Sunlight crept through the window of the waking woman?s room. Lashes lifted a tad bit to assess the angle of shadows being cast by the pale light. A series of mutters broke the morning stillness. There was a furious rustling of bedding as the shape in the bed executed a combination turn, flip, roll to lay on her other side. The heap of covers she had over her were drawn up until a nose peeking out was all that could be seen.
It wasn?t that the room was cold. The problem lay soley in the fact it was morning and this particular female didn?t do morning well. Well at least not before a second or third cup of good, strong coffee. The kind most likely able to hold up a horseshoe were one ever set in the steaming liquid. It occurred to her sleep muddled mind that just perhaps one of these days she?d give that a try to see what would happen if she ever decided to give up the cozy comfort of her bed. There was always that first hurdle to get past it seemed.
Another mutter followed by an outright grumble then a low primitive growl came from the heap of covers. Wildly disarrayed chestnut curls appeared then eyelids fringed with dark lashes to go with the nose that had been visible. Begrudgingly the lashes gave up their hold on her cheeks to reveal navy blue eyes that blinked three times before her vision came into focus. A long drawn out exhale of breath later and she was certain of her surroundings along with the why of them.
Spied upon!
He was having her watched. Every minute of every dang blasted day no matter where she was or what she was doing someone was taking notes. If they weren?t literally writing them down they were still memorizing every detail and reporting it to someone and she knew exactly who that someone was. There was only one person that would dare to even attempt to spy on her and she knew their name and not only that she knew exactly where they lived and what they looked like right down to the smallest detail.
It had taken a while for her to notice that shifting in the shadows or that flash of sunlight off of something just at the corner of her eye as she turned. That stranger that seemed somehow familiar but wasn?t familiar exactly when she went into a shop and lingered to browse the wares. That person way down at the end of the bar or in a booth that never seemed to be paying any attention to anything yet seemed to constantly be alert to their surroundings that a body would only see once or twice at the most in a crowd that tended to be mostly the same faces day to day.
She hadn?t really wanted to come to town in the first place to be protected then to turn around and find out she was being spied on on top of it as though she couldn?t be trusted after all these years? The cowgirl was not happy and when she wasn?t happy things were bound to happen that wouldn?t be all that pleasant as a few who had been shot could tell of first hand.
That is how she found herself in her old room at the Red Dragon Inn all snug and comfy under the heap of covers in the early morning light. She was ready to take the bull by the horns and reclaim her independence.
It wasn?t that the room was cold. The problem lay soley in the fact it was morning and this particular female didn?t do morning well. Well at least not before a second or third cup of good, strong coffee. The kind most likely able to hold up a horseshoe were one ever set in the steaming liquid. It occurred to her sleep muddled mind that just perhaps one of these days she?d give that a try to see what would happen if she ever decided to give up the cozy comfort of her bed. There was always that first hurdle to get past it seemed.
Another mutter followed by an outright grumble then a low primitive growl came from the heap of covers. Wildly disarrayed chestnut curls appeared then eyelids fringed with dark lashes to go with the nose that had been visible. Begrudgingly the lashes gave up their hold on her cheeks to reveal navy blue eyes that blinked three times before her vision came into focus. A long drawn out exhale of breath later and she was certain of her surroundings along with the why of them.
Spied upon!
He was having her watched. Every minute of every dang blasted day no matter where she was or what she was doing someone was taking notes. If they weren?t literally writing them down they were still memorizing every detail and reporting it to someone and she knew exactly who that someone was. There was only one person that would dare to even attempt to spy on her and she knew their name and not only that she knew exactly where they lived and what they looked like right down to the smallest detail.
It had taken a while for her to notice that shifting in the shadows or that flash of sunlight off of something just at the corner of her eye as she turned. That stranger that seemed somehow familiar but wasn?t familiar exactly when she went into a shop and lingered to browse the wares. That person way down at the end of the bar or in a booth that never seemed to be paying any attention to anything yet seemed to constantly be alert to their surroundings that a body would only see once or twice at the most in a crowd that tended to be mostly the same faces day to day.
She hadn?t really wanted to come to town in the first place to be protected then to turn around and find out she was being spied on on top of it as though she couldn?t be trusted after all these years? The cowgirl was not happy and when she wasn?t happy things were bound to happen that wouldn?t be all that pleasant as a few who had been shot could tell of first hand.
That is how she found herself in her old room at the Red Dragon Inn all snug and comfy under the heap of covers in the early morning light. She was ready to take the bull by the horns and reclaim her independence.