Sheltered By The Cowboy

George would be happy resting next to the woman he’d loved. When she’d died she’d taken so much of what little goodness he’d had with her.

They were trailed by several neighbors, a couple of waitresses from the café, Butch Cooper and two men from the Humes ranch.

Mandy assumed the Humes men might have been her father’s drinking buddies. At least Lloyd Green wasn’t here. Still, her father probably would have opened the door to Lloyd. Heck, her father would have opened the door to most anyone he knew on the night of his murder. There had been no signs of a break-in or robbery and no hard evidence that anyone had been in the house. The killer must have relocked whatever door he’d entered when he was finished slashing her father’s throat.

She glanced up at Brody, so tall and stoic next to her. His very presence helped to calm the tension that had balled up tight in her stomach.

This was it. This was so final. She was now an orphan and she would never, ever be able to get the kind of relationship she’d longed for with her father.

She’d thought she’d cried all the tears in her body, but she’d been wrong. The moment Wally began to speak, tears chased each other down her cheeks.

She would have broken down altogether had Brody not reached out and took her hand in his. The warmth of his hand around hers, the silent support he offered were enough to keep her somewhat in check.

The official ceremony didn’t take long. There were no good friends to speak of George in glowing terms and Mandy had declined to speak. When it was over, she told everyone that they were welcome at the house, where sandwiches would be served.

She didn’t expect anyone to come. Most of these people who had come had done so to show support for her, which she appreciated.

They were about to leave when Aaron Blair and his wife, Sadie, walked over to the two of them. Aaron was a big man with dark hair, and his wife was a willowy blonde who looked as if she could use a good meal. They owned the ranch next to the Wright place, but Mandy barely knew them.

“Brody... Mandy,” Aaron greeted them. “Mandy, I’d tell you I was sorry for your loss, but your father was a mean, spiteful man who nobody will miss.”

Mandy took a step backward in stunned shock. “Aaron,” his wife replied in surprise.

“Well, it’s the truth,” Aaron said firmly, raising his square jaw. “George accused me of stealing land from him for years. He accused me of putting up my fencing three feet on his property despite the three surveys I paid for to prove him wrong. He was nothing more than a miserable bastard.”

“And I think that’s enough,” Brody replied in a stern voice. “This isn’t the time or the place for you to air your grievances.”

“Come on, Aaron. Let’s go home,” Sadie said. She jerked on her husband’s arm and the two of them headed away from the gravesite.

“Don’t pay any attention to them,” Brody said softly.

Grief once again tightened Mandy’s throat. “It doesn’t matter if my dad was mean or not. He still didn’t deserve to have his throat cut while sitting in his recliner chair in his own home.” She swallowed hard against the emotion that rose up in the back of her throat.

“I just hope Dillon is aware of the bad blood between your father and Aaron,” Brody replied.

She looked at him in surprise. “Surely you don’t think Aaron had anything to do with the murder. I can’t imagine it.”

“None of us could imagine Adam being a serial killer,” he reminded her. He looped his arm through hers. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

Together they headed back toward the parking area, but before they got there a man appeared in the distance. Mandy froze at the sight of him.

Was it? Could it be?

She pulled her arm from Brody’s, every muscle in her body tensed. “Graham?” The name whispered from her.

As he drew closer and smiled at her, joy exploded in her heart. “Graham!”

She ran toward her brother, half laughing and half crying. She had no idea how he had heard about their father’s murder. She didn’t care where he had come from. The only thing that mattered was that he was here now.

* * *

Brody didn’t like him. He stood in the kitchen with Daisy, who had arrived only moments before with sandwiches, potato salad and baked beans.

Mandy was in the living room, catching up with her brother, and it had taken Brody about two minutes to realize he didn’t particularly like and he damned straight didn’t trust Graham Wright.

There was no overt reason for his dislike or distrust of the man, other than he’d appeared out of nowhere after being gone for years. It was just a gut instinct that was hard to deny.

About ten people had come back to the house following the funeral, including Dillon and Cassie. They were also in the family room, and Brody hoped Dillon was not only visiting with Graham but also interrogating him as to his whereabouts when George had been murdered.

“Darn, I left the tossed salad out in my car,” Daisy said.

“Need some help?” Brody asked.

“Nah, I’ll go get it.” She left the kitchen by the back door, and at the same time Butch Cooper came in from the family room.

“Hey, Brody,” he said and picked up one of the paper plates. “These look good.” He grabbed two of the half sandwiches and put them on his plate.

“Daisy doesn’t make bad food,” he replied. “Even her sandwiches taste better than any I’ve ever eaten.”

Butch nodded and stepped closer to him. “What do you think about the prodigal son’s return?”

Brody glanced toward Graham and then looked back at Butch. “The verdict is still out.”

Butch nodded. “Yeah, mine, too. Mandy sure is happy to see him.”

“I know she’s missed him for a very long time.” Over the last couple of days Mandy had spoken often about her childhood memories of her brother. She’d believed she would never see him again.

Butch stared down at his plate for a moment and then looked back up. “I’m glad she has you.”

There was a softness in the big cowboy’s eyes. Brody stared at him. “Does she know you’re in love with her?” he asked.

Butch looked as if he might protest and then smiled with a shrug of his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter whether she knows it or not. According to her I’m just an ordinary toad and not the prince she’s waiting for. It’s easy to be crazy about Mandy, but all I want for her is happiness, and right now you seem to be making her happy.”

