To Claim a Wilde (Wilde In Wyoming Book 6) by Kimberly Kaye Terry Page B

believe
every
eligible single man knew within minutes. And you already told me everything about Naomi’s situation!” he said, reminding Canton of their earlier conversation.
    Then he’d needled him, asking if he minded if someone made a move on her...that was unless Canton had the hots for her...still.
    Now, just as he had then, briefly, Canton wanted to knock his good-looking friend’s teeth down his throat when he’d mentioned how beautiful she was, and that
he
wanted to make a move on her.
    “And two,” Ray continued, unaware of or not giving a damn about Canton’s irritation, “you forget I was there the night you two...uh, met,” Ray finished, examining imaginary dirt under his short nails. Canton would bet his last dollar it was more like his buddy didn’t give a crap if he was irritating him or not...in fact, he’d bet his last penny he was doing it
just
to irritate him.
    Canton sat back in his chair, saying nothing, just listening.
    “You also know her family is in hock. And I’m guessing your plan is to play this out as much as you can and be her knight in shining armor, huh?” Although laugh lines scored his friend’s face, there was an undercurrent of...something else besides humor there.
    If Canton didn’t know any better, he would say his friend was warning him off, as though he would either hurt Naomi or get hurt himself.
    “Question is, who you really tryin’ to rescue, man?” he asked, his tone casual, but a trace of caution running through his tone.
    “Hell, it’s not my business either way. So... Ima let that sit right there for a sec. Take your time answering.”
    The two longtime friends each took the other’s measure. What started off as their normal lighthearted banter had turned serious in less time than it had taken for Canton to read the entire file he’d asked Ray to retrieve for him.
    For whatever reason, Ray had taken it upon himself, obviously, to look into the file Canton had asked for. So of course he had put a few things together.
    Not that he cared. Ray was not only his best friend, but had been his right-hand man for nearly seven years, since he’d asked him to come on board and work with him at Wilde Oil Enterprises.
    There were few to no secrets between the two men, and in fact, Ray was like a brother to him.
    But even in that, he wasn’t ready to play Oprah to his Gayle and open up that damn much. There was only so much “male bonding” a man could do.
    “You know so much, inch-high private eye, why don’t you tell me?” he grunted, insulting his friend for the two-inch difference in their height, something he’d been doing since puberty.
    As usual, Ray brushed off the insult and laughed. “Naw... I think Ima let you figure that one out, man. Unless you need something else, I’m heading home. And by home, I mean out to find a willing woman who will, as the Staples Singers once sang, ‘take me there.’”
    “I’m good. I’ll catch up with you later,” was Canton’s reply, his attention back to the file on the screen.
    Left alone, he recalled the encounter with Naomi.
    It had been two days since he’d left it up to her to contact him next. He knew it had to be her decision ultimately. She had to feel as though she were the one in control.
    He’d left a message with her the night she had left him, late, one that had gone directly to her voice mail, as she no doubt had her phone turned off, something he’d wanted. He’d made sure it was late, and in fact didn’t want to speak to her. He had been banking on the fact that she’d be asleep and would see he’d left a message the next day.
    In the message he’d informed her that if she were willing to take on the “assignment” of being his escort, in exchange for his family trying to help hers to reclaim their land, she had forty-eight hours to decide.
    And
only
forty-eight hours.
    With that, he’d waited. The ball was in her court now. At least seemingly. He knew she’d do anything it took to