The Ranger's Rodeo Rebel Read Online Free Page B

followed,” Chance said.
    She jerked around so fast her braids nearly hit her in the face. “How do you know?”
    â€œSimple.” He glanced at her quickly, the line of his jaw so strong and masculine she swallowed. “I doubled back when we were in town.”
    He had? Good heavens. She hadn’t even noticed.
    â€œYou should get in the habit of that, too,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Pick a street you know isn’t a dead end, one that will allow you to double back. If someone’s following you, they’ll take the same route, and you’ll know it’s a bad guy, because nobody’s going to do circles for no reason.”
    She nodded.
    â€œAnd don’t assume he’ll be in his truck, either.”
    She glanced at him sharply, because that’s exactly what she’d been looking for.
    â€œHe could change vehicles.” He rested his wrist on the top of the steering wheel in a manner of complete ease. She supposed compared to driving in a war zone, her situation must seem like Disneyland to him. “And if you are being followed, don’t let on that you know. The worst thing you can do is speed up and try and outrun him.”
    â€œWhat do I do?”
    â€œCall 911. Or me. Head to the police station. The man’s not going to follow you there. Not unless he’s stupid.”
    She hadn’t really thought about that. Yipes.
    â€œIf you aren’t paying attention,” Chance continued, “and you notice he’s followed you to the ranch, don’t worry too much. Just come on inside. He’s not going to come down our road, and if he does, I’ll take care of him.”
    â€œWhat about Natalie’s clients? Or Claire’s? What if he somehow sneaks in thanks to them? What if he hides out or waits until I’m alone?”
    Claire ran a canine rescue not far from where Colt lived. Natalie ran a successful horse-jumping business. There was no telling who might accidentally let James in—if it came to that. Carolina doubted he’d come after her like that, though. He was simply mad she’d turned him in. It made him feel like a big man to terrorize her. He was succeeding, and that made her angry all over again. No man should ever have that kind of power over a woman.
    â€œI’ll have Claire call her clients tonight and explain what’s going on.”
    Oh, great.
    â€œI’ll ask Natalie to take precautions with her clients, too.”
    So the whole family would now know what an idiot ex-boyfriend she had. Terrific.
    BITCH.
    Her skin prickled as she recalled the red color. She never would have thought he’d go that far. Now that some of the shock had faded, it made her furious. How dare he deface her property? Granted, it was just a tiny apartment, but she’d worked hard to get the place, and now her landlord would likely throw a fit—and she’d have to pay to fix it, too.
    â€œIt’ll be okay,” Chance said, patting her leg, which made her madder, because she wasn’t some little girl who needed a pat on the head—or the leg, as the case might be. She was a full-on adult who could take care of herself.
    Then why are you glad a former Army Ranger is sitting next to you? And why are you grateful he’ll be with you tonight? And why does the sight of his hand on your leg make you all squirmy inside?
    They were questions she refused to answer.
    * * *
    P RICKLY .
    That was the word he would use to describe her. Chance pulled his brother’s black truck into its parking space and added the word to his list of stubborn , fiercely independent and dogged .
    â€œLooks like your brother’s back,” Carolina said.
    Colt and Natalie had matching trucks, except for their different colors, and they’d clearly returned from running errands. Chance hadn’t heard them leave this morning, which just went to show how completely wiped he’d been from his