Jenna's Cowboy Hero by Brenda Minton

think about promises, and forever. If a man was so inclined. He wasn’t.
    He had dated a lot. He hadn’t treated the women badly. He hadn’t hurt anyone. He’d just kept it simple and protected himself from entanglements and women who wanted to use him.
    Or at least that’s the life he’d lived for the last few years. Since Paula. He’d never admit she broke his heart. He could admit she’d temporarily broken his bank account. For a few months he’d really thought he’d found the woman who loved him, not his career, not the spotlight.
    He’d been wrong.
    Jenna walked up to the sedan that parked next to her truck. Adam slipped his phone back into his pocket, wondering if he’d ended his call with Will. Jenna nodded in his direction and smiled a faint smile. As he crossed the lawn, she headed toward him, halting once.
    â€œHelp has arrived.” She waved her arm to include the cars and trucks that had lined up in the drive, some pulling off into the grass to park.
    â€œYes, this definitely looks like help.” He turned at the sound of a tractor heading in their direction.
    â€œThat would be Clint with his Brush Hog. It’ll get this place mowed in no time.”
    A tractor with a mower that would cut swaths a good five feet wide. He liked that idea. But the wheels in his mind were turning as he watched people get out of their cars.
    â€œWhat was that look for?” Jenna’s hand slipped through his arm and he didn’t object. He looked away, pretending not to notice that she leaned against him, her grip on his arm tightening.
    â€œWhat look?” he said, pasting a smile in place of the frown she must have noticed.
    â€œThe I’m-about-to-get-taken-to-the-cleaners look.”
    Had she really seen that in his expression? Had he gotten that cynical? He looked down, and he smiled because she was smiling at him. But he had gotten that cynical. He did expect to be used. The reality of that thought knotted in his stomach.
    He didn’t like seeing himself in a way he hadn’t seen himself before. He didn’t like looking at himself through Jenna Cameron’s eyes.
    â€œI had a budget for this place and the budget is pretty much used up, thanks to Billy,” he admitted.
    â€œAdam, this is a community and what you’re doing will help kids here as well as outside the community. We’re all here to be a part of that, no strings. Not for you, but for those kids.”
    â€œOuch.”
    â€œAh, did that bruise your ego?”
    â€œOnly a little.”
    â€œDo you really need for this to be all about you?”
    â€œYou are about the most scrappy female I’ve ever met. No, I don’t need for this to be about me. I’m just…”
    â€œIt’s okay. Now you know that we’re just here to help, so let’s get busy. Pastor Todd is going to be a big help. He was a youth minister for years and organized retreats and camps.”
    She nodded toward the pastor who had gotten out of his car. Jenna’s hand slipped off his arm and she took a few steps, then waited for him to join her. Time to get started. Time to be involved in this camp and this community.
    Six months ago, when he’d undertaken this venture, it had been Billy’s camp and Adam’s money. It had been about a tax write-off and something good on hisrésumé. He wouldn’t have to show up, except once in a while for a photo opportunity.
    And here he was, in charge.
    No, not really in charge. He was the owner, but Jenna Cameron was definitely in charge.
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    Jenna couldn’t stop smiling as she watched people getting out of their cars. The men had tool boxes, the women had cleaning supplies. She was so proud of her church, her community. She could think that now, with troubled years behind her and turbulent waters long under the bridge.
    Ten-year-old Jenna had avoided these people like the plague. They were the people who had