The Cowboy's Saving Grace, an erotic western novella (Taming the Cowboy) by Emma Jay Read Free Book Online Page B

knew she was a good mom, at least what he’d seen proved it. But she was wrong now.
    “Besides, I have a lease, and even if you chipped in on rent, Teresa couldn’t afford it and I can’t leave her without a roommate.”
    Frustration bubbled in him, but the appearance of a police cruiser saved him from losing his temper. He hopped off the tailgate and flagged the cop down. The young woman who got out surprised Liam. She was a little thing, and alone in the cruiser. Seemed to be a rough assignment. But she was completely professional, and aware of her surroundings. Both he and Grace gave their contact information before Grace went upstairs, and Liam told what he’d seen, which wasn’t much.
    “Do you have a lot of crime in this area?” he asked as she dusted the truck for fingerprints at his insistence.
    “Along this street I get about one car break-in a night.”
    “What about these apartments?” He gestured to Grace’s place. “Break-ins there?”
    “Now and then. Usually during the day when no one’s home.”
    Except Grace was home during the day.  He wasn’t sure whether that made her safer or not. The officer gave Liam a slip of paper with his case number on it and went back to her car. He headed upstairs to get a broom to sweep up the glass while he waited on the tow truck. Grace was in the kitchen with her roommate. He could smell the coffee.
    “Go back to bed,” he told her, getting the broom from behind the refrigerator. “Noah will be up in a little while.” He touched her cheek briefly, this thumb brushing the shadow under her eyes. “I’ll be up after the tow truck comes.” And took his baby someplace safe. Even now he didn’t like being up here and the truck vulnerable down there. He kissed her forehead. “Go back to bed.”
    She nodded, but he had no idea if she’d listen to him.
    Dawn was breaking when the tow truck finally pulled his battered truck out of the parking lot. His eyes were dry and he was cotton-headed as he took the broom and headed upstairs.
    His son was still asleep, though on his side, his brow furrowed as if he was having a bad dream. Liam tiptoed past him into the bedroom to find Grace asleep, all right, but still dressed, curled up on top of the covers instead of under them. He toed off his boots and stretched out beside her, curving around her, into her warmth. He’d have to wake her soon enough, to take him to get a rental, but for now, he was just going to hold her.
     
    ***
     
    The inside of her car was even worse than the outside. Clean, sure, but the passenger seat had a rip and the dashboard was cracked, and the thermostat lever had to sit just so to blow out warm air. Plus, she drove like a bat out of hell, which amused Noah in his car seat, but Liam held on for dear life.
    “You sure you know where this place is?” he asked.
    “Sure. It’s by the airport.”
    She spun the wheel to the left and he braced his hand on the roof of the car. Which, by the way, was sagging.
    When she finally whipped the car into the rental car parking lot, he wanted to kiss the ground. He supposed he should be glad she had a car with that much pick-up, but he thought she’d drive more cautiously with Noah in the car.
    “Do you want me to wait?” she asked, car still running.
    “No, you need to get Noah to daycare.” He leaned across and kissed her. “Go back and go to sleep. I’ll see you tonight.”
    And when he picked her up, they’d continue the conversation about finding her a better place to live.
     
    ***
     
    Grace’s head was going to explode, but she couldn’t give her temper free rein with Noah sleeping in the next room. She paced the tiny strip of carpet between her bed and the wall and resolved not to look at Mr. Know-It-All, who sat on her bed. If he used that calm, see-it-my-way tone one more time, she was going to smother him with a pillow.
    “How dare you come into my life and start telling me what to do? Bad enough you tell me where to live, but