Seconds after closing her eyes, her breathing became shallow, signaling that she’d fallen asleep.
Chance set the cruise control and adjusted the position of the steering wheel down to a more comfortable angle. He draped his left wrist over the top, then settled back for the long drive ahead. He had a lot to think about and several hundred miles to get it all sorted out.
Although Kristen hadn’t exactly warmed up to him, he’d noticed a vulnerability about her in the hotel room once she’d regained consciousness. There had been an uncertainty in her demeanor that he never in a million years would have associated with the ice maiden. She’d turned pale as a ghost when he’d mentioned sending those reports to her father.
A bull of a man, Mike Lassiter wore his expensive western-cut suits with a style and grace that belied his considerable size. But that hadn’t been what made a lasting impression on Chance. It had been the open hostility Lassiter displayed on the few occasions they’d been around each other. Chance couldn’t remember ever having talked to the man. But for some reason, each time he caught Lassiter staring at him, the man’s eyes had been filled with intense loathing.
Chance absently stroked Kristen’s silky auburn hair with his right hand. From the look of fear she’d displayed at the thought of going back to Dallas to face her father, Chance figured the rumors about Lassiter had to be right on the money. Over the years, Chance had heard plenty about Mike Lassiter and his demands of perfection; how he made it impossible for anyone to ever live up to his expectations. It was even rumored the man’s late wife had died from being so unhappy.
Chance glanced down at his own sleeping wife. How could any man intentionally create the apprehension in a woman that he’d seen in Kristen? And why?
His hand, draped over the steering wheel, tightened into a fist at the thought of anyone intimidating Kristen.
He had a feeling he was about to jump buck-naked into a hornet’s nest, but he’d be damned if he’d let Mike Lassiter run roughshod over Kristen. Even though their marriage was temporary, as her husband, Chance had an obligation to protect her. And if that meant crossing her own father to do it, then that’s exactly what he’d do.
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