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testosterone parade going on inside.
    She walked to the rear of the bus and lifted the hatch to
aimlessly examine the inner workings as well as her opinion of Brett Taylor.
Maybe he’d been telling the truth—the girl was a cousin. Maybe he was different.
Maybe she should check back into reality. Regardless of his apparently
devastating divorce, men like Brett Taylor reveled in female adoration and took
supreme advantage of it. They could sleep their way across the country without
giving it a second thought. They could discard a woman’s feelings at the drop of
a cowboy hat and―
    “Is it going to make it to the next stop?”
    The voice was as deep and clear as the night sky and held a
touch of amusement. She looked up at the tall figure silhouetted against the
halogen guard light to see the man she’d just burned in effigy hovering over
her. She turned back to the engine and randomly tugged at a wire. “Considering
the low mileage on this monster, I imagine it will make the trip with no
problem. At least I hope so. My fragile little female feet might not be able to
handle walking.”
    “I don’t think anyone would consider you fragile, especially
with you hunkered down in front of an engine.”
    Cammie straightened, faced him and fanned away a persistent
moth. If only she could dismiss him as easily. “Obviously you think I have
fragile ears.”
    “We’re just trying to clean it up a little.” Brett rubbed his
jaw and studied her a long moment. “By the way, Bud just told me you sing.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I might have to kill him.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I haven’t sung in years. Wish he’d let it go.”
    “But he says you’re good.”
    “Bud’s biased.”
    “I kind of gathered that.” He took off his hat and forked a
hand through his dark hair. “What’s the deal with you and Bud? You two seem
pretty close.”
    Cammie blew out a frustrated breath. “He’s like a brother to
me. Before he came to work for you, he was a driver for my grandfather’s charter
business. He’s known me since I was in junior high.”
    He settled the hat back on his head and sent her a cynical
smile. “If you say so.”
    “I say so, and I need to finish up here.” She crouched down to
check the oil, hoping he’d take the hint and go away.
    “That’s the biggest dipstick I’ve ever seen,” he said as he
continued to loom over her. “Except for maybe Bull.”
    Cammie couldn’t help but smile even though she really didn’t
want to encourage him. After shoving the metal rod back in place, she stood and
slammed down the hatch, then turned back to him. “All through and ready to go.
Unless you’re expecting another cousin .”
    His grin deepened. “Nope. Just me, you and the boys.”
    Either she was imagining things, or he’d somehow moved closer.
She leaned back against the bus, feeling more than a little crowded and very
conscious of his charisma.
    He surveyed her face with eyes that looked incandescent, even
in the dim light. “I take it you didn’t like what you saw backstage.”
    A definite understatement. “It’s really none of my business
what you do in your spare time.”
    “But you don’t approve.”
    He was too close for her comfort, but she couldn’t move without
bumping into him. “What I think about your exploits shouldn’t matter to
you.”
    “It does.”
    She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
    “I just think since we’re going to be spending a lot of time
together, we should have an understanding about some things.”
    “Look, if you’re waiting for me to say I approve of
indiscriminate sex, then you’ll be standing here all night.”
    “Sometimes it’s part of the life.”
    “It’s a choice. And men who choose it are on the bottom of my
list.”
    Brett took a step back and frowned. “Guess I’m treading on
shaky ground here. What was his name?”
    She feared Bud had revealed more than just her singing
abilities. “Excuse me?”
    “The man who stomped on your