Chapter Eight
Pope followed Summer to work for her lunch shift, not only because it was a job he was taking damn seriously, but because he wasn’t ready to part ways with her even for a few hours.
Gray Malone would take over after she safely reached the Stockyard and sit at the bar through the evening rush as Summer worked, and Pope would pick up surveillance again after close.
Still, when Summer glanced into the rearview mirror at the only stoplight in Willowbrook, a cord inside his chest yanked. There was no way that sensation had anything to do with the job.
After she pulled into the parking lot, he parked two rows over, choosing an angle where he could watch the employee entrance and side alley at the same time he took in the sway of her hips.
His fingers twitched on the steering wheel at the memory of her riding him, of how fast she’d come apart for him, as though she’d been aching during their weeks apart too.
He shot a look at the Black Heart Ranch truck parked in the far corner of the lot just to ensure Gray was inside to watch out for her.
He rolled down the window to watch her cross the distance to the entrance. The crunch of her boots mixed with the low hum of his engine.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and cast a backward glance his direction. “Thanks for the escort.”
“Thanks for the view,” he called back.
Her soft laugh trickled back on the breeze to him, and his lips quirked. God, her laugh did things to him that she didn’t have a clue about.
As soon as she entered the bar, his smile fell away.
He’d driven from the Stockyard to the ranch plenty of times after making sure Summer got home safe. This was the first time he’d made the trip in daylight—and the first time he returned to Black Heart as a member of the security team instead of a patient.
His mind still hadn’t quite caught up to the change.
He might not have known he was ready, but he was glad the Malones did. Rhae cleared him as soon as they asked, but no one had said to move out of the lodge. For the time being, it was still his base.
It was a little bittersweet, pulling through the gates of the ranch and knowing he would report directly to the office rather than having coffee with Truman and Ranger lying at their feet, or holding Navy up to pet the horses who always wandered to the fence for the snacks she carried in her pockets.
The security office was a new addition to the big ranch house where most of the Malones still lived under one roof.
Their closeness never stopped amazing him.
He had a good family, but nothing like this.
The Malones showed up for one another. Every single time.
Their spouses had become part of the family too, woven into everyday life until it felt like they’d always belonged.
He headed into the office and found Carson behind his desk with paperwork spread across it.
Carson looked up. “Everything good?”
“For now.”
He shut the office door and crossed the space to sit across from his boss.
“I want to look into Summer’s ex-boyfriend.”
Carson leaned back slightly in his chair. “Thought you might.”
“He abandoned them at the hospital after Ben was born.”
Carson sat forward, forearms on the desk. “Jesus.”
Pope gritted his teeth at what she’d told him about her ex. “I want to see if he’s holding a grudge or has enough resources to mess with her life now.”
“If he walked away years ago and she never had problems with him before now, this could be unrelated.”
“Could be, but neither of us like loose ends.” His statement made Carson nod.
The office door opened before he could say more. Theo walked in holding what was probably his tenth cup of coffee that day. The man ran solely on caffeine and grit some days.
He took a seat on the sofa. “I miss something fun?”
“We’re talking about Summer’s ex. The father of her child who abandoned them at the hospital.”
“Jesus,” Theo echoed the same sentiment as his brother.
“We need to find the guy and someone has to go talk to him,” Pope said.
“Actually, I already took the liberty of looking into Summer’s past. Her parents, all distant relations. And her ex.” Carson shoved a printout across the table. “He’s in New York City.”
Pope snatched up the paper and studied it. His gaze flicked up to Carson. “Do we have the manpower to send someone question the guy?”
Theo took a sip of coffee and set the mug on the desk. “I can handle it.”
Pope’s brows drew together. “You can go to New York City?”
He dipped his head in a nod. “Juliette’s been wanting to go look at wedding dresses anyway. I’ll make a side quest to pay this ex-boyfriend”—he picked up the printout and read the name—“Michael Stanley a visit.”
Carson made a sound closer to amusement than agreement. “You’re going wedding dress shopping?”
Theo nodded.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to see what the bride’s wearing until the day of the wedding.”
Theo gave his brother a flat look. “That’s for people who aren’t famous enough to need a bodyguard at the grocery store in the middle of nowhere, let alone in downtown Manhattan.”
