Two Cowboys To Protect Her by Lacey Davis
Chapter 4
As they walked the darkened streets on their way to her home, she couldn’t help but think it felt like she was sneaking home. Only this time, she had two very handsome lawmen with her, who made her breath shallow and her heart thump wildly when they touched her. The most handsome men she had ever met.
Harley's serious dark eyes and head full of dark hair, his muscled arms and broad chest made her feel protected as she walked between them.
And Clayton, the man who held her and let her cry on his chest. His big, burly arms encompassed her, and she’d never felt safer. With his cropped, sandy-brown hair and blue eyes, she wanted to reach up and pull his mouth down to hers. To lose herself in that sky-blue gaze and those luscious full lips.
Never had she experienced feeling this way about not one, but two, men and now they were going to stay at her home to protect her. She’d never felt more nervous than she did now. Her home was small. Two bedrooms, a kitchen, and small living area.
“Where did the murder happen?” Harley asked.
Fear rippled through her as they stopped. “It was here. There should be blood on the ground.”
Clayton laid a hand on her back as if to reassure her. “We’ll come back and check it out in the morning. Right now, let’s get you home."
They kept walking toward her home. Rena was so bone tired, she could barely keep up. She couldn’t wait to collapse.
Suddenly, Harley’s hand held her up and they all stopped and listened. “Where is your house?”
“Last house on this block,” she whispered. Suddenly, a man ran out the back door of her home.
“Someone’s been inside,” she cried. “Stop him.”
The two men raced after him, but he disappeared into the woods where he had a horse waiting. She watched as he jumped on and rode off. What had he been searching for?
Harley and Clayton came hurrying back to her. “Was it the same guy?”
“I don’t know. But why would anyone else be breaking into my home?”
As far as she knew, she had no enemies. While she had lived in Blessing most of her life, her family was poor and they didn’t have much. Now that she was alone, she realized she didn’t know as many people as she thought. No one seemed to care about an unmarried woman living on the edge of town.
She opened the door, there was no sense sitting out here wondering what he’d been doing in her home.
“No, let us go in and check everything out. You wait right here,” Harley said.
The deep timbre of his voice sent chills trickling down her spine.
“Stand back in case we come running out,” Clayton told her, taking her by the shoulders and placing her where he wanted her. The touch of his hands made her breathing increase.
What was it about their touch?
What was it about these men? Oh, how she prayed neither one was married, because her imagination was swarming with ideas of what it would feel like to be their woman. To feel their hands on her. To touch her intimately.
But she could only have one. Which one would she choose? Harley with his serious dark eyes and protective fists or Clayton—slow, sweet, and caring.
“Be careful,” she warned not wanting anything to happen to either one of them. She didn’t know which one she would pick, but they were both what she wanted.
They slipped inside the door, and she saw Clayton light a lantern. From the glow, she could see them moving through the house. Since it was small, it didn’t take long.
“Come on in,” Harley told her.
Standing outside, she’d felt nervous and she all but ran into the house.
“Can you tell if anything is missing?”
Walking through, she lit another lantern and gazed about. When she went into her bedroom, she noticed her father’s prized golden pocket watch was gone. She always laid it on the table next to her bed so she knew the time.
“My papa’s watch is missing,” she said with a sigh. Sure, it wasn't worth much, but it was all she had of the man who raised her. Tears welled in her eyes and she bowed her head. This day had been a nightmare.
She felt hands on her shoulder and Harley turned her into his arms and held her while she cried. Both of these men had comforted her, and she felt a sense of protection overwhelm her. His lips touched her forehead.
The mattress of her bed, bumped against the back of her legs and she realized they were in her bedroom, near her bed.
“Thanks,” she said. “It was all I had left of his things.”
“We’ll do our best to get it back,” he promised her as he leaned back and gazed at her.
Warmth spread through her, and she believed him. Why she felt comfortable with these two strangers, she didn’t know, but she did. And they were standing in her bedroom. A very personal space.
