Wyoming Cowboy Ranger. Nicole Helm
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His eyes were hard and his mouth was harder. He was taking this so seriously, and that irritated her. Ty was never serious. Oh, deep down he was, but he usually masked it with lazy smiles and sarcastic remarks.
But whatever this was had him giving no pretense of humor.
She focused on the computer and brought up the security footage. She ignored the flutter of panic in her throat, dismissed it as foolish. Whatever was going on was Ty’s problem, and once she showed him the footage he’d realize that and leave her alone.
She fast-forwarded through the day, moving the cursor to around seven when the man had come in. She zipped through her conversation with Jim and his case of beer, then hit Play when the door opened after Jim’s exit.
They both watched in silence, heads nearly together as they studied the video.
“You can’t see him,” Ty said flatly, his breath making the hair at her ear dance. She ignored the shiver of reaction and made sure her voice was even before she spoke.
“Give it a second.”
They continued to watch, and Jen could only hope Ty was so focused on the video he didn’t notice the goose bumps on her arm or the way her breathing wasn’t exactly even.
She had to fight viciously against the memories that wanted to worm their way into her consciousness. Memories of them together. Close like this. Not at all clothed like this.
But it was silence around them, heavy, pregnant silence, and she didn’t dare look to see if Ty was keeping his eyes on the computer. Of course he was. That’s what they were here for.
“You can’t see his face,” Ty repeated.
Jen peered at the form on the screen. She saw herself, watching the man’s entrance. And everywhere the man moved, his hat obscured his face from the camera.
“He did it on purpose.”
“How would he have known where the camera is?” Jen returned. It was so natural, the way the stranger on the video kept his head down. She wanted to believe Ty was overreacting, but an uncomfortable feeling itched along her spine.
“He did it on purpose,” Ty said in that same flat tone.
“Keep watching. We’ll get a glimpse when he falls.”
But as the man on the screen pitched forward into the candy, and then staggered back before falling to the ground, his face remained completely hidden by the hat.
Jen frowned at that. But surely a man who fell over didn’t purposefully shield himself from a security camera. It was just coincidence.
“Rewind it,” Ty ordered.
She opened her mouth to tell him not to order her around, but then huffed out a breath. Why bother arguing with a brick wall? She moved the cursor back to the man’s entrance, then slowed down the time.
Nothing changed. You couldn’t see the guy’s face. But she let Ty watch. She turned to study him. He was so close her nose all but brushed his cheek. If he noticed, he didn’t show it. His gaze was flat and blank, seeing nothing but the computer screen.
His profile could be so hard. He could be so hard, but there’d been softness and kindness underneath that mask all those years ago. Did it still exist? Or had military life sucked it out of him? Were any of the parts of him that she loved still in there, or were they all gone?
Horrified with that thought, she blinked at the stinging in her eyes. Stupid. It didn’t matter one way or the other. Yes, he’d broken her heart years ago, but she’d gotten over it. She’d moved on. And he definitely had.
So, her brain needed to stop taking detours to the past.
“He faked that fall,” Ty said, as if it was fact, not just his insane opinion on the matter.
“You’re being paranoid.”
He turned his head so fast she startled back. His eyes were blazing blue, and no matter how tightly he held his jaw, his mouth was soft. She knew exactly what it would feel like on hers.
What the hell was wrong with her? She closed her eyes against the heated wave of embarrassment.
“I am not being paranoid,” he said, his voice low and controlled. “I’m being rational. I’m putting all the dots together. That man didn’t fall because he was starving. Did you see that fancy camera? He can afford to eat.”
She opened her eyes, irritation exceeding embarrassment and old stupid feelings. “That doesn’t mean—”
“And furthermore,” Ty said, getting in her face no matter how she leaned away in her chair, “even if he did fall, he kept his face away from that camera for a reason. I know it. Now, you want to prove it, you watch hours of your own security tape and see if that happens with any other person.”
He held her gaze, though after a while some of that furious, righteous anger softened into something else. Something... Something as his blue eyes roamed her face, settled on her mouth.
Jen shot out of the chair, ignoring the fact she bumped into him, and then scrambled away. “I...have to open the store,” she stuttered. “Everyone’s expecting me to open at three.” She was being foolish, but her heart was hammering in her throat and she had to get out of this tiny room where Ty loomed far too large.
He stood, blocking the door, still as a rock, eyeing her carefully. “You have to be careful, Jen.”
She fisted her hands on her hips. “He isn’t after me. Now let me out.”
“He came in here. He talked to you. There’s something purposeful in that.”
“What do I have to do with your threatening letters?”
He heaved out a breath. “Look.” He shook his head, crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at the ceiling, then dropped his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets.
She raised her eyebrows. Nerves? No, not exactly, but definitely discomfort. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Ty something like unsure.
“I have a feeling this ties to someone I was in the military with,” he said, sounding disgusted with himself.
“Again, what does that have to do with me?”
“If it’s someone I knew? Someone I bunked with? They would have listened to me talk about home, about my family, about...” He nodded in her direction.
She could only blink at him. He’d talked about her? After leaving her like she was garbage you dumped on the side of the road? It didn’t make any sense.
“I can’t tell anything from that tape, but I’ve got threatening letters and a strange man in your store, so I’ve got to think of the obvious conclusion here. You could be in danger.”
“That’s absurd,” she responded. It had to be.
He stepped forward, and before she could sidestep him, he took her by the chin. Her whole body zoomed off into some other dimension she hadn’t been to in a very long time. She could only stare at him, while his big, rough hand held her face in place.
“I need you to be careful.” He was so solemn, so serious.
Her throat constricted and her heart beat so hard she was sure her whole body vibrated from the violence of it.
His grip on her chin softened, his fingertip moving along the line of her jaw. She wanted to melt into a puddle, but she wasn’t seventeen anymore, and with that fission of delight she was reminded she hated Ty Carson.
She slapped his hand away, raising her chin at him, trying for regal instead of panicked. “Don’t manhandle me.”
He only raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” she said, with more