My ears shiver. His deep, rumbly voice is actually making myearsshiver.
It’s clearly been too long since I’ve taken care of my own needs if a man can make my ears shiver almost before the ink’s dry on my divorce papers.
But in my defense, he’s taking on a bear for us.
Also, my marriage has been formally over for almost a year, and theoretically a lot longer than that. We kept up appearances to meet the contractual obligations for Dean’s show. Some for Junie’s sake, too, until she bluntly told me she’d overheard Dean making plans to hook up with the star of one of our rival shows.
The number of times I’ve wished I had skipped filming to go to her soccer games or to take her shopping for back-to-school supplies or to justbe thereto hear how her day was at school ...
I don’t blame her for being so snippy with me.
Between leaving her for weeks at a time to be raised by nannies, my in-laws, or my mother—which is another thing I need to address—and the normal teenage hormones, I’m lucky she talks to me at all these days.
“Tell me you arenotdrooling over this,” Junie says entirely too loudly as I note that this man does, in fact, have a tattoo peeking out from beneath one of his shirtsleeves.
The bear studies the man once more, looks at Junie and me, snorts like he agrees with my teenager that I’mdisgusting, and then swaggers in the other direction, taking his sweet old time.
It honestly reminds me of Junie on the nights she’s supposed to do the dishes.
You can make me, but you can’t make me do it fast,that swagger says.I’m still a damn bear, and I can still eat you in your sleep. Don’t you forget it.
I feel Junie swing all her attention back to our unexpected hero a moment after I do.
She doesn’t climb off my back.
I don’t shake her off.
Not when I’m gaping as the man pulls his baseball hat off, looks around—I presume for his horse—pulls a disgusted face, and then turns fully to the window where Junie and I are gaping at him.
He reaches us in about ten long strides, even with having to walk around the carcass. Despite just being thrown off a horse, he’s not limping—not even a little—and my gape gets gapier with every one of his determined, confident steps.
His cheekbones are chiseled over his beard, his eyes hooded under a strong brow, his lips full, and his hair thick and mussed. I can’t tell what he has tattooed on his upper arm, but there’s definitely ink there. I’d guess he’s somewhere between thirty and thirty-five—maybe a couple of years younger than me—and there’s no doubt he isnothappy to see us.
When he stops on the other side of the window, his hazel gaze flickers from my face, to my shoulder—undoubtedly taking in Junie,who’s still hanging on my back—and then back to me. “Mrs.Spencer?” he drawls in that deep baritone that’s no longer makingonlymy ears shiver, despite the subtle curl in his lip like he, too, thinks just as much of me as my teenager does.
“Mai—” I start, then have to stop and clear my throat as I realize he knows who we are.
Junie makes a disgusted noise like she knows Mom’s having a little bit of a reaction to being in the presence of this much male-ness.
Andreactions, while healthy and normal, are the last things I can afford to act on right now.
I shake my head and smile at the cowboy who just saved us from the bear. “Call me Maisey.”
Then I wipe the smile off my face.
It’s too soon to look eager. I amnothere for dating, no matter what kind of inappropriately timed reaction my body’s having.
Not until I’ve gotten back on track with being a good mother and then reconnected with who I want to be and remembered how to love myself first.
However, it’s perfectly legit to smile at the man who just saved us from death by bear, so I smile again.Don’t be coy, Maisey. While he out-beared a bear, he is not your new hero. Do. Not. Be. Coy.
“Thank you so much for scaring off that bear. That was—you were—just wow. Not that we can’t handle a little wildlife, but we got in late last night, and we weren’t prepared to have that big of an animal this close, this fast, but you just rode in and—wow. Thank you. Will your horse be okay? I didn’t mean to scare it. We didn’t see you coming. This is my daughter, Junie. And you are ...?”
Dammit.
Pretty sure that was coy.
No worries, though. This man is completely immune to whatever it is I can’t seem to stop myself from doing, if his flat stare and stubborn jaw set are any indication.
