The Cowboy’s Wild Side (Naked Cowboy’s of Smoky Hill #3)
Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
Panic-stricken and with her pulse racing, Karen Harper packed her suitcase and tried frantically to think of a safe place she could hide. Hotels were out of the question. She’d be found in a heartbeat, and too many people knew about her parent’s vacation home in the mountains.
“Where can I go?” she muttered. “Think, think, somewhere remote. But who do you know who—of course! Helen!” she exclaimed, snatching up her phone.
Frantically placing the call to her long-time friend who had married a cowboy and now lived in a small country town, Karen prayed she would answer.
“Karen? This is a surprise. How are you?”
“Great, just great, and you?”
“Couldn’t be better. Believe it or not I’m having a baby.”
“Oh, my gosh, that’s amazing.”
“It is, like crazy amazing, but if you’re calling to ask me to join you and the others for a night out—”
“No, no, actually, I was wondering if there was anywhere around there I could rent a guest house for a while.”
“Sure, you can stay at the cottage where I used to live on my parent’s estate. And you don’t have to worry about renting it. Stay as long as you need. But why do you want to come out here? There’s not much excitement, though the cowboy’s are pretty hot,” she added with a giggle.
“I need a break, and I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride,” she added quickly, the thought popping into her mind out of nowhere.
“Oh. Let me think. Andy would be happy to teach you, but since I’ve been marketing for him on social media he’s crazy busy.”
“That’s okay, it was just an idea. Something to do while I’m out there.”
“There are plenty of great cowboys who train and teach. I’ll ask him who he’d recommend. I’m sure he’ll be able to direct you to the right guy.”
“That’s fantastic. Thanks. Should I come to your place, or drive straight to your parents estate?”
“Definitely come here first so I can give you the rundown, and in the meantime I’ll let them know. When do you think you’ll be arriving?”
“I really want to get out of here. Would it be okay if I came today?”
“Karen, what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she replied hastily, “I just—”
“I’ve known you forever and I can tell something’s wrong. You can trust me. I won’t mention it to anyone.”
“Okay, okay, I’ve had a huge row with this guy I’ve been seeing and I’m a bit scared,” she exclaimed, hoping she sounded convincing.
“Why? Do think he could get violent?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to hang around to find out.”
“Where did you meet him?”
“Where else, at the club. And after everything that happened with you and that biker, the situation is kind of freaking me out. He seemed really nice at first, then he started to get possessive. But can we talk about this when I see you? I really want to get out of here. If he shows up—”
“I totally understand. I’ll text you the address and I’ll see you when you get here. ”
“Thanks, Helen, you’re a lifesaver,” she said, letting out a relieved breath. “I’ll be on my way in just a few minutes.”
Ending the call, she took a moment to gather her wits. She’d hated lying, but the truth was just too difficult to explain and hard to believe. As she darted around her condo to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, she suddenly stopped and stared at her phone. She was no tech whiz, and she didn’t know how, but she watched enough television shows to know it could be tracked.
Not wanting to take any chances, she wrote down the address Helen had texted her, then opened it up and took out the SIM card. Still not sure if that would be enough to prevent prying eyes if God Forbid she threw it away and it was found, she paused for a moment to think.
“I have to destroy it somehow,” she muttered to herself. “Maybe I could drown it, but I’m not sure if that would be enough. I’ll have to try and smash it.”
Taking out her cooking mallet, she wrapped the phone in a thin kitchen towel, placed it on her granite counter top, and smashed it with the mallet. Carefully peeling back the cloth, she let out a relieved sigh. It was completely decimated. Satisfied, she gathered it up and stuffed it into her hobo bag ready to throw down the trash chute on the way out.
Running into the bedroom and frantically closing her suitcase, she placed it on the floor, and looping the hobo bag over her shoulder she headed towards the front door. Afraid to leave the complex in her Lexus SUV, she’d contacted a car company and had a car delivered, There were a ton of rental agencies in Dallas, and she figured it would take ages to track her down. By that time she’d be long gone.
Walking to the end of the hall, she opened the heavy metal door and placed her suitcase at the top of the stairwell, then returned to the hallway and pulled back trash chute. She was dropping in the shreds of her phone wrapped in the towel when she heard the telltale sound of the elevator chime.
Frantically ducking through the heavy metal door back into the stairwell, she held it cracked open barely an inch. The couple that came out were her neighbors. She was telling herself not to be so paranoid when two men stepped out behind them. She recognized them both! They worked for Gino and they went straight to her door.
Almost afraid to breathe, she ducked back, lifted up the suitcase began walking down the stairs. Grateful she’d thought to wear sneakers, and even more relieved she was only three flights up, she entered the garage and hurried across to the rental car. As she climbed in, she reached into her bag and pulled out a baseball cap. Urgently stuffing her long blond hair beneath it, she started up the car and past the rows of vehicles to the exit. But it was almost half an hour later, cruising down the interstate, before she released her white knuckle grip on the steering wheel.