Unrepentant Cowboy. Joanna Wayne

apart.”

      Still, Leif was getting bad vibes about Joni living so close to the victim.

      A few minutes later they reached her drive. It was on the same side of the road as the victim’s. The woods surrounding her house were just as thick.

      He pulled into the dirt driveway leading to her house. Lengthening shadows crept across the gray clapboard porch, intensifying the feeling of isolation as Leif stopped a few yards from the front door.

      Joni sat up straighter, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. When she turned toward him, her eyes mirrored the same dark thoughts that were eating at him.

      He put an arm around her shoulders. She nestled against him, and a surge of protectiveness swept through him, stronger than any in recent memory. That was far too quickly followed by a kick of arousal, especially when Joni snuggled closer in his arms, her head resting beneath his chin.

      Joni pulled away quickly. He didn’t know what she was feeling, but there was no denying the sensual jolt he’d experienced. He should run and run fast.

      Instead he killed the engine and stepped out of his car.

      Chapter Five

      Joni unlocked the front door and pushed it open, her blood still thrumming from the rush of emotion she’d felt in Leif’s arms. She’d always been too cautious to let a man get to her like that.

      Mostly she’d been so busy with college and veterinary training that she hadn’t had time for a boyfriend. But even if she could squeeze a relationship with Leif into her schedule, he was only passing through and in a big hurry to put his day in Oak Grove behind him.

      “Sorry for that mini-meltdown,” she said as he followed her inside.

      “Don’t be. That’s what shoulders are for. And I wouldn’t call that a meltdown. More like a reasonable reaction to a hideous neighborhood crime.”

      “Seeing the house did get to me. You don’t expect that type of crime in Oak Grove. The worst they’ve had since I’ve been here is vandalism at the high school and a brawl after a rodeo where two guys got busted for fighting.”

      “No place is immune to crime these days. If you’re nervous staying here alone, maybe you should spend a few nights with a friend or I’m sure R.J. would put you up at the Dry Gulch.”

      “I have two very good friends who are never far away. A Smith & Wesson pistol and a shotgun.”

      “And I guess you’re an expert at using them, Annie Oakley.”

      “I am. Blake and the Lambert family made sure I learned to use both shortly after I moved here.”