Brody didn’t have a chance to tell Butch that it wasn’t like that, for at that moment Daisy flew back into the kitchen carrying a large salad bowl. “Here we go,” she said.

As Butch continued to fill his plate, Brody moved to the doorway between the kitchen and the family room. The recliner chair where George had been killed had been moved out after Dillon released the house as a crime scene.

Dillon and Cassie sat in straight-backed chairs and Mandy and Graham sat next to each other on the sofa. Graham was telling them about his life in Texas, where he worked as an accountant for a large financial firm.

“I’d stayed in touch with Zeke Osmond over the years, and he called me the minute he heard that my dad was dead,” Graham said, a fact that didn’t do anything to endear the man to Brody. Zeke worked for Raymond Humes and had long been suspected of being part of the nuisance fires, the stolen cattle and other crimes that had taken place on the Holiday Ranch.

“I can’t believe Zeke knew where you were all this time and didn’t tell me,” Mandy replied.

“I asked him to keep it a secret until I felt like it was time to come back here and see Dad and you in person,” Graham replied.

Mandy’s eyes sparkled and despite the somber black dress she wore, she looked beautiful. The last few days had been more difficult for him than he’d ever expected.

While Mandy had grieved, he had lusted. The scent of her stirred him like no other, and no matter what she wore he found her sexy as hell. This wasn’t the way a friendship was supposed to work.

The minute he’d provided her an alibi to Dillon, Brody had known that he’d thrown himself into a relationship with her, at least until her father’s murder was solved.

Maybe now that Graham was back in her life Mandy wouldn’t care if Brody distanced himself from her. Maybe she’d stop calling him late in the evenings just to say good-night. This might be his opportunity to step away from her.

And he needed to step away from her. He’d started looking forward to her good-night calls. He dreamed of capturing her lips with his, of stroking her naked curves and more. He didn’t want or need anyone in his life, especially a woman who was looking for her prince. He was definitely no prince.

“Where were you on the night your father was murdered?” Dillon leaned forward in his chair.

Graham smiled. He had a smile just like Mandy’s...wide and warm. “I was at a company Christmas party. I’ll be happy to give you names of people who were there with me and will corroborate that I attended.”

“And after the party ended?” Dillon’s expression was pleasant enough but his gray eyes were hard and cold. Those same cold eyes had been directed at Brody when Dillon believed one of the Holiday Ranch cowboys was guilty of murder.

“The party didn’t break up until after one or so and then I went to my fiancée’s apartment and spent the night there,” Graham replied.

“I can’t believe you’d think he’s guilty of anything,” Mandy said to Dillon with a touch of outrage.

“Honey, now isn’t the time or the place,” Cassie said softly to Dillon.

“Of course,” Dillon replied and sat back in his chair. “But I would like to speak to you later,” he added to Graham.

“I’ll be glad to,” Graham replied.

Butch and some of the others left and eventually everyone else got up, filled a plate and found places to sit at the table. The talk turned to what Mandy intended to do with the property.

“I need to clean out everything. I’ll donate Dad’s clothes and the furniture, and then I’m going to sell.” She looked at her brother seated next to her. “I’ll split everything fifty-fifty with you, Graham.”

“I don’t need your money, Mandy,” he replied. “I’ve done pretty well for myself. Besides, that’s not why I came back here.”

“Why did you come back?” The words blurted out of Brody.

Graham frowned. “I came back because not a day went by that I didn’t think about my little sister.” He gazed at Mandy. “I was always sorry that I left you behind, but we were both so young.” He looked at Brody. “When I heard about the murder, I knew I needed to see Mandy and make sure she was okay.”

Mandy reached across the table and grabbed one of his hands. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters other than you’re here now.”

“I’m here until just after the first of the year, and then I need to get back to my job and my life in Dallas,” he replied.

“And I can’t wait to hear all about your life in Dallas,” Mandy replied.

Brody glanced at his watch. The day was fading away and he needed to leave. He had someplace he had to be in thirty minutes.

“Mandy, I need to head out,” he said.

She jumped up from the table. “Okay, I’ll walk you out.”

She grabbed her coat from the hall tree and shrugged it on. Together they walked out into the fading light of day. “Brody, I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done to support me over the last couple of days.”

“It was my pleasure,” he replied.

“I really don’t know what I would have done without you.” They reached his truck’s driver’s door and she gazed up at him with her gorgeous dark-lashed eyes. “You aren’t going to stop being my friend just because I have a brother now, are you?”

Although that was exactly what he’d intended to do, there was no way he could look into her soulful eyes and tell her that...especially not today of all days. “Of course not,” he replied.

She grinned, suddenly threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips firmly against his cheek. His body immediately responded to her body so close to his and to the warmth of her lips against his skin.

“What’s that for?” he asked gruffly as she released her hold on him.

“That’s for being the best friend I could ever ask for,” she replied. “I’ll call you later?”

“Sounds good,” he said.

He watched while she hurried back into the house. Adrenaline still whipped through him. He needed to lift a car or cut down a tree or do something physical to rid himself of the unwanted surge of desire inside him.

He got into his truck and pulled away from the Wright place, grateful that he was on his way to spend some time with Ellie.

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