“Sure,” I replied.
Bobbie Jo pushed the stroller toward the door.
“Let me know if you want me to stomp Jeremy’s ass into the ground,” Cowboy called out after her.
She turned back long enough to give us a half-hearted wave, so I planted a smile firmly on my lips. But it was a ruse. The last few patrons had used the self-checkout scanner and had already vacated the library right before Bobbie Jo. That knowledge combined with the nervous energy zinging under my skin left me flustered. Deep inside, I was angst-ridden by the thought of being left alone in the same room as Cowboy.
To busy my trembling hands, I stood at the desk with my back to him, fiddling with a stack of flyers for a chili cook-off to be held over the weekend. I straightened the lime green papers until they were all neatly aligned with the edge of the counter.
Cowboy reached past me, brushing my body lightly with his, as he placed the book he held on the counter. “Mind holding onto this for me until tomorrow?”
The scent of his cologne lingered in the air. I turned toward him, carefully measuring him with my eyes. “You can check the book out.”
“No library card.”
“Oh. Okay, I can issue you one. I’ll just need your driver’s license and—”
“Won’t work.”
I paused, not entirely sure what he meant by his rude interruption. “All right. If you don’t have identification, then a utility bill with your name and address will suffice.”
“Sorry. No can do.” He smiled at the puzzled look I gave him. “I have identification, but very few people in this town know my real name, and I’d like to keep it that way. If I told you what it was, then I’m afraid it might be all over town by morning.”
“Excuse me?” When he grinned at my surprised tone, I lifted my chin to portray my exasperation. “If you’re suggesting I’d speak to anyone about the library’s confidential records,” I said, my tone bordering on contempt, “then you’re—”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa! Hold up, darlin’. I wasn’t doing any such thing. Relax a little. Good Lord, are you always this uptight?”
My eyes widened. “I beg your pardon?”
“Guess so. Judging by your clothes, I should have figured that.” Cowboy grinned and leaned one hip lazily against the counter next to me. Then he gave me a quick once-over and his eyes twinkled with shameless mirth, as if he were enjoying my exasperation…and proving his point.
I glanced down at my clothes and shook my head in disbelief. My black skirt fell respectfully below my knees and my long-sleeved blouse was buttoned all the way to my throat. I imagined my old-fashioned attire probably bored most men since it was about as stimulating as watching grass grow or a car rust. Which is exactly why I wore it, you jerk!
I gaped at him, not caring if he saw how offended I was. And I was offended. “Well, excuse me if I’m not dressed to your liking. I’m sure the kind of women you’re used to shed their clothes whenever you enter a room, but as you plainly see, I’m not like most women.”
When he stepped closer, I assumed he did so to intimidate me with his overwhelming masculine presence. I straightened my spine, ready to give it right back to him. But instead he said, “Did you know your blue eyes brighten when you’re all fired up?”
“I don’t care. And furthermore… Wait, what?”
As if he couldn’t control himself, Cowboy reached up and removed the thick, unattractive lenses from my face.
I stiffened. “What do you think you’re doing?” My low voice sounded almost breathy.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he raised his arm and went for the clip in my hair. I tried to move away, but he blocked my escape route with his body, forcing me to stand in place as he freed the red strands I had twisted onto the back of my head. My wavy locks tumbled loosely around my shoulders.
Cowboy cocked his head, scrutinizing my new look, as I crossed my arms and drew my lips into a thin line to show my petulance. It only made him grin more. “You know, I was going to say you looked like an angel. But that’s not quite right. With your fiery red hair, deep blue eyes, and that rebellious little pout, I think you look more like…a fallen angel.”
“You’re kidding, right? That’s the best line you have?” I rolled my eyes and scoffed under my breath. “And here I thought you were actually supposed to be good at this.”
He ignored my comment and leaned his chiseled face closer to mine, rubbing one calloused finger along my cheekbone. His deep voice took on a sexier note. “All that innocence and compressed sexuality wound up tight inside you…just waiting to be let loose.”
I resisted the urge to blow out the breath I was holding. Okay, so maybe he’s better than I thought.
In an attempt not to come across as weak or feeble, I lifted my chin, but my nerves wound tighter, electrified by the way he penetrated me with his green eyes. “And let me guess, you think you’re the man to unlock it?”
“I’d damn sure like to try,” he said with a suggestive shrug of his brows.
The smile he wore reached his eyes, and although I tried to maintain my composure, the natural charm he exuded drew me in.
I let out a quick, irritated breath. “My God! Bobbie Jo was right. You’ll hit on any Homo sapiens with a pulse.”
He blinked at me, then a grin broadened his face. “Is it my imagination or did you just confess that you’re into chicks? Because if that’s part of the deal—”
“Oh, Lord,” I said, snatching my hair clip and glasses from him. “Homo sapiens is a species of bipedal primates, a group to which humans belong. It’s definitely not whatever dirty thing your mind conjured—”
Before I finished my sentence, the glass doors slid open and a brunette with a short blunt haircut stepped inside. She was a gorgeous girl with an athletic body, most of which she showed off by wearing itty-bitty things she obviously had mistaken for shorts. She stopped in the doorway, put a hand on her pushed-out hip, and eyed Cowboy with irritation.
“Mandy…?”
“I thought that was your vehicle parked out front, Captain. Where the hell is your radio?”
“I didn’t want it squawking while I was in here, so I left it in my truck. What does it matter? It’s my day off.”
“Well, you might want to get your ass in gear and come with me. We’ve got a problem.” Mandy scanned the room until her gaze stopped on me. “Might want to bring her along, too,” she said in a clipped tone before spinning on her heel to storm out.
“Hold up, Mandy. Where’s the fire?”
She stopped in the doorway and looked back at us over her shoulder. “At the library.”
Cowboy’s head snapped to me, then back to Mandy. “But we’re in the library.”
“No shit,” she said. “That’s the problem.”
Cowboy made it to the door before he realized I wasn’t behind him.
As Mandy’s words had sunk in, I’d panicked and my throat had closed, rendering me speechless. My stunned mind grasped the danger I was possibly in, but my frozen limbs couldn’t seem to react to the notion.
“Hey, what are you waiting for?” he asked, staring back at me. “You plan on staying inside a burning building?”
My body bristled with fear, and a strangled sound released from my mouth as terror-inducing recollections and smoke-filled memories choked me. No, I can’t do this. Not again.
I staggered a step forward, gripping the counter to keep myself upright, but I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Christ. What the hell’s wrong with you?” When I didn’t answer him, he moved toward me with an outstretched hand. “Anna…?”
He must’ve thought I was in shock. And hell, maybe I was. One second I was standing there in complete silence, frozen in place, and the next I was humming a tune under my breath to keep the painful, all-consuming memories at bay.