This Kiss (Made In Montana Book 12) by Debbi Rawlins Page A

generally feared him more than they liked him. But the fact remained, he provided over 60 percent of the jobs and his bank owned a ton of mortgages and notes. Including Sophie and Lola’s business loan.
    “Wendy is wife number four. They’ve been married for eight months.” He shrugged. “How the hell would I know, anyway? I don’t read the society pages and I’m rarely home. Jesus. Here I’ve been keeping my head down. Staying healthy. Staying out of trouble...”
    “You picked up a strange woman in a bar,” she muttered, really hating this whole mess. No room for sympathy now. Everything had to go by the book. “And instead of learning your lesson you came here and did it again.”
    “When?”
    Sophie got to her feet so she could pace, hoping to loosen up. Maybe she should be more concerned with toughening up. She’d started to soften toward Ethan, wondering how she could help him out. But anything she did would reflect on Lola, too. Their business loan wasn’t in jeopardy. They’d been late with their payment only once in four years. It was silly to worry.
    Ethan’s response from a moment ago finally sank in and she faced him. “
When?
Is that a joke?”
    “Do you see me laughing?” he said, his stare unflinching.
    “Did you forget how I ended up here with you?”
    “Nope. But you obviously did.”
    She pushed her fingers through her tangled hair. This was good, him being an ass. Made it easier to shove sympathy aside, be more objective. “Okay, I’ll bite. Go ahead.”
    “Nothing. It’s just that you hit on me.”
    She gaped at him. “Are you nuts?” It took a few more seconds to find her voice again. “You’re crazy, you know that. You brought me to your room.”
    “Actually I was going to give it to you.”
    “What the hell are you talking about?”
    “My friend Matt invited me to stay at his ranch. So when I heard you needed a room, I’d decided to give you this one and I would move over to the Lone Wolf,” he said slowly, and with exaggerated patience. “Then you hit on me, and I...I went with the flow.” He smiled. “I was only trying to be a gentleman.”
    “Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You like to play hero and then move on.” She held her breath. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said
play hero
.
    With a single lifted eyebrow, he held her gaze until she turned away. He didn’t seem surprised or curious about what she’d meant, just faintly amused. So he’d probably remembered...
    Swallowing, she stalked to the window, shoved the drapes aside and stared at nothing.
    The stupid bastard had recognized her from school and hadn’t said a word.

5
    F INE . S O WHAT if he remembered? It didn’t really matter. Sophie stayed at the window, though nothing happening outside was of particular interest. She simply knew better than to look at Ethan while she planned her next move. The inn sat directly on Main Street. And Blackfoot Falls was crawling with out-of-town fans. The only chance for an uneventful exit would be if they left in the middle of the night. Not her first choice, but...
    The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Once the Watering Hole closed, there wouldn’t be anything for these people to do. They’d return to the trailer parks and dude ranches, or wherever they were staying. She could pull her Jeep up close to the porch and stuff him into the backseat. She’d gag him if she had to. But she doubted that would be necessary. He wouldn’t want to call attention to himself.
    Later, once they were on the open road, he’d try to make a move. Plenty of lonely stretches of highway between here and Wyoming for him to give it his all. But that was okay because she’d be ready for him. Sure, he could easily overpower her if he somehow broke free of his restraints. That was why she’d brought pepper spray.
    Despite wanting to smack him, she hoped he was considering what she’d said about finding an attorney. With his high profile he’d be