Aurora's Cowboy Daddy. Melinda Barron

different places, so we had reports from all over.”

      She waited for one of them to ask questions, to tell her to go on. Instead they had started to eat again, slowly, and she had the idea they were giving her time to collect her thoughts.

      “I rolled under the bed. He shot twice more. When I was under the bed I found the baseball bat. I could hear Darlene screaming at me to answer her. I could hear sirens. I rolled out from under the bed. He was still on the other side. He laughed at me and waved the gun and taunted me for bringing a baseball bat to a gunfight. One of the cops pounded on the front door. He turned his head and I threw the bat at him, it barely glanced off his arm, but it was enough for him to drop the gun on the bed.”

      Aurora closed her eyes and fought back tears.

      “Go on,” Holt said, his voice still soft and gentle. It was as if he’d wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as she told her tale.

      “The cops pounded on the door again. I lunged for the gun at the same time Ben did. I made it first, and I did what he’d taught me to do. I took up my stance and I shot him, twice, right in the chest.”

      Once again they were all silent until she said, “The coroner said he was dead before he hit the ground. I hit him twice in the heart.” She laughed nervously before she said, “He’s the one who taught me how to shoot. He said I had to be perfect at it so I didn’t embarrass him in front of his friends when we were out camping and they were shooting at bottles.”

      She thought back to the trial, to the jury staring at her, some of them in pity, some in anger. She remembered the prosecutor saying the fight was over when the cops got there, but she shot him anyway.

      “She’s a cold-blooded killer,” the prosecutor said. “She deserves to be in prison for the rest of her life for taking a life.”

      “The jury obviously didn’t agree,” Hawk said.

      “The vote was ten to two to convict,” she said. “I had hoped for probation, but I wasn’t so lucky. Of course Stan convinced them I hated Ben.”

      “Stan?” Austin asked.

      “Ben’s brother,” she said. Hadn’t she already said his name? She wasn’t sure. Telling the story of how Ben had died always took her back to a time she didn’t want to visit. She knew she hadn’t told them that Stan was out to get her. He wanted her six feet under. She didn’t even know where he lived anymore. He’d lived in Lubbock when she’d killed Ben. Where was he now? As a lawman maybe Hawk could find out. Should she tell him? But Holt had said Hawk was his second in command, and if she told Hawk, would he tell Holt? If he did would she lose her job? She needed this job so badly.

      “So the judge sentenced you?” Hawk asked.

      “Three years.” She chuckled before she added, “It was six months in prison, then I was on parole for the remainder of the sentence.”

      “Now you’re clear,” Holt said.

      “And unemployable,” she said.

      “Not anymore,” Holt said.

      “On that note it’s dessert time,” Austin said. “I’ll dish it up and meet y’all in the den.”

      The men all got up, and Aurora turned to Holt. “Can you show me where the bathroom is, please?” She really didn’t need the facilities, but she was about to cry, and she didn’t want to do it in front of all of them.

      “Follow me,” Holt said.

      They went down a hallway off the living room and stopped in front of the first door. “Where’s the den?” she asked.

      “Upstairs,” he said. “Come up when you’re finished. You did good. I think you actually even convinced Wyatt that you needed a second chance. He wasn’t so sure.”

      “I could tell.” She went into the bathroom and waited until she heard his boots pounding away on the hardwood floor. Then she crumpled to the floor and put her head in her hands and started to cry, as she did every time she thought about the killing. She remembered the blood, the officers screaming at her to drop the gun, the feel of the handcuffs being attached to her wrists.

      Her shoulders heaved as she cried. She was sure the tears ruined any makeup she’d had on, and they would all know she’d been crying. Would that be a good thing, or a bad thing?

      Aurora tried as hard as she could to get control of her emotions, but it wasn’t easy. She heard the door when it opened, and saw Holt’s boots in front of her. He grasped her under the arms and pulled her to her feet, then wrapped his arms around her.

      She wanted to push him away, to keep him from showing her pity. Instead, she turned her head and placed it on his chest, and sobbed even harder.

      “Cry all you need,” he said as he stroked her hair. “But you should know you’re safe here in your new home. I will never allow anything to happen to you. I swear it.”

      Aurora relaxed into his chest and savored the feeling of his arms around her. She prayed he was right, and that she’d finally found a home.

      Chapter 4

      His chest felt so strong and comforting that Aurora wanted to stay in his arms forever. She sniffled, then whispered, “I’m sorry.”

      He stroked her hair again and said, “Don’t ever feel sorry for your feelings. They are yours and yours alone and they make you who you are.”

      Holt’s words wrapped themselves around her heart and gave her comfort. She pushed back just a little and looked at his shirt.

      “I got makeup, and snot, all over your shirt.” She put her hands on his chest. He’d loosened his hold on her just enough so she could look up at him. Never had she felt so safe, and comforted.

      “It’ll wash out,” he said. “You were brave to tell us your tale. You could have refused, you know.”

      “You’re my new boss and you told me to tell you.”

      He stroked her hair, and she couldn’t help but pull away. His hands were huge, when Ben got that close to her with his hand it was usually to slap her, or even punch her with his fist.

      “I’m not going to hit you, not like your expecting.”

      Aurora could tell he was telling her the truth, but in the back of her mind she wondered if he ever would. But what did he mean by the phrase ‘not like you’re expecting’? Did that mean he would wait until she was doing something else and he would catch her off guard? He didn’t seem like the type to hit a woman, but then again she hadn’t thought Ben would, either.

      “You should go eat,” she said. He released her and she turned toward the mirror. “Austin worked hard on that mousse.”

      “And he will be very upset if you don’t taste it,” Holt said. “Wash your face, then come upstairs. By now one of them has chosen a movie to watch, which is how we spend a lot of our evenings.”

      To her surprise he cupped the back of her head and kissed her on the forehead. He left before she could express her shock, or even tell him he shouldn’t have done that, because it made her feel things she didn’t want to feel. But she didn’t need to dwell on that now. She soaped up her hands and washed her face, taking off every bit of makeup she’d worn. But she was used to going without it, because she hardly ever went out She dried her face, and then went out to the hallway. It took her a minute to find the stairs, but as she climbed she could hear laughter, and the sound of the TV.

      How was it possible she’d found this place? Jake, her friend Dana’s husband, had told her about the job and encouraged her to apply. She thought he’d done it to get rid of her, but right now she felt as if some force had guided him, as if she was meant to be here. She prayed she was right. She finished climbing the stairs and followed the noise to a cavernous room.

      The