Of all the pigheaded… I fumed as I raced back to town madder than I’ve ever been. How dare he blame me for what those two idiots tried to do to me?

Am I not allowed to go out and have a good time without being assaulted? He’s such a jerk. No wonder he has to hide away out here away from humankind. He wasn’t fit to be anywhere else.

I didn’t realize I was crying until I couldn’t see the road ahead and needed to wipe my eyes. How embarrassing. And to think I found him attractive. Shows how good a judge of character I am.

The embarrassment was not enough to erase my anger and I thought of ways I could maim him and get away with it. If I’d known he was going to be so hateful I would’ve bought him some stinging nettles instead of those gorgeous flowers.

I thought of all the ways I would love to get back at him and that helped to ease the ache in my chest just a little bit. I didn’t know I had it in me to be so mean, even if it was just in my mind.

It was a fun game until I realized that I still found him attractive after all was said and done. What a waste. It was obvious from the way he came to my rescue that he had some decency in him.

And the fact that he had the body and face of a movie star didn’t hurt. His dog was obviously well cared for, so he couldn’t be all bad. So what exactly is his problem? Was it just me? Could that be it? But why? He couldn’t possibly be that put out because he had to come to my rescue last night.

No, there had to be something else going on there. But I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what that could be. There was an underlying anger that seemed disproportionate to the situation.

My years of study kicked into high gear and of course I wanted to dissect him and get to the bottom of his issues. But where to start?

I convinced myself that it was the least I could do after what he’d done for me. Instead of dwelling on his rudeness towards me, and his abominable behavior, I chose instead to tell myself that he was a wounded soul who would benefit from my talents.

That made me feel even better, but I still didn’t know how to go about getting beneath that gruff demeanor that I never want to run into again. I got an idea when I pulled into town half an hour later.

Sure, why hadn’t I thought of this before? It was the most obvious solution and who better to get answers from than the man who should know him best? That went a long way to making me feel ten times better.

Some might say that I was a glutton for punishment, but once the haze of humiliation cleared and I saw things a little more clearly my nurturing instinct kicked in.

Of course he didn’t have a problem with me, why would he? We’d only just met. And besides, he’s been living out there in the middle of nowhere on his own before I came along.

I hadn’t seen any feminine touches around his home. There were no photographs of him wrapped around someone else, so Im guessing it’s safe to say that he was unattached.

As a psych major I’d done a few internships over the years and knew well the many varying psychosis of man. I’ve come to the conclusion from everything I’ve seen thus far that Braden is a lone wolf. I just need to figure out why.

“Of course.” It’s textbook behavior. His kind only knows how to keep people at arm’s length; it’s a defense mechanism. I felt better once I assured myself that I was right and no longer felt eviscerated by his harsh words and tone.

I pulled into the sheriff’s station feeling lots better than I did when I left the cabin. I didn’t stop to think about the can of worms I might possibly be opening up when I walk through those doors. All I knew was that I couldn’t just ignore that feeling.

Because all the while he was being obnoxiously rude, the whole time I was sitting out on his porch feeling awkward and out of place, my heart was beating sweeter than it ever has before.

The road ahead promised to be hard, perhaps harder than anything I’ve ever faced, but still, that feeling kept getting ever more persistent.

“What the fuck now?” I looked at the ringing phone tempted to leave it, but conditioning made me reach out and pick it up. It could be my little brother or one of my nieces or nephews.

Don’t let it be my sister in law. One annoying ass female was more than enough for any sane man in one day. Right now it’s a toss up between which of those two is the worst.

One I’ve known for years, the other a few minutes. That’s bad. The fact that I can’t choose which one is my worst fucking nightmare. It’s not looking so good for the princess.

I didn’t even feel bad for thinking that shit. My little sister knows I think she’s a pain in the ass. Doesn’t stop her from meddling in my shit. As to the other…

“What?” I barked into the phone.

“Hello big brother, and how are you this fine day?”

“Asshole, don’t you have a job?”

“Indeed I do, and part of that job is taking care of the safety and welfare of my citizens.”

“What the fuck? Who said I did shit?” Every once in a while some bleeding heart would complain to him that I shot at them or some fuck. The fuck are they doing traipsing around my land?

Not my fault they can’t read the Keep Out signs. Besides, I haven’t done that shit in about a month. “Did you curse at that nice young lady who came out to thank you this morning? You do know there’s a no swearing ordinance in our little town.”

“Fuck you I’m not in your town limits, I’m up here minding my own business. That’s what you get for sending her ass up here.” He sighed like a perturbed grandfather or some shit and started lecturing me. I hung up on his ass.

I should’ve known she’d go sniveling to him, like he could kick my ass, nosy fuck. I ignored the phone when it started ringing again and grabbed my gun as I headed out the door.

I need to pop off a few rounds to let off some steam and there’s no better way to do that than to go on the hunt. The way I’m feeling I’m not sure if I’m going after game or man.

I whistled for my dog whose lazy ass came running from around the side of the house. I saw him high tailing his ass back here a few minutes ago after the neighbor had chased him off no doubt. Fucker better not shoot my dog like he’s been threatening to.

Everybody knows his prize bitch is the neighborhood jump off. Maybe he should keep her well bred ass locked up somewhere. Of course that wouldn’t be a deterrent to my dog, whose trained to get into shit.

“Let’s go you. And the next time you pick sides with someone else you’re on your own. Jackass.” He complained in his way and trotted along beside me, not giving a fuck.

It didn’t work. Two hours spent shooting at shit and I still couldn’t get her off my mind. Only thing is, now, instead of seeing her eyes the way they looked the night before, I saw them filled with unshed tears. Put there by me. Fuck!

A cold beer out on the porch in the hot afternoon sun helped to take the edge off, just a little. And a constant reminder that I don’t owe her shit did the rest. Where is it written that I have to be nice? Wasn’t saving her ass nice enough?

“What’re you looking at?” Damn dog looks half human sometimes. His judgmental ass! “How is it my fault for being honest with her? She doesn’t think before she acts. She doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall, what the hell was she doing driving out here alone?” Damn mutt rolled his eyes at me.