Cassidy's Courtship - Cassidy's Courtship Part 5
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Cassidy's Courtship Part 5

Brenna nodded and glanced from Cole to the other man, who moved closer to Brenna, his chin high, his chest out.

She touched Cole's arm. "You're late," she said, urging him back toward his Jeep.

One of his eyebrows rose and his gaze again fastened on Brenna's uninvited companion.

"Sorry," Cole said, taking her arm in a possessive gesture that she normally wouldn't have allowed.

"Your boyfriend?" the man asked. When neither Brenna or Cole responded, he added, "Hey, man, that's

a fine set of wheels."

"Back off," Cole said, pushing his hand into the man's chest.

"Hey, man, I ain't doing nothing." He shook his shoulders. "In fact, I've been doing you a favor. This

neighborhood is downright dangerous for a pretty filly like your woman."

"Get lost," Cole snarled.

Cole's complete lack of civility stunned Brenna. She stole another glance at him. He looked ready to kill.

Quite literally.

Cole opened the Jeep door for Brenna and held his hand out to her. He wasn't looking at her, though, she noted as she took it and climbed into the vehicle. He watched the man with unblinking intensity.

The man shrugged his shoulders and walked away, grumbling under his breath. Cole skirted around the

vehicle and climbed in behind the steering wheel. Without a word, he put the car into gear and drove

down the street.

A breeze swept over her as the vehicle gained speed. Brenna shivered, nerves stretched taut. As much from Cole's close proximity as their brush with the drunk.

"Thanks," she said. "You don't know how glad I was to see you."

"Where's your car?" he asked.

"I don't have a car. I was headed for the bus stop." She motioned toward the end of the block. "This bus

stop is a little too close to that guy back there. If you'll just let me out at the next stop-"

"You ride the bus?" Disbelief filled his voice.

"It's the usual way of getting to and from work if you don't have a car." She brushed away strands of hair

that blew across her face.

He jerked his head in the direction they had driven from. "And how often does that happen?"

"The guy?"

"The guy," Cole confirmed impatiently. "The one you're so eager to get away from that you'll put up with my company."

Brenna glanced at him. His anger tonight was far different from his courtroom persona. This man was ... earthier. No suave sophistication here.

"How often?" he repeated. "Weekly? Nightly?" He pinned her with a hard glance. "What would you have done if I hadn't come along?"

"I'd handle it," she said. "Just like I'm used to doing."

"I could see how you were handling it," he said. He shook his head. "You shouldn't be out here at this time of night." "What I should or shouldn't be doing is none of your damn business," Brenna said, her temper slipping.

Never mind she agreed with him. She pointed toward the end of the next block. "You can let me out down there."

"And then what?"

"And then I'll wait for the bus," she replied. "Just like I do every night when I get off work."

"Great," he muttered. "And I get to go on my merry way, worried about the next scumbag who makes a grab for you."

She pulled the pepper spray out of her tote bag. "Next time I'll be ready." Again, she gestured toward the bus stop ahead. "You can let me out there."

"Not bloody damn likely," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What kind of man do you take me for?"

He glanced at her when she opened her mouth.

"On second thought, don't answer that," he said. "I don't want to know. But, for damn sure, I'm not letting you off to wait for the bus." He jerked a thumb toward the canister. "What if the nozzle jammed? What if he took it away from you? What if-" Abruptly, he closed his mouth and wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel. "I'm taking you home."

"That's not necessary," Brenna said tightly.

"You might as well tell me where you live, fair lady. You've got two choices here. I'm taking you home."

"That sounds like one choice," Brenna said.

"Your home." He looked at her. "Or mine. Lady's choice."

Clearly, he had called her bluff. She didn't know him at all, but she had no doubt. The man was serious.

His attention returned to his driving, which gave her a chance to study him. She had simply hoped for an

easy way to get away from the drunk, and if anyone had a right to be angry about the encounter, she did.

