A Knight In Cowboy Boots by Suzie Quint Read Free Book Online

starters, how about I just shot her brother?”
    “Oh, hell, you just did what she’s wanted to do since she was eight.”
    “It’s not funny, Zach.”
    But she looked a little less frightened, and Zach liked that. Could he get her to stop focusing on having shot him? “It will be when our kids ask how we met.”
    She pulled back in surprise. “You must be kidding!”
    He lifted his arm to pull her back to him, but a stab of fresh pain forced him to arrest the motion. Zach fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. He realized he couldn’t stop her from walking out the door if she decided to, so he played the only card in his arsenal. “I promise not to press charges if you’ll see me again.”
    “Are you crazy? You want to see me again?” He didn’t open his eyes, but her disbelief was plain in her voice.
    “Wanna take you dancing.” And hold her close and make love to her. Maybe he was a little bit crazy. Maybe getting shot had scrambled his brains. Then he looked at her and knew there was nothing crazy about wanting her.
    Maddie’s laugh was edged with hysteria.
    Rachel would be back any minute, and she could blow any chance he had right out of the water. “You probably oughta go before Rachel gets back. It’s gonna take a bit of work to get her over her mad.”
    “Okay.” Maddie picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. The way she hefted it, she obviously missed the weight of the gun.
    “Maddie.”
    “Yes.”
    “Would you write your phone number down and put it in my pocket?”
    She found a tablet and a pen in the nightstand drawer, both emblazoned with the hotel’s name. With trembling fingers, she wrote down her number, no name, ripped the sheet off and folded it in fourths. When she bent over to tuck it into the breast pocket of Zach’s shirt, her scent filled his nostrils. His good arm caught her around the back of her neck. He pulled her lips down onto his. The iPod was playing “No Rush” again, but that wasn’t the message he wanted to send. Her lips seemed to melt under his. She made him think of ripe strawberries and cream.
    Zach finally ended the kiss, but his hand remained on her neck. He licked his lips, trying to capture the lingering flavor of her. “You best go and take care of that little one of yours,” he said before releasing her completely.
    He watched her walk away, closing the door gently behind her. His hand went to his pocket. The paper with her number crinkled softly.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    “But she shot you!” Rachel argued, setting her toast down on the edge of her plate.
    “That was your fault,” Zach said, unable to understand why she didn’t understand that. He cut awkwardly into his biscuits and gravy then stabbed the bite, not trusting his ability to balance anything on a utensil held in his left hand. Forking it into his mouth, he watched Rachel sit up straighter, her eyes narrowing.
    It would take some doing to get his sister to use her influence to get Maddie a job in the bar. Sitting over breakfast in the hotel dining room was a perfect place to work on her. Rachel would never let both barrels loose on him in front of her coworkers.
    That would be unprofessional.
    “What do you mean, my fault ? You can’t go blaming me for this.”
    “Hey, she hadn’t even thought of shooting me ‘til you called my room.”
    Rachel sat back in her chair, her eyes still narrow with suspicion. “What’s that got to do with it?”
    The pretty brunette waitress slid up to their table. “Refill?”
    Rachel clamped her mouth shut and frowned, but the girl was watching to be sure she didn’t overfill Zach’s cup and didn’t see it. As she tipped the coffee carafe back up, she lifted her eyes to meet his. Not shy, this girl. In her sultry look, Zach saw she knew he’d been checking her out while she poured and that she had no problem with that. Rachel thanked the girl in a tone that was disapproving in its correctness.
    Zach glanced at his watch. Ten in the