Protecting Tricia by Pamela Tyner Page A

behind her. She concentrated on putting a
little extra swing in her hips and hoped Clint was watching, otherwise all that
effort was for nothing.
    The second she pulled the door open, a variety of sounds
assaulted her ears. A multitude of voices laughed and talked, practically yelling
to be heard over the loud country music playing in the background.
    She stepped inside and examined the interior of the
building. It basically was one enormous room, and it was filled with people.
Some stood at the bar, others sat on stools, and still more were at tables.
Everyone was dressed in jeans and a good portion of them had a Stetson plopped
on their head.
    A band played on a stage on the opposite side of the room.
In front of the stage, a huge dance floor was filled with couples plastered
together swaying to the music.
    Fans attached to the ceiling swirled, circulating the air.
But they weren’t powerful enough to dissolve the lingering haze of smoke hanging
in the room.
    “There’s a table.” Clint placed his hand on the small of her
back and steered her toward the back corner.
    As they made their way across the room, she caught a
customer at the bar staring at her. The man was built like a football player. A
bulky body, massive shoulders, and the most enormous neck she had ever seen in
her life. While Tricia didn’t find him particularly attractive, the admiration
in his eyes gave her confidence an immediate boost, and her lips curved in
response.
    Clint shifted his hand from her back to her waist, pulling
her close to him. She glanced up to see him scowling at her admirer. And her
smile grew even bigger.
    They continued toward the table and had just sat down when a
waitress came over to take their order.
    Tricia looked up at the woman and smiled widely. “Hello,
Candy. It’s so nice to see you again.”
    Her eyes skimmed Candy’s outfit. She wore jean shorts which
were so tight Tricia wondered how she managed to breathe. The cotton tank top,
several sizes too small, stretched snugly over her curves, putting her breasts
prominently on display. The top was tucked into the shorts, emphasizing her
tiny waist. No doubt the outfit increased her tips—from her male customers at
least.
    Candy nodded. There was no smile on her lips. “Tricia.”
    Candy moved her gaze from Tricia to Clint. Now she smiled.
But it wasn’t the same flirty smile she had given Clint in the department
store. This one was tight and plainly forced.
    “What can I get for you?” she asked Clint.
    He pushed his hat back on his head and grinned at Candy.
Obviously, that charming smile of his wasn’t working, because her expression
didn’t soften. And it didn’t surprise Tricia in the least that it hadn’t worked,
because when his lips had curved up, all it did was emphasize the lipstick mark
she’d left on the corner of his mouth.
    “Two beers,” Clint said.
    Candy lifted a brow, cut her gaze to Tricia for a brief
second, and shifted it back to Clint. “Are you sure she should be drinking in
her condition?”
    “What?” Tricia asked.
    “Well...” Clint’s gaze met hers. “Candy’s friends with Beth.
Beth is the cashier at the drugstore. As a matter of fact, she was working this
morning.”
    Now she understood. Beth had been working when Clint had
dragged her into the store to buy that pregnancy test. Apparently, Beth had
informed Candy of the purchase.
    “It’s so sweet of you to be concerned, Candy. But it’s safe
to bring me a beer.” She wrapped both her hands around Clint’s arm.
“Unfortunately, the results were negative.” She released a sad sigh. “But we’re
hopeful the next time will be different.”
    Without a word Candy disappeared into the crowd. She
returned minutes later with their beers and slammed the bottles down on the
table. Clint gave her a cautious look as he removed his wallet from his back
pocket. He held out some bills, and Candy jerked them from his hand and stalked
off.
    Tricia reached for her beer. “Oh, she