Wanted By The Cowboy Tiger (Heroes of Shifter Creek 3) Read Free

her arms. “You’re getting so big!”
                  “Ribbit,” Todd said playfully, and he wrapped his arms around her neck, nestling into the soft padding of her arms.
                  “This is Derek and Bridget,” she said to Lolli. “They own a ranch nearby.”
                  “I know who they are,” Lolli revealed flatly.
                  “Sir,” Derek greeted, tipping his hat.
                  Bridget remained stubbornly quiet.
                  An awkward silence passed between them. Krista felt like she stood in the middle of a battlefield, but there was no weapons, just disdain.
                  “I have questions about my research,” she said, breaking the silence as she held Todd close.
                  This caught Bridget’s attention. “I’d like to know more about your research.” It sounded like a demand.
                  “No,” Lolli answered for Krista. “Not you. I don’t like your heart.” He turned to Derek. “You may stay.”
                  Simultaneously, Krista and Bridget spoke in protest.
                  “My research is private,” Krista objected.
                  Louder and more overbearing than her, Bridget argued, “This is my home. I have a right to know if some city girl is trying to destroy it.”
                  Lolli held up his hand, silencing them. “Right now you are on my land. I am in charge. What I saw goes.”
                  “Go back to the ranch,” Derek ordered Bridget. “I can handle it.”
                  Bridget wanted to object. Everything about her body language was an objection. But knowing she was defeated, she marched to the truck and started the ignition. “Whatever you say, boss,” she seethed, and she sped away, leaving a trail of dust behind her.
                  “She’s bad,” Todd whispered in Krista’s ear. “I’m glad she’s gone.”
                  “It’s okay, Little Toad,” Krista reassured him. “She won’t hurt us.”
                  “Yes, she will,” Todd insisted.
                  “You should have left with your girlfriend,” Krista said to Derek, trying to remind herself they had just met, that their occasional chats in the shade meant they were friends, but nothing more.
                  To her surprise, Derek laughed. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he said, radiating with charm. “She’s my employee. Nothing more.”
                  It was hard for Krista to believe. “Does she know that?”
                  Derek shrugged. “She should. We have no history together, not unless you count fixing tractors and breeding cattle.”
                  Bridget had done nothing to earn Krista’s sympathy, but she suddenly felt bad for the woman. “You’d be surprised how fixing tractors and breeding cattle can make a woman feel,” she said, bouncing Todd on her hip. “Maybe you should go to her.”
                  It took all of Krista’s will to suggest it. She didn’t want Derek to go to Bridget. She wanted him to stay, but she couldn’t allow it, not when she was about to tell Lolli about the man-beast.
                  “It’s okay,” Lolli told her. “I have a feeling he can answer your questions better than anyone.”
                  Giving in, knowing she’d be fighting a losing battle between the two men, Krista set Todd free and followed Lolli into his trailer with Derek beside her. Though she looked ahead, she was very much aware of Derek – of his height, of his strength, of his intoxicating earthy scent and the way he let her walk a little ahead of him, standing guard slightly behind her, as protective as always.
                  Stepping inside Lolli’s trailer, Krista was