Free Once Burned by Suzie O'Connell Page A

free. “Don’t… touch me again.”
    “Easy there, sweet thing. I just—”
    “Hey, babe,” Henry interrupted.
    Relief surged through Lindsay at the sound of his voice. He stepped out of the mercantile and immediately slipped an arm around her waist before kissing her cheek. Then he straightened and addressed Braden and Todd. “Is there something I can do for you gentlemen?”
    “No,” Todd replied arrogantly.
    “Good. Because if you touch her again, we’re going to have a problem.” Henry’s smile was icy and left no doubt about his intentions.
    “You her boyfriend?” Braden inquired, his face darkening.
    “I would have thought that was obvious, but regardless, she made it very clear she wanted you to leave her alone. Or are you the kind of asshole who can’t take no for an answer?”
    For a terrifying moment, Lindsay feared it would come to blows, and she stood rigid, clinging to Henry’s arm as if that could stop him from acting on the anger that burned in his rich blue eyes. Braden had him by a good twenty pounds, but she suspected he was all bravado that would fizzle against a smarter, more levelheaded opponent… and that’s exactly what Henry’s outwardly relaxed posture and furious but calculating gaze told Lindsay he was. The last thing she wanted was for him to get in trouble for protecting her when it wasn’t his place.
    At last, Braden held his hands up and muttered, “Whatever, man.”
    After the two men walked away, Henry turned to Lindsay without letting go of her. “Are you all right?”
    She nodded.
    “Are you sure?” He took her face in his hands, leaning back a little to inspect her, and brushed his thumbs across her cheeks. “Because you’re shaking.”
    “I’m okay. Honestly, I was afraid for a minute there that you’d end up in a fistfight because of me.” She inhaled deeply and let it out before adding, “I’m not used to having someone defend me, which is having the odd effect of making me feel a little fragile. And the way you’re looking at me right now isn’t helping.”
    “Sorry.”
    “Don’t be. It’s… nice.”
    “I take it that isn’t the first time you’ve had to dissuade jackasses like those two.”
    “I deal with crap like that at work a lot.”
    “Where do you work?”
    “Donovan’s Bar and Grill. It gets a little rowdy on occasion, but the tips are better there than at other restaurants, so I’ve learned to deal with it.”
    “So I noticed.” He touched his lips lightly to hers before taking one hand and leading her across the street. “Now that we’ve narrowly avoided making a scene in the middle of the boardwalk, let’s see about getting you some souvenirs.”
    “Henry, I—”
    “I know what you told me, but humor me. Let’s go take some old-fashioned photographs. They’re cheap, and I’ll pay.”
    He pulled her over to a shop decorated with sepia-toned photographs of people dressed in period costumes. It took a moment before she realized what Henry meant, but before she could object, he yanked his wallet out of his back pocket and paid for a session for them, then directed her to the woman who ran the studio.
    “I think I have the perfect thing for you two,” she said and pointed Lindsay into the women’s changing area, then pulled out a beautiful sapphire blue saloon girl’s gown with detailed black beading. To that, she added a black feather boa and a gem-encrusted hair comb with a long black feather.
    Lindsay quickly changed into the costume and stepped out of the changing area to find Henry dressed like a rugged outlaw. Somehow, it was perfect. The photographer had Henry sit on the stool with Lindsay draped around him, then told him to put his arm around her waist.
    “The outlaw and his lady,” the photographer said. “Perfect. Now, we’ll do a serious shot because that’s how they were posed, but for the two of you, I’d like one of you smiling.”
    By the time their session was over, Evie and Vince had ventured