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And now he was here.

On her family’s ranch.

In her life.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

He gave her a look she suspected he thought was flirtatious. “I loved that white frilly blouse you wore in your last video.”

Comments like that hinted at something intimate. After she’d posted the video, she’d wondered if she should reshoot it because the blouse had dipped way low, showing off an uncomfortable-for-her amount of cleavage. But her sister Melody had come in asking for help with something in the bar, said she loved the look and the ballad, and told her she should embrace what their mama gave them and post it.

Now she regretted both listening to her outgoing little sister and posting the video.

“Rick, I want to be very clear. I appreciate that you’re a fan of the online stuff I do and that you think I’m a songwriter you’d like to work with. But if we collaborate, that’s all it is. Work. I’m not interested in anything beyond that.”

“You want to keep things professional.”

Hope flared that he understood and would abide by her wishes. “Yes. Exactly.”

“There’s a time and place for everything.” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving her feeling like he hadn’t heard her at all.

Alone, she let loose. “Fuck!” She hardly ever swore out loud, but Rick had flustered her, and she didn’t like the feeling one bit. Or this situation.

Bruin raised his big russet head and stared at her wide-eyed, his ears back.

She tried to soothe him. “Sorry for yelling, baby.”

Her dad’s truck pulled into the drive by the barn.

Feeling frustrated and exposed, she ran out to him and threw her arms around him.

He hugged her back. “What’s wrong? Is this about that guy at the bar?”

Her whole family wondered about Viper and whatever it was they had going that had seemed to disappear along with him.

Where was he?

What had happened?

Why would he just disappear like that?

Was he coming back?

Was he okay?

Was she? Because she couldn’t stop thinking about him. And maybe that made her a little obsessed.

She leaned back and stared into her dad’s concerned eyes. “Not him. He’d never do something like this.” She knew that to her soul. Viper, for all his gruff, quiet ways would never impose himself on her. He’d be direct and ask for what he wanted, not steamroll right over her.

Her dad raised a brow. “What happened?”

“You know how you’re always telling me to be careful online?”

He frowned. “Is someone harassing you again?”

She’d blocked a couple people, who’d just come back under different names. She’d blocked them again, sometimes multiple times before they gave up.

“I don’t want to sound the alarm when nothing bad has happened”—yet—“but I think I have a situation that maybe I can’t handle on my own.”