Theo’s fiancée Juliette was a famous violinist who toured the world, and the man had almost lost her to a stalker.
Pope could see why he glued himself to her side.
Summer wasn’t famous and he was breaking out in hives just leaving her in a small-town bar under the guard of a man he trusted with his own life.
With another sip of coffee, Theo looked between them. “I have official Black Heart Security business there anyway. I’m interviewing someone for the team. I’ll leave tomorrow, go to seven or eight dress shops pretending I care about white lace and ribbons, then be back in a week.”
Pope huffed out a laugh. “Seven or eight? You’d better take a flask, my guy.”
Theo flashed a grin. “If I feel like the person I’m interviewing is a good fit, I’ll take another day to negotiate the contract details.”
Carson nodded. “Seems like you’ve got it all worked out.”
Theo met Pope’s stare. “Point is, I can spend the week digging into the ex when I’m there. Employment records, financials.” He picked up the printout again. “Criminal background check looks clear, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find a reason why he’d have it out for Summer now.”
Pope’s jaw tightened because that was the thing clawing at him. Why now? Why the groceries? Why the tire? And why Summer?
Theo seemed to follow the same line of thought. “We’ll look for anybody who would do his dirty work too. Friends. Connections. Anybody he could use to bother or hurt her without showing his own face.”
None of it sat right in his gut.
Summer wasn’t wealthy. She wasn’t famous. She worked long shifts and stretched grocery money and drove a vehicle that desperately needed tires. The more he thought about it, the less this felt like bad luck and the more it felt personal.
A knock sounded briefly before Willow stepped into the office. “Truck’s here for the cattle.”
Carson pushed to his feet. “I’ll deal with the driver.”
Willow moved aside for Carson to pass.
Theo checked his watch. “I should probably go tell Juliette her romantic wedding week now includes background investigations.”
Willow whipped her head to stare at Theo. “What? You can’t crush a woman’s dreams that way.”
He waved a hand. “Believe me, the love of my life will get the attention she deserves.” He pushed away from the desk, and with mug in hand, wandered out of the office.
Willow followed on his heels, asking for details about this week he spoke of, leaving Pope alone. He sat there for a minute, checking the security footage around Summer’s duplex, then he wandered outside too.
Carson stood in the driveway next to the long trailer parked beside the fencing, talking to the cattle driver. The second Pope saw the driver clearly, recognition clicked.
He knew the guy. It was the man who came through the Stockyard every month or two. He sat alone and ate burgers at the bar. Summer had called him Gary Crowe, and now it made sense why he drifted through Willowbrook on an irregular schedule.
Crowe spotted Pope and grinned. “Hey! Bar guy.”
Pope walked closer. “Didn’t realize you hauled cattle.”
“Pays the bills.” Gary jerked a thumb toward the trailer. “North to south, mostly. Sometimes east to west too.”
Carson took the paperwork for the transaction to a nearby fence post to read the papers and sign his name to it.
Gary stuck his hands in his coat pockets and looked around the ranch. “Beautiful place. My grandparents had a spread like this in Idaho.”
Pope leaned casually against the fencing. “Yeah?”
“Should’ve been mine someday.” The guy laughed without humor. “But my dad had a falling out with his parents and we got left outta the will.”
“Sorry,” Pope said honestly. “That sucks.”
The trucker shrugged one shoulder. “Life goes on.”
Pope studied him a second before asking, “How do you like trucking?”
Crowe grinned. “It’s pretty sweet. I got a girl in every state.”
Pope huffed quietly through his nose.
The driver laughed. “Kidding. Mostly.”
But Pope’s attention had already drifted elsewhere, back to Summer and the unanswered questions circling endlessly through his head. Somebody knew where she lived. Somebody knew enough about her finances to make kindness into a weapon. Somebody punctured her tire while she worked.
The trucker kept talking about routes and weather delays but Pope half listened, his mind working through possibilities.
Summer’s ex could have made the financial gesture to help her and Ben.
But the punctured tire was different. That was a threat.
He hated all of it because every possibility ended in the same place.
Summer was vulnerable. Ben was vulnerable.
Somebody had set their sights on Summer.
The problem was that Pope had started thinking of her as his.
* * * * *
Summer spent her entire shift feeling like somebody was watching her.