Her Christmas Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #5) - Jessica Clare Page 0,42

a breath later and grabbed the large cowboy by the shoulder. She put her hands to her mouth, worried, waiting for someone to throw the first punch. Instead, Caleb just grabbed the keys out of Greg’s hand before he could speak and pitched them as far as he could into the night. They sailed through the air and landed in the snow . . . somewhere.

“You son of a bitch,” Greg exclaimed. He stared at Amy, wide-eyed, and then stormed off into the snow to hunt down his keys.

“Let’s just go,” Amy whispered.

Caleb nodded and lifted her into his arms again. She held on to him, arms around his neck, and wondered if this was her getting swept off her feet. It made her want to laugh hysterically . . . okay, and maybe cry a little, too. Her weird night had taken a rotten turn, and she could still taste Greg’s awful kiss. If Caleb hadn’t been watching them . . .

She shook her head. No, he would have gotten the picture eventually. She’d have kneed him in the balls if he hadn’t taken no for an answer. This way, Caleb had solved the problem. Even now, when she looked over his shoulder, she saw Greg hunting for his keys in the snow, no doubt cussing up a blue streak.

In this moment, Caleb was her knight in shining armor. Or rather, a Santa in a padded suit. She looked at him, worried that she was too heavy—she’d never been carried before and she was at least two sizes larger than she was when she got married for the first time. “You can put me down. It’s okay.”

He shook his head. “Your feet hurt.”

He’d noticed? She hadn’t said anything. And they did hurt. Badly. Right now she wanted nothing more than to pitch the hated boots into a fire, but she had to return them. “Can you take me home?”

Caleb nodded and then hesitated, his gaze out on the parking lot. He swore under his breath. “I’m boxed in. Someone’s parked behind me.”

Which meant they were stuck here, unless he wanted to heft Amy through the entire town. She inwardly winced as Greg let out a triumphant hoot somewhere far behind them. He’d found his keys. Suddenly, the urge to run away hit her like a load of bricks. She patted Caleb’s chest as they got to the front of the school, indicating he should set her down. “Come on. Let’s go inside. I don’t want to make a scene and I’m afraid that’s exactly what Greg wants.”

Caleb hesitated, as if he wanted to stay outside and fight for her honor—in a Santa suit, no less—but she grabbed his hand and hobbled inside as fast as she could.

Adrenaline made her feet hurt less, oddly enough. Amy was able to race down one hall and toward her classroom. She pulled the door open and shut it behind them, then looked around for a hiding place. Greg would find her classroom. He would know that was where they went.

She turned, and Caleb was staring at her. “What—”

The coat closet! Amy grabbed his hand and hauled him after her, racing toward the small closet in the back of the classroom. Once they were both inside, she shut the door and turned off the light.

Now there was no sound but that of their breathing.

Caleb cleared his throat. “Any particular reason why we’re hiding in a closet? In the dark?”

“You’re awfully chatty tonight,” she sniped back.

He grunted.

“That was mean of me. I’m sorry. It’s just been a hell of a night.” Amy buried her face in her hands and then bit back a groan because she’d probably just smeared her Mrs. Claus makeup all over her face . . . if it wasn’t already smeared from Greg’s punching-tongue kisses. Ugh. “I’m sorry. This just . . . all went to shit in an instant.”

Silence.

“You cuss a lot for a kindergarten teacher,” he whispered.

“It’s a habit I’m trying to break,” she whispered back. “And we’re hiding in a closet because Greg is going to know this is my classroom and he’s going to come looking for us.”

“And we’re hiding from that shit stain why?”

That made a horrified giggle rise in her throat, and Amy clamped a hand over her mouth. Oh god, Greg was a shit stain. It didn’t matter that he was her Secret Santa. It didn’t matter if she was trying to be open-minded or not. She didn’t want to date him, especially not