Cowboy In The Crossfire(27)

Blake scooted behind the steering wheel and shoved the keys into the ignition.

"I feel bad about taking your friend's car." Amanda pulled the seat belt across her lap and glanced in the backseat at Ethan and Leo, who never seemed to be more than a foot from each other.

"The guys who attacked my ranch know what we're driving. We can't afford to attract their attention. The SUV will blend in. The old truck doesn't, even in these parts," Blake said, tilting his Stetson back. "Besides, old man Maddox knows who it belongs to. He borrowed the rustbucket from my dad enough times."

"At least we have more room. You like Leo, don't you, little man?"

Ethan grinned and hugged the dog's neck. "I love him. He's my best friend."

"I know."

Amanda's face turned sad and solemn as Ethan snuggled close to the dog, then whispered to Leo, lost in his own world once more.

"He feels safe with the mutt," Blake said, his voice low. "He'll remember his old friends soon enough."

"That's just the thing. He didn't have any friends. We moved too much because of Carl's next big deal."

"Should I be looking over our shoulder for him?" Blake hadn't considered her ex until now. He didn't like the idea of another man touching her, holding her. Ever. But the man was Ethan's father. Blake would have tracked down Kathy across the country or the world if she'd taken Joey away. "Would he have followed you to see Ethan?"

She let out a cynical laugh. "If someone offered him money to find me, he'd be looking, but he'd screw it up. Probably get himself killed."

"He never sees Ethan?"

Amanda glanced into the backseat, and Blake took a quick look in the rearview mirror. Ethan was completely enthralled in a conversation with Leo.

"He promises. Never shows." Amanda's voice was a mere whisper. "I quit telling Ethan so he wouldn't be disappointed."

"And you weren't."

Amanda shrugged. "I don't matter."

"You're wrong." Blake turned onto a dirt road and rested his hand on her leg. Her muscles tensed under his caress, but he didn't pull away. He stroked her softly. "I dreamed of you last night."

She shivered, and he slid her a sidelong glance. Her eyes had gone dark again. She squirmed in her seat a bit as he eased his fingers down toward her knee, then back up her thigh. He wanted her used to his touch because he planned on exploring every inch of her. Soon.

She coughed and stilled his hand with her own. "Are you trying to make me crazy?"

"I'm distracting you, am I?" Blake smiled. "Just reminding you I haven't forgotten we have unfinished business."

Amanda glanced at Ethan. "Letting things go further is not a good idea."

"You've said that before, but that won't stop the inevitable." He let his fingertips slide inside her thigh, and a small whimper escaped her. "It's going to happen."

"Were you always this arrogant?"

She placed his hand back on the steering wheel. He let her. For now. He couldn't touch her the way he wanted with Ethan in the backseat. When he got her alone again, though... His body tensed in anticipation. He would take his time to uncover every erogenous zone she possessed.

He maneuvered the SUV onto a paved road and slowed down. The blacktop's shiny patches warned him of more black ice. "I hope folks stay inside today," he muttered.

As he changed lanes the car veered to the right. Blake kept his foot off the brake and turned into the gentle slide before he felt the wheels take traction. He straightened the car out and kept his speed slow.

"You should be helping the people in your town through this storm. I'm sorry you're stuck with us."

"Smithson will watch the roads. He's an up-and-comer. Parris will handle the rest. He could've been sheriff as easily as me. If not better. He knows the folks in Carder, and they look up to him."

"They wanted you."

"They felt bad about my dad's accident. Some of them still see me as the hell-raiser son of the 'real' Sheriff Redmond."

She raised a brow. "Seriously? You? Straight-and-narrow Blake Redmond?"

"I did my share of trying to prove I was cool even if I was the sheriff's kid. Once, I sat on the outskirts of town with a buddy drinking beer. We didn't drive, but we had alcohol in the backseat. I've never seen my dad so disappointed. My folks had to attend an alcohol awareness program with me. He was furious."

"They were there for you."

"Yeah. Tell that to my dad, the sheriff, who was supposed to be the one teaching the class. Made me pay for the guest lecturer they brought in from San Antonio." Blake let out a low whistle. "I'd been saving up for a Jet Ski. I never did get one."

"He loved you enough to help you do the right thing." She glanced behind her. "That's what I want for Ethan."

"I hated him at the time, but later I realized he was a great dad. We'd finally become friends."

Blake didn't know what his father would have thought about this situation.

Yeah, he did.

He would've protected Ethan with his life, but in the end, there were consequences for every action. Blake had to keep Amanda and Ethan alive long enough to do the right thing--and make sure the murderers paid for what they'd done.