“Look, you little bitch—”
“No, you look!” I yelled, poking him in the chest. He grunted, but stood his ground as I continued. “Since I moved in a few weeks ago, you two have been nothing but rude and obnoxious. You play your music too loud, you have friends coming and going all hours of the night, and setting off fireworks is dangerous. I’m not going to tolerate this crap any longer. I won’t allow you morons to burn down my home with me inside.”
In retaliation, he leaned over and grasped my arm in a bruising grip, his hands cold as ice. “You may not have much of a choice,” he snarled.
“E-excuse me?”
“You heard me, lady. Better watch yourself. That sassy mouth just might get you into trouble one of these days. I don’t know where you came from, but ’round here, neighbors who go buttin’ their noses where they don’t belong tend to get…burned.”
My eyes widened at his insinuation, but I couldn’t speak. I glanced in Cowboy’s direction and realized that, although he’d finished putting out the burning bush, he’d been oblivious to the heated argument going on next door. Between the distance and the whipping wind rustling the leaves on the trees, he hadn’t heard a single word.
With no witnesses, I had no way to prove what Joe said to me. Not only did he threaten me, but he chose the most terrifying way imaginable.
Fire.
A hoarse sob broke from my throat.
Shoulders slumped and fighting back the tears stinging my eyes, I stood in their pea gravel driveway as the Barlow brothers disappeared inside their house, letting the screen door bang against the jamb behind them. Part of me wanted to march in after them and give them another piece of my mind, but the other part—a much bigger part—was afraid of what would happen to me if I did.
I glanced back over my shoulder just in time to see Cowboy toss the hose aside and cut across the lawn, heading in my direction. I swiped the tears that had dropped onto my cheeks and blinked to clear any additional moisture from my eyes. I couldn’t let him see me like this.
By the time he reached me, I had taken a few deep breaths and calmed myself considerably, though I hadn’t moved an inch.
“Where’d Tweedledee and Tweedledum go?”
I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. “They went inside.” My voice cracked on the last word and I cringed. The last thing I wanted was for Cowboy to see or hear how they’d affected me.
“Anna…?”
I turned to walk past him, but he grasped my shoulders and held me there, his eyes searching mine for answers. No doubt they were still shiny from the tears that had been there moments before. “What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
His face hardened and his jaw tightened. “Bullshit. Tell me.”
“It’s nothing, okay? I told them I’d call the police if this didn’t stop and…well, he threatened me.”
I barely finished the sentence before Cowboy’s intense eyes sparked with fury and his mouth twisted into a frightening sneer. “I’m gonna kill ’em,” he said, dropping my arm and starting for their house in a full-on bout of rage.
“No! Please don’t. You’ll only make things worse.” I grasped his arm, digging my fingernails into his skin to stop him. Not only was he outnumbered, but those two brothers were clearly unstable. I didn’t want Cowboy to get hurt. “You can’t go in there.”
“Watch me.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. I doubt Joe even meant it. He was just being a jerk.”
Cowboy paused. “What exactly did he say to you?”
“Joe told me…” I hesitated, but took a deep breath. “He said he would burn my house down…with me inside.”
He blinked at me, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then lightning flashed in his eyes. “Those little bastards,” he said, shaking out of my grip. “Stay here. I’ll be back after I have a few words with them.”
But I knew that was a lie. He wasn’t going in there to do any talking. No, he was going in there with every intention of beating the hell out of them. I could see it in his stiff posture and the way his teeth gnashed together in anger. But I couldn’t let that happen.
I jumped in front of him and put my hand on his chest. Like that did any good. He glared at it, pushed my hand aside, then picked me up and physically moved me out of his way. I was no match for his strength. It was the equivalent of me trying to stop a speeding train with my bare hands.
As he strode briskly away, I panicked and blurted out, “My mother died in a fire!”
The grief and sadness must’ve registered in my voice because he stopped in his tracks and looked back at me. A dull ache gnawed at my insides, dredging up an emptiness I hadn’t felt in years. His withering stare softened and his eyes flooded with compassion and understanding. That was the moment the dam broke wide open. Tears dripped freely onto my cheeks and I wiped at them, smearing the painful memories down my face. Apparently it was enough to convince him I needed him to stay more than he needed to defend my honor.
Silently, Cowboy returned to me. For a moment, he just stood there with his eyes closed, as if he were willing himself to settle down. When he opened them, something else had taken the place of the anger. Something closely resembling sympathy and understanding. “Is that why you’re scared of fire?”
I bit my lip to keep it from trembling as another tear rolled down my cheek. I nodded slowly.
Bridging the gap between us, Cowboy pulled me into his masculine arms. At first, I tried to push away, not wanting his pity, but he wouldn’t allow it. He drew me back to him, and within seconds, I surrendered to the security of his strong hold, burying my face into his chest as little hiccupping sobs burst from my throat.
“Okay, just breathe.” He smoothed one hand over my hair, then settled it on my lower back. “Slow and easy. Like this,” he said, using his other hand to place mine against his chest, allowing me to feel the rise and fall of his even breaths.
He held me comfortably, giving me time to calm down, while he probably contemplated which one of the Barlow boys he was going to punch in the face first. Because when their screen door banged against the jamb again, Cowboy whirled around fast, fists clenched, ready for a fight.
Mandy Barlow had stepped outside on their porch with her short, blunt brunette hair and perky nose. She looked straight at me, her eyes registering concern, then flicked a glance at Cowboy. “Is everything all right?”
“Apparently, your brothers get off on threatening women.”
“Oh God. I’m sorry,” Mandy said, shaking her head. She directed her attention back to me. “Don’t listen to them, honey. They’re all talk…well, mostly.” She offered a small non-committal shrug. “They may not use the sense that the good Lord gave ’em, but I’m sure they were only trying to scare you.”
“Well, it worked,” Cowboy said, his tone shifting from sour to downright caustic. “Give them a piece of advice for me, Mandy. Tell them that if they come near Anna again, they’re going to answer to me.”
Mandy bit her lip. “I don’t think—”
“Tell ’em,” he demanded. “Because if this happens again, we’re going to see how they fare with someone a little closer to their own size.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but instead, she nodded silently and went back inside.
Cowboy slid his arm gently around my shoulders and softened his voice. “Come on, darlin’.” He kept me tucked firmly against his side as he walked me home.
I was relieved he was no longer going after the Barlow boys, but hoped like hell Mandy didn’t actually tell her brothers what Cowboy had said. It would be the equivalent of beating on an active beehive with a short stick.
Once we cleared my front door, I let out a sigh of relief. Just being back inside my small rental home, surrounded by my own things, made me feel better. Safer, even. My quaint cottage held only sparse, simple furnishings, such as a small flat-screen TV and an eggshell-colored love seat, but it was my comfort zone. My sanctuary.
I loved everything about it. From the plain white lace curtains adorning the living room windows to the delicate pink rose wallpaper in the narrow hallway. Not to mention the hundreds of books on the two huge bookcases which commandeered an entire wall behind my beige reading chair.