9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC by Sandy Sullivan Read Free Book Online Page B

you?”
    “Definitely,
but the mamas are after every one of us to marry their daughters.”
    “Really?”
His eyes crinkled at the corner as he glanced out the window.
    “It
looks like Dad is headed to the barn. Let’s go see what’s up.”
    “Oh.
Great!”
    She
met him around the front of the car seconds later. He grabbed her hand again to
help guide her to the barn he said, since darkness had fallen in an inky black
curtain on the ranch. Soft country music wafted from the speakers next to the
bonfire where several people sat around the crackling light. They would go
there after the barn, she hoped. She hadn’t been to a bonfire since summer camp
approximately fifteen years before. S’mores ? Hmm.
She’d have to ask Joel if they had chocolate, marshmallows, and graham
crackers, but then again, if she had her choice, she’d take the chocolate
dessert they had at dinner. The smooth chocolate and whipped cream mixture was
what chocolate dreams were made of.
    “Careful.
It’s so dark you can hardly see your hand in front of your face. Without a
flashlight, you could twist an ankle or something.”
    “But
look at all the stars.” She stopped so she could look up at the night sky.
Billions of stars winked off and on lighting up the sky. “Look! A shooting
star.” She closed her eyes to make a wish though she couldn’t believe she
wished for a kiss.
    “What
did you wish for?”
    “I
can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
    “Sure
you can. I won’t tell a soul. I promise.”
    “All
right. I wished you would kiss me.”
    She
could see the white of his teeth as he smiled. “Is that all?”
    “Yes.”
The word came out in a soft whisper.
    He
stepped in front of her and slipped his hand along her cheek to bury his fingers
in her hair. God, it felt wonderful. The
slight tug on her scalp set her heart to racing a hundred miles a minute. A
flutter started in her belly, spreading lower until she felt on fire from his touch.
She closed her eyes as his warm breath spread across her lips. Her lips parted
on a sigh, accepting the warmth of his mouth. His lips were soft, yet strangely
unyielding, like he wanted to absorb her strength through her mouth. One of his
hands rested on her hip, pulling her into the curve of his body. His chest felt
hard beneath her hands. The soft brush of his tongue on her lips parted them to
his invasion. She wanted this, needed to feel alive, needed to be a woman
again.
    A
soft moan escaped her as he took the kiss deeper, bringing both of his hands up
to cup her face.
    The
sound of wolf whistles brought her back to the present as she heard the
catcalls from his brothers near the fire. Joel stepped back, breaking the kiss.
    “Sorry.”
    “I’m
not. It was totally worth it.”
    He
laughed and grabbed her hand again as they continued on their way to check on
the foal.
    The
barn came into view when they rounded the corner of the house. The large, two
story structure with wide doors stood outlined by the moon in the background. A
single, bare light bulb in the middle of the row of stalls reflected the black,
wrought iron parts of the upper doors where the horses could stick their heads
through. The barn was pretty fancy from what she knew about barns. Wood
surrounded the bottoms of the stalls and each one had a sliding door. One off
to the right stood open. She could see Joel’s dad crouched on the floor next to
the mare’s head.
    “How
is she, Dad?”
    “She’s
laboring pretty hard, son. I hope she foals soon.” His big hands ran down the
heaving sides of the mare. “I think the foal is pretty big for her, but she
could drop it shortly.”
    “Do
you mind if I stay and watch?” she asked.
    “Oh,
hi. I didn’t see you there.” He glanced back down to
the mare. “You can stay as long as you like but it might be a while yet.”
    “I
don’t mind.” She took out the ever-present notebook from her purse and jotted
down information. She wanted to get the whole thing on paper for