Free I am Not Your Melody: (steamy cowboy romance) by Shoshanna Evers Page B

excitement and ready to start fixing up her bar.
    “Good mornin’, Allie.”
    She turned at the voice and saw Bill, walking slowly in front of Pirate, leading his wild stallion that had nearly killed her the day before. Pirate had blinders on, so he couldn’t see her, she imagined. They were behind a post-and-rail fence, but if Pirate decided to crash through it to escape, nothing would stop him. Just like that moose — Pirate had a lot of unbridled, pure power. He could do anything before Bill would be able to stop him.
    Allie’s stomach flipped at the thought.
    “Good morning,” she said. “Thanks for letting me sleep all night — I needed it.”
    Pirate tried to look at her, but Bill gave him some big lumpy sugar cubes and kept him moving.
    “I could tell,” Bill said with a laugh. “By the time you went to lay down, I couldn’t tell if you were going to kill me, kiss me again, or collapse.”
    “It’s like you read minds,” she said. “Those were all options on the table, definitely.”
    The fact that he’d said that though… that meant he could see that she’d been flirting with him shamelessly. That was horrible.
    Or was it? He was laughing about it now, after all.
    “When I’m super-tired, I may as well be super-drunk,” she said, shrugging. “I say silly things, so don’t think I meant anything by it.”
    Bill offered more sugar to Pirate to keep him following his lead. It was a simple task, to walk around, but the trust involved was staggering. How long had he been working with Pirate?
    “Don’t worry about me,” she offered. “I haven’t killed a single person yet, and I haven’t kissed a man since my husband ran off with his secretary.”
    “I’m honored to be your first, then,” he said.
    She flushed and covered her mouth with her hand. She hadn’t meant to bring up all that about her ex again, and yet the words had just escaped her as if of their own accord.
    “Forget I mentioned that,” she mumbled.
    It was embarrassing to talk about her former husband’s infidelity. It made her feel like maybe it was her fault. That if she’d been a better wife, he never would have strayed in the first place.
    “Don’t worry ‘bout it,” he said. “I know what it’s like to have a long dry spell.”
    Allie laughed nervously. If there were a convenient cave to hide in, she’d like to find it.
    Bill kept walking, slowly, the huge black horse like a chained giant behind him, able to break free of his bonds at any time, but choosing not to. Why? Just for a lump of sugar?
    “I told you yesterday that we couldn’t start over,” Bill said, not looking at her. He was focused on working with Pirate. “But you can forget I said that, too.”
    “Thank you,” Allie said. “That means a lot.”
    Bill glanced over at her and tipped his hat in acknowledgement.
    His black cowboy hat. The same hat that he’d left on her dresser top when he first showed her the room — the hat she’d fallen asleep staring at, thinking of him.
    Wait a minute…
    Allie took a deep breath. “You went into my room while I was sleeping.”
    Bill stopped, letting Pirate walk without him. While Pirate picked up the pace, getting some of his energy out, Bill walked over to the wooden fence.
    “I didn’t touch you,” he said, taking off his hat and wiping his brow.
    A lock of dark hair dropped into his gray eyes, and Allie had to fight the urge to smooth it away for him.
    “But you looked at me. For how long? Did you watch me sleep?”
    A muscle in Bill’s jaw flexed. “I went in, grabbed my hat, and left. I may have taken a peek at you, just to make sure you were still breathin’, that’s all.”
    “Why would you think I wouldn’t be breathing?”
    Bill shrugged. “Just a stupid habit from when I’d check on Melody, that’s all. I’d poke my head in to check on her. I did the same to you by accident.”
    “Okay,” Allie whispered. “I’m not mad. But…I’m not Melody.”
    Bill’s gaze faltered.