Her Christmas Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #5) - Jessica Clare Page 0,28

was my ex, but some of the gifts don’t make sense. Like they wouldn’t be from him.

BECCA: Greg?

AMY: Ugh, I hope not.

BECCA: If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think it’s him, either. Flowers sound like him, jewelry and a coat do not.

BECCA: Maybe it’s one of those cowboys at Sage’s ranch? The vets? Have you met any of them?

AMY: I don’t think I have?

BECCA: I’ll ask around. Maybe one of them has a kid going to school. Let me see what I can find out.

AMY: Thank you, Becca. I appreciate it.

BECCA: Until then, stay safe! And don’t take rides from strangers! ;)

AMY: I have to take a ride with Caleb, remember? He’s still waiting on that part.

BECCA: Okay, if you have to get a ride with a stranger, Caleb’s the one to trust. Later!

AMY: Later.

The conversation did nothing to settle her nerves. By the time Caleb showed up on Friday afternoon to drive her home, Amy was rattled. Did she have a stalker? She clutched the coffeepot to her chest, the new jewelry in her purse, and tried not to think about it as she got into his vehicle. She’d moved to Painted Barrel to start her life over, to get away from Blake and his controlling attitude and her parents’ disapproval of their divorce. She just wanted a fresh, simple, easy life.

And now she had a freaking stalker?

Amy took a deep, shuddering breath. She could handle this. She could.

“You okay?”

She jumped at the sound of Caleb’s gravelly voice, her heart pounding. She tried to smile over at him. “Fine. Great. Thank you for asking.”

He gave her a curious look, those long lashes blinking, and then turned the truck on.

They drove in silence as they always did, and Amy clutched the coffeepot. To think she’d been overjoyed to get it, and now it was as tainted as the rest of the presents. She’d put them all in a box in the kitchen and decide what to do with them after the holidays. Hopefully her Santa would reveal himself between now and then. If not, it was all going into a donation box somewhere. She wouldn’t even pawn it for money; she would just get it as far away from her as possible.

They got to her house and Amy immediately went into the kitchen as Caleb followed her in. “Any news on the part for my car?” she asked, even though she suspected the answer.

“Monday,” he said.

Of course. A few more days without a vehicle, which meant she couldn’t go grocery shopping or to a pawnshop or anything. She had no cash, no word on her alimony, nothing. Amy pursed her lips and set the coffee maker down, pushing it to the back of the counter. She went back to the living room, and Donner was on her love seat, curled up on one cushion and getting dog hair everywhere. She couldn’t be mad, though, because his tail started thumping happily as she approached, and when she sat down, he immediately crawled over to her and started licking her face as she rubbed his ears.

For a blind dog, he knew just how to cheer her up. She hugged him close, burying her face in his soft, thick fur.

Okay. She could do this. Donner needed her.

And she still had a few things up her sleeve, a few options to explore. So she straightened her shoulders and looked at Caleb as he went to the window and ran his hand along the edges, testing for air. “I need to run some errands. Would you help me? If you’re busy, I understand, but I need to get these done before the Christmas Carnival at the school tomorrow night.”

He nodded, once.

“I can pay you for gas and for your trouble. I just need to go by my accountant’s office first.”

His eyes narrowed but he said nothing.

“Give me just a minute to get ready,” she promised him brightly. She snuggled Donner a little longer and wanted to take him with her. A dog at her side would make her feel safer if she had a stalker. But she remembered how scared he was alone in her backyard, and when she’d taken him to the vet, so it was best that he stayed inside where it was safe and warm and familiar. She put extra food in his dish and waited, petting him a bit more as he sniffed the floor until he found his bowl. Then she washed her hands in the bathroom,