Pulling out of his arms, she turned to leave, and Clayton stood in the doorway gazing about the room.
“Is this where you sleep?”
“Yes,” she said breathless that they were in her bedroom. Thank goodness, she’d cleaned the house before she left yesterday morning. “There is another bedroom that the two of you can share.”
They smiled, and first Clayton and then Harley backed out of the doorway, making her feel more comfortable. While she had been told about the marriage bed, she also knew that sometimes men took advantage of a woman, and she was in a very vulnerable position.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, thinking the least she could do was cook for them.
“Yes,” Harley said.
“Actually starving,” Clayton replied. “We didn’t get into Blessing until after the restaurant had closed, so anything would be wonderful.”
She grinned. One thing she could do was cook. Since she had worked at the restaurant these last three years, she’d learned to cook.
“I’ll fry up some eggs,” she said. “First, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
Even as she said the words, she felt awkward. Two strange men sleeping in her home, which had not seen another person since her father died.
When she moved past them, her skirts brushed against both men’s legs sending her heart fluttering with excitement.
Harley had kissed her forehead. While she didn’t think that was a huge thing, it had comforted her and made her feel like he was trying to ease her fear. No one had been around to make her feel better in years. It felt good that another person wanted to share her burdens.
After she had shown them their room, she went into the kitchen and they followed her and sat at the table.
“How long have you lived here,” Harley asked her.
“All my life,” she said. “My mother died in childbirth when I was ten and my father raised me. Then he passed away three years ago, and I’ve been alone since then.”
“No other brothers or sisters?” Clayton asked.
“No, when Momma died, the baby did as well. So it was just me and Papa,” she said. “Now, it’s just me.”
Harley suddenly stood, his chair scrapping across the wooden floor. “You’re in danger. It’s not safe for you to live here alone.”
“And just where do you think I would go? I’ve been all right the last three years,” she said.
He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his eyes. “But you’re no longer safe. This man is looking to find and kill you.”
There was that small complication, but what did he expect her to do? As it was, she lived on so little. Her salary went to buy groceries and a few minor things, but she had nothing. And if she couldn’t work, she’d have even less.
Clayton was at her side. “You need to marry.”
Quickly, she finished the eggs. Turning, she grabbed the plates. The two men had surrounded her, and she gazed up at them, her brows lifting. “I know, but I haven’t met a man that I would have. I’m not taking just any man. My man has to be a man our children would look up to.”
She would take either one of these two men if they were as honest and trustworthy as she believed.
“Your eggs are getting cold,” she said, handing them a plate.
They took the plates from her and sat at the table. Quickly, they ate the bacon and eggs and toast.
Leaning back, Clayton grinned at her. “Thank you. I feel much better now that I’ve eaten."
“Good,” she said. “After how you helped me, it's the least I can do.”
She picked up the dishes from the table and stacked them in the sink. The water pump was outside, and while she’d never been afraid before, now she felt nervous about going out there at night.
Tonight, she just wanted to get to bed to rest and recuperate from the long, stressful day.
“I think I’ll leave the dishes until in the morning,” she said.
Feeling anxious, she glanced at the two men who were staring at her. “I’m going to try to get some sleep now. I have to work in the morning.”
“No, you can’t go in,” Harley said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I have no choice. It’s how I make my living,” she said. There was no way she could miss work without being fired.
The two stared at each other and she could tell they were communicating without saying a word.
“Clayton will go in to work with you tomorrow. He’ll hang around until you can leave.”
The thought of the big, burly man at her side all day long was nerve-racking and yet it was also comforting. Nervous because he made her feel things she’d never experienced before and comforting because with him there, she would be safe.
“Good-night, gentleman,” she said and knew they watched her as she left. Would they keep their word tonight and not try to impose themselves on her? And what if they did? Right now, every time she looked at them, her heart sped up and her lungs squeezed making it difficult to breathe.
An innocent, she didn’t know if these feelings were normal or if she was a wanton woman.
