I put my hands on my hips and glared at Cowboy. “That’s not a parking spot!”

“Oh, yeah? Well, it is now!” he sneered.

“God, you’re an even bigger asshole than I thought.” I turned and marched inside, flapping my arms in frustration.

A growl burst from his throat. “Get back here,” he demanded.

Surprisingly enough, I made it to the kitchen without him manhandling me. I’d fully expected him to be on my heels, but when I stopped and spun around, he wasn’t there. Peeking around the corner, I found out why.

He had tried to follow me through the open door, but Joe had stepped into Cowboy’s path and was now poking one large finger into his chest. “I think the lady wants you to leave.”

I stood off to the side, just out of their field of vision, but where I could see and hear both of them. With rage burning in his green eyes, Cowboy measured up the big guy in front of him. “If you want to keep that finger attached, I suggest you remove it.”

They stood there in an intense, heated stand-off that looked like it would never end. Thank goodness Bobbie Jo intervened, patting Joe on the arm. “It’s okay, Joe. I’ve got this. Why don’t you give us a minute?”

Joe nodded and walked by Cowboy, purposely bumping his shoulder as he passed. Cowboy rolled his eyes and started inside, but Bobbie Jo wasn’t having it. She put her arm up and blocked the door, scowling at him. “You really did it this time, didn’t you, Cowboy? Put your foot in it good.”

“Ya know, I’d love to stand around here talking about how I screwed up, but I have something more important to do.”

But Bobbie Jo persisted. “What do you want with Anna?”

Oh, I love having such protective friends.

“I just want to talk to her.” He peered over Bobbie Jo’s head and caught a glimpse of all the cardboard boxes in the living room. “What the hell is going on? Why are the Barlows loading boxes into Anna’s car?” He ran a hand over his distraught face. “Sonofabitch. Don’t tell me she’s leaving town.”

Bobbie Jo shrugged nonchalantly. “What does it matter to you? It’s not like you care.”

“What? I do care! Now let me in.” But Bobbie Jo didn’t budge. “Damn it, I need to find her. Get out of the way or I’m going to pick your ass up and move you.”

Something resembling a smirk lifted the corners of her mouth. “She’s probably in the kitchen packing up more boxes,” she said nonchalantly, dropping her arm from the doorway.

As Cowboy stepped inside, I slipped out of view and pretended to be busy.

“Anna…?”

I poked my head out of the kitchen and frowned at him. “Why are you still here?”

“I want to know where the hell you think you’re going.”

“Beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.”

I glared at him. “I’m no longer your concern, remember?”

Cowboy counted slowly under his breath, trying to gain control of his temper. “Stop this nonsense, woman. I won’t sit by and let you leave town all because I—”

“Because you what? Used me? Took what you wanted and moved on? Guess you were bored with me. Isn’t that how you put it?”

“That wasn’t true and you know it.”

“No, I don’t know. As far as I’m concerned, that’s exactly what happened. Now, get out.”

“I need to talk to you. To tell you something. At the very least I owe you an explanation and an apology.” When I crossed my arms and waited, he continued. “I was promoted to chief.”

“Good for you. Now leave.”

“Damn it, just listen. After I came out of recovery, the mayor stopped by to see me. I thought he’d heard about my injury and was coming to tell me he was appointing a new acting chief. But instead, he congratulated me for making chief.”

“What the hell does that have to do with me?”

“I couldn’t stand the thought of you living in fear that something would happen to me. That one day, I might be burned alive. You don’t sleep as it is. I didn’t want to give you any more nightmares.”

My mouth dropped open. “So you didn’t even fight for me because of that?”

“No, not just that. I…” He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, gearing himself to say something he obviously dreaded. “I save people for a living. It’s what I do. But I…couldn’t save you. And to make it worse, the whole thing with Mandy was my fault.”

“Your fault?”

“Before I saw you in the library that first night, I…I flirted with her. No more than I did with other girls, but I hadn’t realized she was unstable and had taken any of it seriously.”

“So you’re saying you and Mandy were sleeping—”

“No. Of course not. Nothing ever came of it, but she got the wrong idea about me because I let her get the wrong idea. Just like everyone else around here.” He shook his head. “No one takes a playboy seriously. And my behavior with the women in this town hasn’t encouraged it. I’m sorry, sweetheart, but this was all my fault. I was doing what I thought was best…for you. To end things and let you move on without me.” He glanced behind him at the boxes stacked everywhere before his eyes landed back on me and he frowned. “But I don’t want you to leave. Damn it, Anna, I can’t lose you.”

Slack-jawed, I stood motionless and stared at him in silence for a full thirty seconds, waiting for a declaration of love or at the very least an honorable mention in the like department. But it didn’t come. As the realization sank in that he might never admit his feelings for me, I only blinked at him, which apparently wasn’t the reaction he expected.

He shifted his weight and sighed with annoyance. “Gonna leave me hanging or are you going to say something?”

“I…um…I’m not leaving,” I managed to say, watching the worry melt from his eyes. “Those boxes are filled with books I’m donating to the library.”

“Oh, thank God,” he said, the tension in his shoulders loosening. “When I saw them loading boxes into your car…well, you scared the hell out of me. I thought I’d lost you for good.” Then he opened his arms to me.

But I didn’t move into them. Even though I knew the truth, nothing had changed.

“So you think you can treat me like I’m nothing to you, then waltz in here with an apology? And then what? I’m supposed to just forgive you and get over it?” I scoffed under my breath. “No way in hell.”

He dropped his arms to his sides. “Anna, I already told you why—”

“I don’t care. Not only did you hurt me, but you embarrassed me. Made me feel bad about myself, as well as our relationship. And it was so easy for you. Then again, everything comes easy for you, right? Well, not this time,” I said, starting past him.

Cowboy snagged me by the arm and raised a brow. “Are you saying you don’t want me?”

“No, actually you said you didn’t want me, remember?” I glared at him and even took it one step further. “I wouldn’t want to bore you again, so we should probably keep things casual and see how it goes. Don’t worry, though. If I’m feeling frisky, I’ll give you a call. But only if my bed isn’t already occupied by someone else.”

His eyes narrowed and his grip tightened. “You don’t mean that.”

“Sure I do,” I said, punctuating my indifference with a simple shrug. “After all, you’re no Prince Charming. I wouldn’t want you to get any wrong ideas about me falling in love with you. I guess I am grateful to you for teaching me how to make love, though. I can’t wait to practice some more.”

The insult must’ve hit home because Cowboy released my arm and said, “You want to wait around for Prince fucking Charming, then that’s fine by me!” He turned and stormed out the front door.

The bottom dropped out of my stomach, and I stood there blinking like an idiot. Oh, no! What have I done? But by the time I came to my senses and made it to the door, he’d already slammed his truck door closed and was roaring out of my yard without even looking back. I swayed unsteadily in the doorway as my heart ripped apart at the seams.