Wyoming Cowboy Protection. Nicole Helm

he didn’t catch the words, but she went back to folding the laundry and Noah crossed to the phone.

      He called Ty first, then let Ty handle rounding up whatever Carsons could be of help. He didn’t tell Ty about the footsteps, but a bit later when Ty, Grady and Clint showed up and Noah left the cabin with them, he held Grady back while Ty and Clint went to saddle their horses.

      “What’s up?” Grady asked. “You think this is connected to the poison?”

      “I think I can’t rule it out. I don’t have a clue who’s doing it, but part of me thinks it’s some dumb kid trying to poke at a Carson to see what he’ll do.”

      Grady laughed. “He’d have to be pretty dumb.”

      “Yeah. I don’t want Addie to know, but...” He sighed. He needed someone besides him to know. Someone besides him on the watch, and Grady ran the one bar in town. He saw and heard things few other people in Bent did. “There were footprints at the window, as if someone had been watching her.”

      Grady’s jaw tightened. “You think it’s the ex?”

      “I don’t know what it is, but we need to keep an eye out.”

      Grady nodded. “I’ll tell Laurel.”

      “No. She’ll tell Addie. She’s just calmed down from the poisoning—now this. I don’t want to rile her more.”

      “Laurel will only do what’s best. You know that.”

      Noah puffed out a breath. “Addie’s settled from that skittish thing she was before. Hate to see her go back.”

      “She’s not a horse, Noah.” Grady grinned. “But maybe you know that all too well.”

      Noah scowled. “I want to know who poisoned my horses. I want to know who ran off my cattle, and I damn well want to know who’s peeping in my window.”

      Grady nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of it. No one touches what’s ours. Cow, mine or woman.” Grady grinned at the old family joke.

      Noah didn’t. “No woman issues here,” he grumbled. But Grady was right in one respect. No one messed with the Carsons of Bent, Wyoming, and walked away happy or satisfied about it. For over a century, the Carsons had been pitted on the wrong side of the law. The outlaws of Bent. The rich, law-abiding Delaneys had made sure that legend perpetuated, no matter what good came out of the Carson clan.

      It was a good thing bad reputations could serve a purpose now and again. He’d do anything to protect what was his.

      Addie wasn’t his, though. No matter how he sometimes imagined she was.

      He shook those thoughts away. “Will you stay here and watch out?”

      “You could,” Grady suggested.

      “Addie’d think that’s weird. I don’t want her suspicious.”

      “That’s an awful lot of concern for a Delaney, cousin,” Grady said with one of his broad grins that were meant to irritate. Grady had perfected that kind of smile.

      Noah knew arguing with Grady about the cause of his concern would only egg Grady on, so Noah grunted and headed for the stables.

      Addie Foster was not his to protect personally. Grady’d do just as good a job, and Noah had cows to find and bring back home.

      When that weird edge of guilt plagued him the rest of the night, as if his mission was to protect Addie and asking for help was some kind of failure, Noah had the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing what the hell to do about it.

      When Noah didn’t know how to fix a problem, he did the next best thing. He ignored it.

       Chapter Three

      November

      Addie hummed along with the song playing over the speaker at the general store. Seth happily slammed his sippy cup against the sides of the cart as she unloaded the groceries onto the checkout counter.

      “I swear he grows every week,” Jen Delaney said with a smile as she began to ring up Addie’s items.

      “It’s crazy. He’s already in eighteen-month clothes.” Addie bagged the groceries as Jen handed them to her.

      It was true. Seth was growing like a weed, thriving in this life she’d built for them. Addie smiled to herself. After the horse poison and the fence debacle, things had settled down. She’d been here three months now. She had a routine down, knew many of the people in town and mostly had stopped looking over her shoulder at every stray noise. Sometimes nights were still hard, but for the most part, life was good. Really good.

      Noah had assured her time and time again those two incidents were feud-related, nothing to do with her, and she was finally starting to believe him. She trusted Noah. Implicitly. With her safety, with Seth. Laurel had been right on that first car ride. Noah wasn’t always easy to read or the warmest human being, but he was a good man.

      Which had created something of a Noah situation. Well, more a weirdness than a situation. And a weirdness she was quite sure only she felt, because she doubted Noah felt much of anything for her. On the off chance he did, it was so buried she’d likely not live long enough to see it.

      “Addie?”

      Addie glanced up at Jen. The young woman must have finished ringing everything up while Addie was lost in Noah thoughts. Something that happened far too often as of late.

      Addie paid for the groceries, smiling at Jen while she inwardly chastised herself.

      Noah Carson was her boss. No matter that she liked the way he looked or that she got fluttery over his gentle way with the horses and cows. And Seth.

      She sighed inwardly. He was so sweet with Seth. Never got frustrated with the boy’s increasing mobility or fascination with Noah’s hat or beard.

      But no matter that Noah was sweet with Seth, or so kind with her, he was off-limits for her ever-growing fantasies of good, handsome men and happily-ever-afters.

      She glanced down at the happy boy kicking in the cart. Sometimes Seth gave her that smile with big blue eyes and she missed her sister so much it hurt. But it always steadied her, renewed any resolve that needed renewing.

      She would do anything to keep him safe.

      She pushed the cart out of the general store to where her truck was parallel parked, but before she reached it, a man blocked her way.

      She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to move or say something, but he just stood there. Staring at her.

      She didn’t recognize him. Everything about him was nondescript and plain, and still he didn’t move or speak.

      “Excuse me,” she finally said, pulling Seth out of the cart and balancing him on her hip. “This is my truck.”

      The man moved only enough to glance at the truck. Also a new skill for her, driving a truck, but Noah had fixed up one of the old ones he used on the ranch for her to use when she had errands.

      The strange man turned his gaze back to her and still said nothing. He still didn’t move.

      Addie’s heart started beating too hard in her chest, fear seizing her limbs. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t...

      She turned quickly, her hand going over Seth’s head with the idea of protecting him somehow. This man was here to get her. Peter had finally caught up with them. She had to run.

      She could go back in the store and...and...

      “Oof.” Instead of her intended dash to the store, she slammed into a hard wall of man.

      “Addie.”

      She looked up at Noah, whose hand curled around her arm. He looked down at her, something