Free Beau (Remington Ranch Book 4) by SJ McCoy Page A

before you screw either of them over, okay?”
    He nodded. He didn’t know what else to say.
    Summer gave him an encouraging smile and Gina patted his arm as he walked past them and down the steps to his truck. As he climbed in, the thought struck him that he never bothered to lock it out here. He shook his head and started it up. That was hardly a detail he needed to be focusing on at the moment. What he needed to do was figure out what he was going to say to Corinne when he got to the cabin. What he probably should be figuring out was why the hell he hadn’t told her about her phone before she left.

Chapter Seven
     
    Corinne smiled to herself as she drove home. It had been a good evening. She’d enjoyed the company. When Carly had first told her about a possible job here in Montana she’d wondered what kind of people she might meet, whether she’d be able to make any friends in the back end of nowhere. Now she felt as though she couldn’t ask for a nicer group of people anywhere.
    Even Beau.
    Watching him laugh with his brothers, chat with the girls, he did seem like a nice guy. There was no denying the effect he had on her. All he’d needed to do was put his hand on the counter behind her when he’d given her that glass of wine, and she’d gone all swoony! Then when he’d moved in for a hug before she left! Wow! If she didn’t have Ruby to think about she would have been dragging him home with her! She chuckled at the thought. She wouldn’t, that had never been her style, but it had been a long time since she’d had sex. And Beau seemed to have awakened her desire.
    He’d even apologized for what he’d said about Ruby. He hadn’t said he didn’t mean it, or that it wasn’t true, but he had at least apologized for saying it. She sighed. But what did it matter? Even if he was willing to give it a go, she couldn’t. She couldn’t do that to Ruby, couldn’t expose her to a guy she already liked, knowing that he didn’t like her. It wouldn’t be fair to her. She got attached to people.
    As she drove back down East River Road she realized she was lost in her thoughts and missing the opportunity to just take in the beauty of the place. The sun was setting, touching the mountains with gold and the sky with crimson. It was absolutely beautiful. She decided to stop in the pull out by the river. She was going home very early and she deserved to take just five minutes to take this all in. She cut the engine and sat to watch the sky change color with a big smile on her face. This was the first time since they’d arrived that she’d taken a minute to just sit and be and appreciate where she was. This felt like a sign, an omen that she was in the right place and good things were to come. She rolled down the window to let in the cool air and breathe it all in.
    A few moments later she looked up at the sound of a vehicle approaching. It was a big, dark blue pickup truck. It didn’t look like anything local though, it wasn’t old and dust covered, but new and still shiny. A momentary panic swept through her—and she was sitting out here in the middle of nowhere, all alone. What was she thinking?
    She watched as it pulled in behind her. She was torn, part of her wanted to follow her instincts and flee. Another part of her thought she was being silly. She was in Montana, bad things didn’t happen here, people were friendly, they looked out for each other. It was probably someone stopping to see if she was okay. Not someone coming to murder her—she hoped. She put her hand on the key ready to start the car up and drive away in a hurry if she had to.
    Her heart beat faster as she watched in the rearview mirror. The driver’s door of the truck opened and a man climbed out. A tall, dark, very good-looking man. Beau! She let out a slightly hysterical laugh. Thank goodness it was him. But what on earth was he doing here?
    Her heart was still racing, though it wasn’t with fear anymore. She opened the door and got