Cowboy to the Core. Joanna Wayne

teenage girls squealed so much?

      Once they’d chosen their designs, Marcus tugged Dani aside. “I’d be able to do my job a lot better if I had some facts.”

      The expression on her face changed to one of pure dread. He put a hand to her shoulder and then pulled it away too quickly. Just touching her had some kind of bewitching effect on him, and he needed his head clear for this.

      Dani fingered the pendant. “What if I said I just called you because I wanted to see you again?”

      “I’d be damned flattered and a sight more gullible than I am if I believed you.”

      She nodded, a look of resolution finally settling in her haunted eyes. “Okay, and if you charge me double for wasting your time, I’ll fully understand.”

      DANI HAD DELIBERATED all afternoon on exactly how much she should confess to Marcus. She’d told no one in her adult life that her grandmother was clairvoyant. The only person she still had any contact with who knew about her inherited curse was Bethany Sue, and she had been sworn to secrecy years ago.

      Under no circumstances did she ever intend for her daughter to find out about her psychic gifts—which was why she couldn’t even consider telling Marcus the whole truth. If she breathed a word of her fears that this morning’s episode might possibly have been a psychic vision, it would let her paranormal skeletons out of the closet to rattle their bones around Celeste.

      Plus, he’d dismiss her as a kook.

      That left Dani only one realistic alternative. She pulled the note from her pocket, smoothed it with her fingertips and handed it to him.

      “Someone at the festival gave me this. It’s probably nothing, but it frightened me when I read it. That’s when I decided to call you.”

      He grimaced as he studied the note. “Did you see the person who delivered it?”

      “Yes. It was a young teenage boy, but he was just the messenger. All he could tell me about the man who gave it to him was that he was wearing a blue polo shirt.”

      “That’s it?”

      “Yes, but when I was shopping earlier today, I noticed a man in a blue knit shirt staring at me. Well, I didn’t exactly see him, but I saw his reflection in the mirror. When I turned to see if I knew him, he ducked out of sight. It might not have even been the same man, but I found the possibility a bit disturbing. Hence my call to you.”

      “Do you have any idea who the dark knight refers to?”

      “Not even a clue. The only people I know here besides you and the girls are Bethany Sue and Arnie, and I only just met him.” For that matter she‘d just met Marcus, as well.

      “There are no shortage of knight wannabes milling around us tonight,” Marcus noted.

      “It was probably from someone just getting into the spirit of the festival,” she said.

      “Or hitting on you, though sending a note like this is an odd way to score points.”

      “I’m thinking it could have been a case of mistaken identity. There is someone else at the festival today who looks a lot like me. The two of us practically collided when I was leaving the jousting arena.”

      “Is this the first threat or warning of this nature you’ve received?”

      “Absolutely.”

      “And the first time you’ve noticed that man was this morning?”

      “Yes. And that was before I fainted, so that can’t be why he was staring at me—if he was actually staring at me.”

      “I know you said you’re not seriously involved with anyone, but what about your nonserious love life?”

      “That’s pretty much a draw between Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and George Clooney. As yet, they haven’t participated. ”

      “No stalkers?”

      “Not since college.”

      “What about someone you may have dumped who didn’t take it well?”

      “I haven’t been in any serious relationships since my ex.”

      “And he’s totally out of your life now?”

      “Except for a few guest appearances as Celeste’s father, and he avoids those unless it suits him.”

      “Then you don’t know of anyone who’d have reason to harm you?”

      “No.” Which made her hiring him sound all the more ridiculous. “I probably overreacted,” she admitted. “I should never have called you.”

      He nudged his Stetson a little lower on his forehead and leveled his gaze at her. “What really happened this morning in that costume shop, Dani?”

      A cold knot settled just below her breastbone. This was the exact path she didn’t want the conversation to take.

      “I’ve been under a lot of stress at work.” Not a total lie. “I guess it took its toll.”

      He looked skeptical. “I’m here on your dollar, Dani, so you can stick with any story you want. But you clearly had more going on than mental fatigue when the salesperson held that green dress in front of you.”

      She looked away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      “I’m talking about your need to level with me. You’re running scared. I think there’s more to that than someone handing you a note.”

      She sucked in a huge gulp of the bracing fall air. It was as if the man could see right through her. Obviously, he couldn’t or he’d be running in the opposite direction.

      A small band began to play in the background. People were starting to take their seats in anticipation of the predinner entertainment.

      “You can trust me, Dani.”

      Marcus’s words wrapped around her. She met his gaze again and sank into the depths of his eyes. It was tempting to take him at his word. So very tempting.

      “You’ll think I’m nuts.”

      “Try me.”

      He stepped closer, reached over and took her hand in his. The warmth of his touch added a new layer of vulnerability to her senses.

      She had to be very, very careful what she said at this point. “I had a nightmare about a month ago,” she admitted reluctantly. “It was incredibly vivid and disturbing, and I haven’t been able to totally shake it from my mind.”

      “What happened in this nightmare?”

      “A woman was murdered while wearing an Elizabethan ball gown very similar to the one I was looking at when I fainted.” She hesitated. Even to her the explanation sounded bizarre. She’d already said too much. “Believe me, I’m as baffled by this as you are, but apparently the whole thing just got to me.”

      “Was the woman in the dream someone you knew?”

      “Not really, except that…” Dani shuddered.

      Marcus stepped closer and reached for her hand. “Go on.”

      Her breath caught, and she did a hard intake of oxygen. “You know how nightmares are. I thought the woman might be me, but I didn’t actually see her face.”

      He squeezed her hand. “No wonder seeing the dress and then getting the note made you nervous.”

      “I still feel foolish for letting the situation get out of hand over a nightmare. I’m sorry for wasting your time tonight, and if you want to leave right now, I’ll not only understand but still pay the full amount I owe you.”

      “And miss the party?” He flashed his devastating smile. “Besides, a deal’s a deal, and it’s not often I get to spend the evening in old England