched her go, trying and failing to keep my eyes from dropping to the sweet curve of her ass in those worn jeans. God help me.

I was playing with fire, I knew that much. Our little runaway still had more questions than answers hanging over her head, and the smart thing would have been to keep my distance until I'd sussed out her story. But I'd never been much for the smart play. Not when my instincts said protect.

Sloane found me still standing there, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes on the spot where Tess had disappeared around the corner. My sister cleared her throat pointedly, one dark brow arched in silent judgment. "If you're done making cow eyes at our guest," she drawled, "I've got news. Or rather, a lack thereof."

That snapped me out of my Tess-induced haze right quick. "Still nothing on her background check?"

Sloane shook her head grimly. "Not a peep. No criminal record, no credit history, not even a social media trail. It's like she doesn't exist."

I frowned, not liking the implications of that one bit. "She's running from something," I said slowly, chewing over the possibilities. "Question is, what? And who's she running from?" And how close are they to catching her?

"Does it matter?" Sloane countered, crossing her arms and giving me a hard look. "She could have brought trouble right to our doorstep, Cal, and the longer she's here the more the danger grows. She's been here for weeks. We need to handle it before it handles us."

I raked a hand through my hair as I tried to reconcile my head and my gut. Sloane wasn't wrong. Tess was a walking question mark, and my instincts were screaming that she was neck-deep in something ugly. But there was a part of me, the part that had gone a little stupid the second she'd lifted those haunted green eyes to mine, that wanted to trust her. To protect her, even from herself. Especially from herself.

"We watch and we wait," I said finally, the words heavy on my tongue. "She hasn't done anything to harm the pack. Hasn't even lied to us, not directly. Until she gives us a reason not to, we give her the benefit of the doubt."

Sloane's mouth twisted, but she didn't argue. "And if that reason comes calling?"

"Then we do what we have to," I said, my eyes straying back to the barn door and the slight figure slipping through it into the deep-shadowed twilight. "But until then, she's under our protection. End of story."

My sister huffed but inclined her head in agreement. "Fine. But if this comes back to bite us in the ass⁠—"

"Then you can tell me you told me so," I finished for her, quirking a half-smile that didn't reach my eyes. "But something tells me that girl's got more bark than bite. Call it a hunch."

"I'll call it thinking with the wrong head," Sloane muttered, but she let the subject drop. "Just be careful, Cal. Pretty faces can hide ugly secrets."

Don't I know it, I thought, but kept that bitter truth locked behind my teeth.

Instead, I clapped her on the shoulder and mustered up a grin I almost felt. "Careful's my middle name, little sister. Now, what's for dinner? I'm starving."

Sloane snorted and shoved me off, but there was reluctant amusement softening the hard lines of her face. "Midge made stew. And if you track horse shit into her kitchen again, she'll skin you alive and use your hide for a rug."

"Duly noted," I said, falling into step beside her as we headed for the house. But even as I traded good-natured barbs with my sister, my mind was miles away, chasing a head of copper-bright hair and a pair of eyes that held secrets I was determined to unravel. One way or another. She was already under my skin. No getting around it.

Tess Talbot, whoever she was and whatever she was running from, had just become my own personal mission. And I never left a job half-finished. Not even when my head and my heart were busy waging war inside my chest, with no clear winner in sight.

14. CALDER

The ranch yard shimmered under the unrelenting Texas sun. Even the shade thrown by the sprawling live oak in the corner of the yard offered little relief from the building heat. I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of one hand, squinting across the dusty expanse. The screen door banged open, and Eli and Noah tumbled out onto the porch, their voices carrying an unmistakable note of mischief. I watched them with a mix of wariness and amusement, wondering what scheme they'd cooked up this time. Those two were born to test my patience.

Eli threw an arm around Noah's shoulders, pulling him close and whispering something that made the younger boy's eyes light up. They both glanced around, checking to see if anyone was watching, before slinking off the porch and making a beeline for the large wooden water trough near the barn. I leaned against the porch railing, curiosity piqued.

"You sure about this?" Noah asked, his words carrying across the yard.

Eli nodded, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Trust me, it'll be hilarious. We'll tell her Quill got out of his stall again, and we need help catching him. She'll come running, and then..." He mimed shoving someone, and Noah laughed.

I shook my head. Poor Tess. She'd only been here a couple of weeks, and they already had her in their crosshairs. I would've put a stop to it, but it meant they liked her. It was like an initiation of sorts.

As if on cue, Tess emerged from the barn, her coppery hair pulled back in a messy knot. She stretched, her lean frame silhouetted against the weathered wood siding. Eli waved her over, his face the picture of innocence.

Tess approached warily, hands stuffed in the pockets of her faded jeans. "What's up, guys?"

"It's Quill," Eli said, injecting just the right note of worry into his voice. "He got out again. We could really use your help catching him before Calder sees."

Tess hesitated, her moss-green eyes narrowing. I could practically see the gears turning in her head as she tried to decide whether to believe them. Finally, she shrugged. "Sure, yeah, lead the way."