The Cowboy's Million-Dollar Secret. Emilie Rose

him and tossed it to her.

      She caught it and swiftly wound it around herself, but she didn’t take her gaze off him—not even long enough to blink.

      He had to say something. While he’d never had trouble talking to a naked woman before, he didn’t have a clue what to say now. Might as well start with the obvious. “Why are you showering in the barn at four-thirty in the morning?”

      “Y-you’re early.”

      “Last I heard, the Pink Palace had running water.”

      “I’m…I’m not st-staying at the rooming house.”

      “Why?”

      Her brows dipped and she chewed her bottom lip. “I can’t afford it.”

      He shoved the wet hair off his forehead and swiped the water from his face. “Why in the hell didn’t you say so?”

      She tipped up her chin and squared her shoulders, but her white-knuckled grip on the towel didn’t loosen. “I would have been fine if you hadn’t come early.”

      Fine if he hadn’t… He rubbed the back of his neck. How did this get to be his fault? “Where did you sleep last night?”

      She pressed her lips together and remained mute.

      “Tell me or you’re fired.”

      She opened her mouth and closed it again.

      Water trickled off his wet clothes, filling his favorite boots. He was beginning to suspect he’d be looking for a new hostess when she said, “In one of the storage buildings.”

      “One of the—” He snapped his jaw shut on the stampede of curses battling to get out.