Cole's unexpected anger puzzled her, intrigued her. As did his confession that he would worry about her. I took no pleasure at all in wining Bates's case. Cole's statement floated across her mind, and with it, his expression that last day in his office. "Handle it," he had said to her attorney. "Tell her she's confessing to a felony." Brenna frowned. Cole's intervention had made even less sense to her than John Miller's actions had. She'd assumed he had some complicated legal reason for his actions. Now, nine months later, she wondered if he'd tried to protect her.

Protect her. Just as he had tonight. Was it that simple?

He glanced at her. "What's it going to be, Brenna?" His voice had thawed some, as had his expression.

"Why are you doing this?"

"My good deed for the day," he said shortly.

Pointedly, she looked at her watch. "One per day, and a mere few minutes past midnight. It's a good

thing I caught you early, isn't it?"

"Brenna."

There was no mistaking the warning in his voice. She gave him the address for her brother's apartment

that was within walking distance of the University of Colorado Medical School where he worked. Telling

the man where she lived shouldn't have been a big deal. Except it felt like one. At rare moments in her life, she recognized the forks in the road where a simple decision led in a whole new direction. This was one of those moments.

The high road, or the low? She didn't know. Would her life include Cole Cassidy, at least for a while? If it did, she was sure things would never be quite the same again.

When she looked back at him, she found him watching her. He smiled. "Was that really so hard?" "You've no idea," she grumbled. Darn the man for smiling, for being nice ... for having a protective streak that made her feel cared for, for showing up when she really did need help. Her well-guarded dislike of him slipped another notch.

"You always this stubborn? Or is it just me?" That smile invited her to respond in kind.

"Stubborn is my middle name." Brenna slid down in her seat a little, wrapping her arms more firmly around her tote bag. What did he want? Really? "That's what I figured."

"Why were you still here?" she asked. She never had this kind of luck. There had to be another reason why he conveniently showed up in the nick of time. "You left the bar quite a while ago." Surprisingly, a stain of color appeared on his face and he ducked his chin. "I ... wanted to see which car was yours."

"Were you thinking I might have an asset I hadn't told the court or Harvey Bates about?"

"Hell, no." He glanced at her as though genuinely shocked by the train of her thoughts. Meeting her gaze, he repeated, "No." "Then why?" she persisted. The flush returned to his cheeks. "I was curious," he said finally. The traffic light turned red, and Cole braked. His gaze direct, open, he added, "You know-find out where the lady works, what kind of car she drives. Find a way to be around her a bit until you figure out if she'll say yes or no when you ask her out."

It was Brenna's turn to be shocked. Sure, she had sensed his interest-except deep down, she had been convinced she was mistaken, sure that he must have some other motive. She hadn't expected an open declaration that felt like the truth.

A long moment passed while Brenna mulled that over, her impressions again altered. A couple of hours ago, she had been sure what kind of man Cole Cassidy was-and he wasn't one she wanted to know.

How could she continue to nurse her dislike of him?

Easy. Look at everything you lost because of him.

Not him. Harvey Bates.

He cleared his throat. "You have every reason to think the worst." He glanced at her, the smile gone. "I wasn't stalking you. I was just ... interested."

She met his gaze. "I believe you."

The light turned green, and he pressed on the accelerator.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. For an instant, she allowed her imagination to take flight,

wondering where Cole lived. A Jeep, not a BMW. She stole a glance at his hands, noting the lack of a wedding ring.

What else was she wrong about?

A man with a Jeep might like the country the way she did. Where the sounds filling the night would be from crickets instead of traffic. Where the aroma of freshly cut alfalfa would fill the air instead of exhaust fumes. She opened her eyes. Where stars would light the night instead of neon.

She stole a glance at Cole and gave herself a firm reality check. The man was an attorney, for Pete's sake, in a big city. If he wanted the country life, that's where he'd be. A Jeep didn't mean a thing. It was