Big Sky Cowboy

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His voice faded. Images came with no warning. Two men. Embracing? Wrestling? A Stetson sailed through the air. She heard a barking dog. A rottweiler. Here. The images were here. “We should leave,” Tessa urged.

Colby rounded a look over his shoulder and traced her stare to the bar. “Is one of the guys there the one who followed you?”

“No.” Tessa stood and reached for her umbrella.

“But one of them bothers you? Bad aura?”

She knew he thought she was out of sync with the rest of the world. “The guy in the Stetson is going to sit on your lap.”

He released a deep chuckle. “No way.”

Tessa didn’t bother to argue. Soon enough he’d learn she was right. “We’d better leave. Or…” She didn’t bother to say more. It was too late.

At the bar, the guy in the baseball cap swung his arm and smashed his fist into the cowboy’s chin. As the cowboy’s head jerked back, the Stetson flew off. He spun and sailed in Colby’s direction.

“Damn,” Colby muttered. His hands went up, blocked the cowboy from landing across his lap. With a hard push, he propelled the cowboy toward the guy in the baseball cap. “Let’s get out of here.” Rising, he snagged her hand and propelled her toward the exit, toward the rottweiler, barking.

She laughed as he led the way. “Told you.”

“How did you know they were going to fight? Lucky guess, right? Body language stuff,” he mumbled as if talking to himself. “You read something in the way those fools were standing, looking at each other.”

He was trying so hard to explain what happened. She realized then that nothing he was told would make him believe. He’d need irrefutable proof about her. “Could be.” She preceded him outside and raised her face to the rain, though she held her umbrella. The air felt cool but smelled musty. In the distance, fingers of lightning stabbed toward the ground. A fire alert was on. The woods were dry.

“Where are you parked?”

She pointed to her right. “Over there.” Before she could protest, he caught her hand in his. Tessa felt the strength, the calluses in the hand wrapped around hers.

“Why are you carrying the umbrella?”

“It’s only drizzling.”

He grinned in the manner of someone who didn’t understand but was amused by another person’s action. He probably thought she wasn’t very sensible. She could have told him she took a daily vitamin, always carried an umbrella on cloudy days, wrote on a calendar the due dates of bills so she wouldn’t forget to pay them in time. She was sensible, practical, normal—except she saw visions.

“I’ll follow.”

Tessa balked, stopping him. “Follow?”

“Don’t even think about arguing.”

“What would be the point?” Why would she argue when she was so grateful for the escort home?

He did more than follow her home.

“It’s nice of you to walk me to the door,” Tessa said when she paused with him on the short landing at the second floor.

Colby reached around her to open the door. “I’m coming in.”

The thank-you riding Tessa’s tongue remained unsaid. He stepped in ahead of her and began working his way through each room. “Find anyone?” she called.