Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane Page B

came back down the caster-wheeled chair was no longer there, and she sat down hard on the floor. Since there didn’t appear to be an opening in the counter, Billy vaulted over it and crouched down next to her.
    “You all right, ma’am?” He tried to take her hand and help her up, but she jerked away.
    “I’m fine, Mr. Wilkes,” she said in a tone that had more than likely reprimanded an entire town’s worth of overly loud library patrons at one time or another. But Billy had never been one to pay much attention to authority. As she started to get to her feet, he reached out and took her elbow and helped her back into the chair.
    “Thank you,” she said with just a slight quiver in her voice, although Billy wasn’t so sure if it was the fall or histouch that had her nerves scrambled. She appeared visibly relieved when he released her.
    “I assume you’re not thanking me for scaring the daylights out of you,” Billy teased.
    She glanced up and took note of his grin. A blush heated her cheeks before she smiled back. It was a nice smile, and unlike a certain blonde he’d run into that morning, this smile was genuine. “No, I’m thanking you for helping me off the floor after I made a fool of myself.”
    “And here I thought I was the fool for sneaking up on a pretty lady when she’s busy.” Her blush got as red as the apple on her desk. Not wanting to embarrass her any further, he changed the subject. “What had your deep concentration anyway, Ms. Murphy?”
    Before he could turn around and look at the computer screen, she dove for the mouse and clicked the window closed. “Just research,” she blurted out.
    His grin deepened. “Research, huh?”
    “You know how we librarians are,” she cleared her throat, “always walking around with our nose in a book.”
    Billy’s eyes narrowed, but he decided to let it go. What Ms. Murphy did in her little fortress was her own business. He was here on his.
    “Speakin’ of books,” he shot a glance around at the shelves, “I was wonderin’ if you could help me out with some readin’ material while I’m here in Bramble.”
    Ms. Murphy got to her feet and smoothed out her beige skirt, one that looked more appropriate for winter than the heat of midsummer. “What types of genres do you prefer, Mr. Wilkes? Mysteries? Westerns? Bestsellers?”
    “Actually, I was thinkin’ more of history, ma’am.”
    Her big brown eyes widened only fractionally. “Ofcourse.” She opened a hinged section of the counter. “If you’ll just follow me, I’ll be happy to show you where we keep all our history books.”
    On their way through the book-stuffed shelves, Billy took note of the gentle sway of Ms. Murphy’s hips. They weren’t as skinny as he thought they would be, nor were they as curvy as Shirlene Dalton’s. Of course, few women had a body like Ms. Dalton’s. That woman was built like a brick shithouse. And it had taken every ounce of willpower he had not to succumb to the soft give of her butt beneath his fingers or the crush of her breasts against his bare chest. But he wasn’t stupid enough to dip into that kind of trouble. He preferred his women low maintenance, unlike the flashy Ms. Dalton.
    “Here we are,” Ms. Murphy said. Billy was so caught up in his thoughts he almost ran smack dab into her.
    She turned, and when she saw how close he was, she took a few steps back. “Is there anything you’re particularly interested in—the old west? Alamo? Civil War?”
    Billy glanced at the titles and tried to appear nonchalant.
    “Actually, I’m interested in Bramble history—mostly, the late 1800s.”

Chapter Six
     
    S HIRLENE’S CHILDHOOD HOME didn’t improve in full sunlight. In fact, the opposite was true. The sweltering sun only served to illuminate the pathetic state of the trailer and intensify the smell of the stinky garbage that surrounded it. Fortunately, Shirlene didn’t plan on staying long. Just long enough to find her wallet.
    After