The Last Cowboy Standing. Barbara Dunlop

Travis. It took him a minute to collect his thoughts. “I care because he’s lying to you.”

      They walked a bit farther in silence, beneath a canopy of oaks, green, red and blue spots glowing up their trunks.

      Finally, she drew an audible breath. “What you’re doing doesn’t make sense, Travis.”

      “Why does it have to make sense?” Even as he said the words, he knew she was right. He had absolutely no reason to meddle in her life.

      “Everything has to make some kind of sense,” she countered.

      “Maybe to a lawyer. But cowboys operate on instinct.”

      She paused at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the pavilion, turning to face him. Astrid and Nadine were several yards ahead.

      “And, what’s your instinct telling you?” she asked.

      He gazed down at her. His instinct was telling him to kiss her, and kiss her hard. But he couldn’t do that here. Not that he could do it anywhere.

      “It’s telling me he’s no good for you, Danielle. He’s no good for you, and I’m the only guy around to stop him.”

      “I am a grown woman, Travis. I can stop him all by myself.”

      Travis smiled at that. In many ways it was true. But his way was faster, and he didn’t like the odds that she’d end up getting hurt. “He’s too sneaky, and you’re too kind.”

      “What do you mean I’m kind? I fight with you all the time.”

      “It’s safe for you to fight with me.”

      She tilted her pretty head sideways, and he couldn’t help but think it was the perfect angle to kiss. “Your instincts telling you that, too?” she asked tartly.

      “Yep. And they’re infallible.” He offered her his arm to walk up the staircase.

      * * *

      Inside the reception, Danielle left Travis to his own devises. She quickly found herself swept up in a whirlwind of introductions and conversations with the who’s who of Nester and Hedley. It seemed they were interested in her South American experience. Brazil and Columbia were rising on everyone’s trade radar in D.C., and their expertise was weak for the region. They saw an opportunity to get in early on this new wave, and they wanted Danielle to head up an entire division.

      It was a genuine, exciting offer that didn’t appear to have anything to do with Randal. In fact, she’d barely seen him since they arrived. The senior partners seemed to know her entire professional history, even details of Caleb’s Active Equipment activities and challenges in Columbia.

      It was close to eleven when, throat raw from talking over the music, and feet sore from her high shoes, she pushed her way up to a bar stool and asked the bartender for a soda and lime.

      “He’s watching you,” came Travis’s deep voice from behind her left ear. He took the stool next to her.

      “He’s barely said a word to me all night long. Honestly, the only person creeping me out here, is you.”

      “He’s known where you were every second.”

      She angled toward him. “First, I don’t believe you. Second, I’ve been talking with his bosses. They’re the ones who have his attention, not me.”

      Travis reached for a handful of the snack mix on the bar. “Keep telling yourself that.”

      “I will, thank you very much.”

      The waiter set her drink down in front of her and looked to Travis for his order.

      “Are you hungry?” Travis asked her. “Those little crab puffs and cheese squares didn’t do it for me.”

      “I’m not leaving yet.”

      “I’ll take a beer,” Travis said to the waiter. “Whatever you’ve got on tap.”

      “It’s by the bottle, sir.”

      Danielle couldn’t help but grin as she stirred the ice in her soda and lime.

      “Anything from DFB?”

      “Mountain Red?”

      “Sounds great.”

      The waiter turned to the glass-fronted refrigerator.

      “This isn’t a honky-tonk,” Danielle pointed out.

      “Are my country roots showing?”

      She realized how snobby she sounded. “An honest mistake. No big deal.”

      The waiter returned with an open bottle of Mountain Red and a chilled pilsner glass. Travis handed him a tip, and Danielle realized she was the one who lacked class.

      “How’s it going?” Travis asked her as he tipped the glass and poured in the amber liquid. It foamed slightly at the top of the flared glass.

      “They seem serious,” she answered, gazing at the bubbles in her own drink. “They know a lot about me.”

      “Yeah? All good?”

      She smiled to herself. “They think it’s good. They know what I did for Active Equipment and a few others, and they want me to head up a South American division.”

      She couldn’t help replaying the conversations in her mind. If Claude Hedley was to be believed, she’d be on the cutting edge of a global wave of interest. The earning potential would be massive, and she’d be in a position to set her own priorities and parameters.

      “You going to take it?” asked Travis.

      “I’m thinking about it,” she answered honestly. Then it suddenly occurred to her she was talking to a close friend of Caleb’s.

      She quickly turned to take in his expression. “But...uh...”

      He caught on quick. “You don’t want me to tell Caleb.”

      Her hand went reflexively to his forearm. “I’d never ask you to lie. But it would be better for me if you didn’t mention it to him right away.”

      He took a reflective drink of his beer. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

      “Thank you. I’m sorry to put you in that position.”

      “I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”

      “I really didn’t think this through.” Where had her common sense been yesterday when she’d mentioned this to Travis.

      “Unusual for you?” he asked.

      “Very.”

      “He’s coming over.”

      “Who?”

      “Randal. Who else.” Travis’s gaze went down. “You’re touching me, and he feels threatened. He’s about to stake his territory.”

      She immediately realized she hadn’t taken her hand from Travis’s arm. Then she realized his arm was warm, hot actually under her fingertips. He was solid, strong and alive. She didn’t want to pull away.

      “Don’t panic,” Travis muttered in an undertone. “But I’m going to touch your hair.”

      “Wha—”

      Before she could finish the word, he gently brushed the back of his knuckles along her cheek, smoothing her hair back over her ear.

      She froze, every nerve ending in her body focusing on the gentle touch. Pings of awareness and desire shot out, sending signals of desire to every corner of her body.

      “Dani,” boomed Randal’s voice. He wrapped a hearty arm around her shoulders and gave her a pat. “It looked like things went well?”

      Travis’s hand fell away. “Hello, Randal.”

      “Oh,