Cowboy in the Crossfire. Robin Perini

his.

      Only the whoops and hollers had stopped him from sweeping her into a bedroom. One look at Vince’s dark expression, though, and Blake had pushed the episode aside. He should do the same thing now. His first duty was to protect her and her son, not succumb to long-denied desires.

      “He is dangerous. He doesn’t like strangers.” Blake shifted his body between her and Sugar. “Where’s Ethan?”

      “Asleep,” she said softly, eyeing the snorting horse. “He just nodded off. I’m glad. He needed the rest. He didn’t get much on the drive here.”

      “Or last night.”

      Blake studied her every movement, the straightening of her spine, the flash of frustration in her eyes, the challenging tilt of her chin.

      “You could’ve left me with him. I’d have taken care of him.”

      “You needed the rest, too.” Blake took in the dark circles under her eyes, but he couldn’t let sympathy derail him. She hadn’t been honest. She had to start. He needed to know more. “Ethan screamed in his sleep.”