A Real Cowboy. Carla Cassidy

business,” Cassie replied. “Tomorrow he’s going to take me on a tour of the entire ranch so I can make notes on what I think needs to be done, and to explain more about the everyday operations.” She yawned again. “And on that note, I think it’s time for me to head to bed. I’m exhausted.”

      “It’s all this fresh air and sunshine.” Nicolette grinned. Cassie got up from the sofa, and with good-nights exchanged, she went upstairs.

      Nicolette thought about going out on the porch and sitting for a little while, but when she realized that part of her reason for doing so was in hopes that Lucas might show up and share part of the night with her, she dismissed the idea.

      They’d been here for only two days and one evening and already she was spending far too much of her time thinking about Lucas Taylor. She should be focusing on what her future would look like when they returned to New York.

      Although she hadn’t mentioned it to Cassie, Nicolette was considering having Cassie buy out her half of the business, and that would give Nicolette enough money for her and Sammy to get their own place. Nicolette could finish her schooling and get a teaching job.

      Of course, it all depended on what Cassie decided to do, and while she knew Cassie’s initial decision had been to sell the ranch, who knew how her friend would feel in two or three months from now? By then the cowboys wouldn’t be just names on paper, they’d be real people, and that might make it more difficult for Cassie to just walk away.

      Realizing she was more tired than she’d thought, she decided to head upstairs. She turned off all the lights and climbed the staircase, trying not to worry about the future or think about Lucas.

      As always as she passed Sammy’s bedroom, she paused to peek in at her sleeping son...and saw a person with a ski mask on at his window.

      For the space of a heartbeat she froze, her brain not understanding how a man could be at the second-floor window. His glittering gaze caught hers, and it was at that moment she screamed.

       Chapter 4

      Lucas jumped off his bed at the sound of the big dinner bell ringing through the night, adrenaline instantly exploding inside him. He pulled on his jeans and grabbed his holster and quickly buckled it, the weight of his gun familiar on his hip as he opened his bunk door.

      Other men were coming outside, as well. “What’s going on?” Dusty asked.

      “Maybe one of them wants one of us to make a cappuccino run,” somebody else replied.

      Lucas didn’t pay attention to anyone. He ran, his heart racing, vaguely aware of the sound of running feet behind him. He knew something was wrong...somebody was in trouble. Otherwise that bell would have never been rung.

      All he could think about was that the house held two defenseless women and one young boy and something bad had happened or was happening.

      The distance between the bunkhouse and the main house had never seemed so far. When he was halfway there the bell stopped ringing, the sudden silence creating even more anxiety in his chest.

      He didn’t bother with the back door, but rather ran around the house to the front where the big bell hung. His gun was in his hand as he reached the front door.

      Cassie opened it for him. “Thank God,” she exclaimed. He released a deep sigh of relief when he saw Sammy in his mother’s arms on the sofa.

      Adam came in just behind him, along with most of the other dozen cowboys, all of them armed and ready to protect their own.

      “There was a man,” Nicolette said, her voice trembling with fear and her eyes simmering a deep green. “He...he was at Sammy’s window.”

      A couple of the cowboys left the house, and Lucas knew they’d be checking it out and scouting around the area for anyone who didn’t belong.

      “The police are on their way, but I rang the bell after Nicolette screamed and grabbed Sammy out of bed. We knew you could get here quicker than law enforcement,” Cassie explained.

      Nicolette’s eyes were huge, as were Sammy’s, and a swift sense of protectiveness rose up inside him. What in the hell had somebody been doing looking into a second-floor window? There was nothing he wanted more than to find the person who had put such fear in Nicolette’s and Sammy’s eyes.

      Instead he holstered his gun and walked over to where they were cuddled together. “You both okay?”

      Nick Coleman came back in from outside. “There’s a ladder against the house. We didn’t touch anything, but it’s definitely not one of ours.”

      “Spread out all the men and see if you can find who was on that ladder,” Adam said. “He can’t have gotten too far. Lucas and I will stay in here to wait for Chief Bowie and his men to arrive.”

      As if to punctuate his sentence, a siren became audible in the distance. Lucas remained next to the sofa, and despite the circumstances he couldn’t help but notice the evocative scent of Nicolette mingling with the minty soap scent of a freshly bathed little cowboy.

      Who would have been at the window? Was somebody trying to harm Sammy, or had his window just been an accidental choice for a break-in? And if it was a break-in attempt, why not come through the front or back door instead of trying to gain entry on the second level, where the culprit had to have known they would all be sleeping.

      Maybe the perp had seen lights on downstairs and had just assumed nobody would be in bed already. It still seemed a stretch to believe that somebody wanting to rob the place had decided to come and go from a ladder at a second-floor window. What did he intend to carry out?

      These thoughts created a tighter, more powerful knot in Lucas’s chest as he wondered what the real motive of the person might have been.

      He was glad to see Chief of Police Dillon Bowie walk through the door. Lucas and Dillon had become friends throughout the years, and there were few people Lucas trusted as much as he did the tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired keeper of the law in Bitterroot.

      Adam made the introductions and Dillon took Cassie’s hand in his. “I’ve been meaning to stop by to meet Cass’s niece before now. I’m sorry we have to meet under such circumstances. Now, tell me exactly what happened.”

      Lucas listened intently as Nicolette talked about going up to bed and peeking in on her son, only to see a person with a ski mask at the window.

      Two of Dillon’s men entered the room. Officer Juan Ramirez nodded to everyone and then looked at his boss. “There is a ladder against the house going up to the bedroom window. All the ranch hands say it isn’t one of their ladders.”

      “Print the whole thing, although I imagine since whoever it was had on a ski mask, he probably had on gloves, as well,” Dillon replied.

      He motioned Cassie into the nearest chair and then he pulled a pad and pen from his pocket. “It’s possible that whoever tried to get into the house knew that you all were city folks and it might be easy pickings for a robbery. Or it could be some local kids out for a little mischief who didn’t realize you all had arrived in town yet. I can’t imagine that you’ve been in town long enough to make any enemies.”

      “Actually, we did have a little incident today at the café,” Nicolette said.

      Lucas looked at her in surprise. “What kind of an incident?” he asked before Dillon got a chance.

      She tightened her arms around Sammy. “Sammy accidentally spilled his milk and it splashed on a man’s jeans. He went off, calling Sammy a spoiled city brat and then...” She paused and then continued. “And then I threw my iced tea at him.”

      “He was sitting at the counter with a bunch of other men and they all gave us the evil eye when we came in,” Cassie added.

      Lucas’s stomach tightened at the thought of any