Free Bad In Boots 02 - Ty's Temptation by Patrice Michelle Page A

door and walked out.
    “Let’s go,” Ty snarled as he walked out of the doctor’s office.
    Evan rushed to keep up with his long, determined strides. What was going on? Why did he seem angry? And here she thought she was the one all wound up.
    Evan had been so tense waiting for Lily to take care of Ty’s wound. While it was true she could’ve stitched his wound herself, the truth was she really didn’t want to have to take him to her office. The name Evan Masters, DVM, plastered on her veterinary office’s front door was a dead giveaway. She wasn’t quite ready to share that part of herself with Ty. Not yet. Maybe never, since he’d be leaving in a few days anyway.
    “Lily got you all fixed up?” Evan asked, trying to lighten his mood.
    “You could say that.” He put his hand out for the keys. “I’ll drive.”
    Evan met his deep green gaze, hoping to see some emotion, something to give her a clue as to his current mood. He stared at her with an inscrutable expression.
    Her gaze moved to the stitches above his brow line as she dropped the keys in his hand. “I’m really sorry.”
    “No big deal.” He wrapped his fingers around the keys and opened the passenger side door for her.
    She climbed inside and waited for Ty to come around to his side and slide into his seat. They’d driven for a few minutes in silence when Ty finally spoke.
    “I don’t think we’re such a good idea.”
    “What’d you say?” she asked, her heart tightening.
    Ty kept his gaze on the road. “I think it’s best if we keep it platonic between us. Chad knows you’re staying with me. That should be enough to keep him at bay.”
    His words hurt her more than they should’ve. She felt like someone had just grabbed her heart with both hands and twisted each half in opposite directions. Why did she have a feeling his change of heart had to do with Lily? Evan might not have been socially aggressive growing up—hell, she was at least two years and in some cases, three years younger than her classmates in college and vet and business school—but she’d never been one to hold back when she felt the need to speak her mind. And she wasn’t about to start now.
    “You’re chicken.”
    “What the hell did you just say?” He cut his gaze her way, green eyes sparking in anger.
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “You heard me. Bock, bock. What are you afraid of, Ty? That you might like it a little too much?”
    Ty’s jaw clenched. “You’re awfully smug for a virgin.”
    She ignored his jab. “I didn’t take you for the fowl type.”
    “I’ll be gone day after tomorrow.”
    “All the more reason not to worry you’ll get too attached,” she challenged, meeting his narrowed gaze head-on.
    “The deal’s off.” He turned his gaze back to the road and tightened his fingers on the steering wheel.
    We’ll see about that. She turned away to stare out the window while sheer determination simmered inside her.
    When they drove up Steele Way’s main drive, Jena came out of the stables wiping her hands on her jeans. “How’s your head?” she greeted her brother as he and Evan got out of her truck.
    Ty dropped the truck’s keys in her hand. “I’m as good as new.” He didn’t say a word to Evan before he walked off toward the stables.
    As Evan came around the front side of the truck, Jena asked, “What caused that surly mood?”
    Evan shrugged. “I was hoping you could tell me. Didn’t you say you and your brother spent a couple summers here when you were younger?”
    Jena nodded.
    “Do you know if Ty and Lily Shelton knew each other back then?”
    Jena’s brow furrowed for a second. “Oh yeah. That Lily. Her married last name threw me. I’d forgotten about Ty dating Lily. The last summer he came to Texas, he and Lily spent a lot of time together. I hardly saw my brother those couple of months. That’s why I ended up hanging with my cousins.” She smiled. “The Tanner boys kept me busy dodging their teasing