“What happened after that?”
“Damon started harassing me right away. I was able to get a restraining order, but it didn’t really do any good.”
“Yeah. Piece of paper making something illegal doesn’t keep people from breaking the law.”
“No, it doesn’t. I finally gave up and left Phoenix.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Five months. I took a job in Houston but Damon followed me, started harassing me again. After he strangled the neighbor’s kitten and tossed it on my doorstep, I knew we had to leave. I found a job in Carlsbad, one I really liked. Things were good. I thought maybe he’d given up, but three weeks before I came to the ranch, Damon found me again. After that I was on the road until I got here.”
“What happened in Carlsbad?”
She took a shaky breath. “Damon and I had a little . . . umm . . . altercation.”
“You got into a fight? How bad was it?”
“Not nearly as bad as it could have been. I was prepared this time. When Damon broke into my apartment in the middle of the night, I used a stun gun to incapacitate him, tied him up, and left him on the floor. Damon was really pissed.”
Imagining the scene, Josh felt the pull of a smile. “Yeah, I bet he was.”
“I’ve been extremely careful since then, disposable phones, paying cash for everything, but maybe somehow he found out I was here.”
She returned to her packing, threw in another dress. Josh walked over and caught her shoulder, turning her to face him.
“Look, we don’t know for sure it was him. It could just be some firebug passing through who gets his kicks out of burning things down. Until we find out, there’s no reason for you to leave.”
She swallowed, looked up at him. “Thank you for saying that, but—” Fresh tears welled, making her eyes look bigger and greener. “I can’t let you take that kind of risk.”
Maybe if she had said something else. Maybe if her concern hadn’t grabbed him like a fist, he could have just let her leave. He had returned to Texas for peace and quiet. The last thing he needed was more trouble.
But there was no way he could just abandon her. “What about you, Tory? What about Ivy? If this guy’s as bad as you say, how are you going to protect your little girl?”
A soft sob caught in her throat. Josh looked into those troubled green eyes and the next thing he knew he was pulling her into his arms. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying right here where you’ll be safe.”
He could feel her trembling, feel the way her body relaxed into the strength of his. For a moment, she rested her head on his chest. It felt good—way too good. He reminded himself this was a woman who needed his help, nothing more.
She took a shaky breath and looked up at him. “Are you . . . are you sure?”
He wasn’t sure of anything except there was no way he could send this woman and her little girl away, not with some lunatic tracking them.
He eased her back a little before she discovered holding her was making him hard. “Like I said, we have no idea who burned the barn. If it’s him, we’ll find a way to deal with it. Until then, we go on the way we have been, but we keep our eyes open. I’ll talk to Noah and Cole, let them know what’s going on.”
“Oh, God, they might be in danger, too.”
He almost smiled. “They’re marines, honey. They can take care of themselves. They’ve faced a lot worse than some creep who beats up women.”
Those strawberry lips curved. He wanted to lean down and kiss her.
“You were a marine, too, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Why did you leave the service? I noticed the scar on your side. Were you wounded?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t say he’d been shot three times and blown up with an IED. Somehow it seemed overkill.
She reached out and lifted his T-shirt, stared at the twisted flesh on his side that had healed far better than he had any right to expect. The brush of her fingers felt like a white-hot brand.
