she assured herself. She just needed some air. When she looked up, grateful he was giving her five feet of space, she found her eyes fastening on a set of three elderly ladies who were slack-jawed and sparkly-eyed.
“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, darling,” one of the women said as they all stepped forward. “I’m Bethel, and these two women here are my friends, Eileen and Maggie.” She pointed first to one and then the other.
Brielle was at a loss for words for a few seconds as she struggled to switch off her lustful thoughts and focus on the women in front of her. She had best get used to strangers introducing themselves in this town, because it seemed that no one was looked at as a stranger here.
She accepted the hand that Bethel was holding out and said, “I’m Brielle Storm.”
“Ah. You’re the new owner at the Ponderosa Pines Ranch,” Bethel said, and the other two women nodded knowingly.
“So, we see you’re here with Colt,” one of the other women said — was it Eileen or Maggie? Damn! — and the smile she sent Brielle’s way started to make her really nervous. She didn’t know why, but it seemed as if these women were analyzing her, maybe planning something, something she was sure she wanted no part of. Shifting on her feet, she tried to figure out the best escape route possible, but there seemed to be nowhere to run.
“Yes, he brought me here to get some work clothes. I…um…wasn’t quite prepared for the ranch,” Brielle admitted, amazed when she felt her cheeks redden even more.
She was a Storm, and at one time even the mention of her name had brought a reverent silence. Money talked. But she didn’t have any now, and there was no sign of either reverence or silence from the three women standing before her.
“Ladies, are you giving Brielle a hard time?”
Suddenly, Colt was standing next to her, his arm slung across her back. Of course, the three women’s eyes zeroed in on the protective gesture. Brielle tried to squirm away, but he was strong and determined, and without doing some all-too-obvious twisting, she wasn’t going to escape his hold.
“Not at all, Colt. We were just introducing ourselves. Martin’s over at the café and he said the two of you came in here about an hour ago,” Eileen said with a sly smile. “We were just wondering why picking out a few items of clothing was taking so long.”
“And now we know,” Maggie said, offering her own sly glance at Colt’s hand, which was resting just above Brielle’s hip.
As if finally getting clued in to what these women were up to, and where their eyes were, he untangled himself from Brielle and put a good three feet of space between them.
“Brielle didn’t have proper clothes for riding or ranching. We’ve just been shopping.” Colt’s cheeks seemed to gain instant color to match Brielle’s.
“That’s not what we’ve been hearing. Peggy said you were assisting Brielle in the changing room,” Bethel said.
Brielle was mortified to discover that people had been paying attention. Peggy hadn’t been anywhere in sight when Colt had slipped in there with her. But of course the woman knew what was happening in her own store. What had Brielle been thinking when she allowed that make-out session to go on in such a public place? Okay, maybe she wasn’t all that surprised at what she’d done. And she couldn’t regret it altogether. His kisses were that good.
She was, however, more than a little uncomfortable now that she was being examined under a high-powered microscope. Were these women finding her seriously lacking? They probably didn’t think her good enough for one of their own small-town cowboys.
That thought stung, though it shouldn’t have. She knew who she was and what she was worth. But that was just it. She didn’t really know who she was. She knew she was a Storm, but that didn’t mean anything anymore, and certainly nothing in this town. She felt as if she were
“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, darling,” one of the women said as they all stepped forward. “I’m Bethel, and these two women here are my friends, Eileen and Maggie.” She pointed first to one and then the other.
Brielle was at a loss for words for a few seconds as she struggled to switch off her lustful thoughts and focus on the women in front of her. She had best get used to strangers introducing themselves in this town, because it seemed that no one was looked at as a stranger here.
She accepted the hand that Bethel was holding out and said, “I’m Brielle Storm.”
“Ah. You’re the new owner at the Ponderosa Pines Ranch,” Bethel said, and the other two women nodded knowingly.
“So, we see you’re here with Colt,” one of the other women said — was it Eileen or Maggie? Damn! — and the smile she sent Brielle’s way started to make her really nervous. She didn’t know why, but it seemed as if these women were analyzing her, maybe planning something, something she was sure she wanted no part of. Shifting on her feet, she tried to figure out the best escape route possible, but there seemed to be nowhere to run.
“Yes, he brought me here to get some work clothes. I…um…wasn’t quite prepared for the ranch,” Brielle admitted, amazed when she felt her cheeks redden even more.
She was a Storm, and at one time even the mention of her name had brought a reverent silence. Money talked. But she didn’t have any now, and there was no sign of either reverence or silence from the three women standing before her.
“Ladies, are you giving Brielle a hard time?”
Suddenly, Colt was standing next to her, his arm slung across her back. Of course, the three women’s eyes zeroed in on the protective gesture. Brielle tried to squirm away, but he was strong and determined, and without doing some all-too-obvious twisting, she wasn’t going to escape his hold.
“Not at all, Colt. We were just introducing ourselves. Martin’s over at the café and he said the two of you came in here about an hour ago,” Eileen said with a sly smile. “We were just wondering why picking out a few items of clothing was taking so long.”
“And now we know,” Maggie said, offering her own sly glance at Colt’s hand, which was resting just above Brielle’s hip.
As if finally getting clued in to what these women were up to, and where their eyes were, he untangled himself from Brielle and put a good three feet of space between them.
“Brielle didn’t have proper clothes for riding or ranching. We’ve just been shopping.” Colt’s cheeks seemed to gain instant color to match Brielle’s.
“That’s not what we’ve been hearing. Peggy said you were assisting Brielle in the changing room,” Bethel said.
Brielle was mortified to discover that people had been paying attention. Peggy hadn’t been anywhere in sight when Colt had slipped in there with her. But of course the woman knew what was happening in her own store. What had Brielle been thinking when she allowed that make-out session to go on in such a public place? Okay, maybe she wasn’t all that surprised at what she’d done. And she couldn’t regret it altogether. His kisses were that good.
She was, however, more than a little uncomfortable now that she was being examined under a high-powered microscope. Were these women finding her seriously lacking? They probably didn’t think her good enough for one of their own small-town cowboys.
That thought stung, though it shouldn’t have. She knew who she was and what she was worth. But that was just it. She didn’t really know who she was. She knew she was a Storm, but that didn’t mean anything anymore, and certainly nothing in this town. She felt as if she were
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