Page 6 of August’s Cowboy Braxton

Except Braxton James didn't care about my smile. He only cared about the fact that someone had been close enough to take that photo without me noticing. And now he wasn't going to let me out of his sight.

"Come on," he said. "We're meeting with the mayor."

"I have⁠—"

"A schedule. I know."

He turned and walked back into the August heat without waiting for me to follow, which should have annoyed me but instead made my pulse ratchet up in a way I refused to acknowledge.

I grabbed my phone, straightened my crown, and followed him.

Mayor Nelson had moved the meeting from the stock office to the operations tent once he realized how many people were about to show up. It sat near the main arena, shaded by tarps and surrounded by folding tables covered in schedules and vendor maps.

The mayor stood at the head of the table with Ruby by his side. Morgan Carter, the town planner who’d only moved to Mustang Mountain earlier in the year, leaned against the far end. Deputy Thompson stood near the entrance, his gaze sweeping over the grounds like he expected trouble to walk in at any second.

And Evie Mercer sat in the middle, perfectly composed, her silver hair styled in soft waves and her expression balancing somewhere between concerned and skeptical.

Evie had been my mentor since I was sixteen. She taught me how to work a crowd, how to handle sponsors without giving them more than I wanted to, and how to make everything look easy even when it wasn't. She'd been a regional rodeo queen decades ago, back when the circuit was smaller and the expectations were different, but she still carried herself like royalty.

She looked at me, then at Braxton, then back at me. "Addison, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Braxton glanced at me, his jaw tight. I ignored him.

Orville cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming on short notice. Braxton, you've seen the latest message?"

"Yeah." Braxton set his phone on the table. The photograph filled the screen. Me behind the barrel. Him by the door. Someone close enough to watch.

Ruby leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "That was taken recently."

"Minutes ago," Braxton said. "Whoever sent it was on the grounds when I found Addison."

Evie frowned. "So someone with a camera and a crush got too close. That's not exactly unusual at rodeo events."

Braxton's gaze flicked to her. "This isn't a crush."

"How do you know?"

"Because crushes don't escalate to threats in three days."

"Mr. James, I've worked with rodeo queens for thirty years.” Evie's smile thinned. “Addison receives messages all the time. Some of them are inappropriate but they’re harmless. You can't expect her to disappear every time someone sends her something creepy."

"I'm not asking her to disappear. I'm asking her to take this seriously."

"And I'm telling you that Addison has obligations. Appearances. Sponsors. Commitments that can’t be canceled just because someone makes her a little uncomfortable."

Braxton's expression didn't change. "Then her commitments are going to have a shadow."

Evie's eyes narrowed. "You're going to follow her everywhere?"

"Yes."

"Even during pageant events? Meet-and-greets? Photo ops?"

"Especially then."

Evie looked at me. "Addison, do you really want a bodyguard hovering over you all weekend?"