Free Her Rancher Bodyguard by Brenda Minton Page B

always do this, Boone?” she asked as he helped her into the black SUV, Lucy driving again.
    He climbed in next to her. “Do what?”
    â€œRanch? Be a bodyguard?”
    He removed his black cowboy hat and placed it on the seat between them.
    â€œI guess I’ll always be a rancher,” he answered.
    Lucy cleared her throat but didn’t comment.
    â€œWhat about you, Stanford? What are you going to do with your life when this is all over with?” Boone asked as the SUV got on the highway, headed in the direction of San Antonio.
    What was she going to do with her life? She had thought more about that recently than she had in years. Being the thorn in her father’s side no longer appealed to her. It had worn her down, pushed her to do things she couldn’t undo and woke her up at night feeling a lot of regret.
    â€œI have a degree in early childhood education,” she admitted. “Once upon a time, I was a little girl who dreamed of being a teacher.”
    â€œMaybe you should pursue that dream,” Lucy chimed in, no longer the silent observer. “I mean, it would be easier, wouldn’t it?”
    Kayla watched the landscape of Texas Hill Country fly past her from the tinted window of the SUV. Autumn wildflowers dotted the landscape, as did an occasional farm or aging barn. The patchwork of the countryside, greens, autumn browns, was dotted by the occasional small town. She had seen the sky view from a plane and that was what it always reminded her of, the patchwork quilts Grammy Stanford had loved so much. She wondered what had happened to those quilts.
    â€œStill with us, Stanford?”
    â€œLost in the countryside,” she answered. “Teaching. I don’t know if I’d be a good teacher.”
    â€œNever know until you try.”
    â€œTrue. I never thought I’d like a cowboy,” she teased.
    He laughed. “And do you?”
    A choking sound came from the front seat and Lucy glanced back. “Don’t encourage him.”
    â€œI won’t. I wasn’t speaking of any particular cowboy, Boone. My brothers are ranchers and cowboys. I am a little bit attached to them.”
    â€œThere’s hope for you yet, Stanford.” He said it with an easy cowboy grin and a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.
    It was easier when he called her Stanford.
    The traffic got heavier as they drew closer to San Antonio. There were more houses, more businesses, more people. Her heart got heavier, too.
    â€œDon’t worry, we’re with you,” Boone said about thirty minutes from their destination, a hotel near the River Walk.
    â€œI’m not worried. I’ve done so many of these events in my life, I’m used to being under the microscope.”
    He adjusted his tie. “I’m glad you’re used to it.”
    She reached to fix his tie. “You’ve gotten it all crooked. Leave it. Or take it off. You look fine without it.” She loosened the tie to pull it over his head. He looked fine in jeans, boots and a button-up shirt with a sport coat. He’d draped the coat over the back of the front passenger seat, but she’d seen it on him back at the Wilder ranch.
    â€œDo I look fine, Stanford?” he asked with a wink.
    â€œI told you not to encourage him,” Lucy warned.
    Kayla didn’t answer. Soon she’d have to leave the safety of this SUV and brave her father’s world. She wished she could face that world with something more than the false bravado she cloaked herself in. She longed to make eye contact with her dad and have him give her a look of encouragement. Or even love.
    It seemed as if they’d been strangers for her entire life, but it had really been only in the past dozen years that things had fallen apart. Before that, she had been his little girl, going to work with him, sitting on his lap before bedtime. He’d been a good dad to a little girl who had been left on his doorstep by a