Outlaw Cowboy by Nicole Helm Page A

she’d had to memorize freshman year—hope was the thing with razors. It cut you to pieces, over and over and over.
    â€œFollow me.” He turned on a heel, still completely undressed except for boxers.
    And now she had the backside view, and Caleb’s back, all broad and muscled, was almost enough to distract her. No bulky coat, no heavy work pants, just an expanse of skin over muscles that moved with each step. Just broad shoulders, narrow waist, and a butt she could not want to sink her fingernails into.
    She couldn’t want that or him. No matter how much she did.
    â€œCome on, now. If I’m getting up at four to feed the cows and break the ice, so are you. You’re going to need some sleep.”
    She frowned. Either her exhaustion was getting the better of her, or he made no sense. “What do you mean?” She followed him back into the hall, sure he was about to usher her out the front door.
    Instead, he crossed the hall and opened a door. “No sense in heading back to the cabin tonight.”
    She peeked into the room, and her chest squeezed so hard she couldn’t breathe. It was a bedroom: practical, a little empty, but there was a nice bed and windows. It smelled fresh and clean.
    â€œSleep in Mel’s old room. Have a hot breakfast in the morning. You’ll work and get a decent shower. I can’t afford to have you here for very much longer, but tonight…” He shrugged.
    She wanted to question what he meant by afford , but her throat was too tight. His acts of kindness killed her, erased all the bickering, all the nasty words, because she knew that this was the heart and soul of Caleb.
    â€œDon’t be stupid. Take the offer.”
    â€œWhy are you doing this?” She couldn’t wrap her head around all of it: the supplies, the money, letting her stay even with his attempts to give her an expiration date. Why would he ever think he needed to do more ?
    â€œYou really want to know?”
    The way he said it, he almost made her think she didn’t, but curiosity hadn’t killed this cat yet. It was tunnel vision that had threatened her. “Yes, I want to know.”
    â€œI’m at the end of my very fraying rope. I don’t know how I’m going to keep this place afloat. I have Summer to take care of and a father who won’t engage with his own children. I want a drink so bad I dream about it at night. I want to disappear, but I can’t, and I am barely holding on to all that.”
    Emotion welled in her throat, along with the urge to hold him. She knew that struggle so well. But if she allowed kindness and commiseration, what else might she allow? So she cocked her hip and looked at the hallway floor. “What does that have to do with me?”
    â€œYou have nothing,” he said quietly, gently, as if being gentle about it could undo the fact that it was true. “And you’re still fighting. You threaten a lot of my life, Delia, just by being you. Just by being here. But I still have more than you if I lose it all. I can’t risk it all, but I can offer this—this once.”
    â€œWow, no, I guess I didn’t want to hear how depressing my life is.” Especially since Caleb didn’t know the last little bit. Oh, you mean the bit that would get you kicked off of Shaw land so fast your head would spin?
    She should tell him the police wanted her. It would be the right thing to do. Why was it Caleb of all people who always made her want to do the right thing? Unfortunately for the both of them, though, Steph trumped any wants or desires.
    â€œGo on. Go to sleep. It should be warm enough in here you can take off that ridiculous jacket that couldn’t save you from a subzero temperature if it came with its own flame.”
    She took a hesitant step into the room, stopping in much the same position as the one they’d been in earlier. Her back was pressed to one side of the door frame, his to the