A Cowboy's Woman

A Cowboy's Woman by CATHY GILLEN THACKER Read Free Book Online

Book: A Cowboy's Woman by CATHY GILLEN THACKER Read Free Book Online
Authors: CATHY GILLEN THACKER
he’d grown up that way, always getting himself in and out of one scrape after another. Whereas she rarely, if ever, did anything to upset her parents in the slightest, even if it meant forgetting all about what she wanted and concentrating only on what they wanted for her.
    â€œUntil then, we keep to our plan and prove together in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways that we are about as mismatched a couple as they come. After a while our
families will stop wanting us to be a cute couple. They’ll be relieved when we split. And not at all inclined to match either of us with anyone again, which will in turn leave us free to pursue our own lives exactly as we please—without comment from our folks—exactly as we should’ve been doing for years now,” he finished stubbornly.
    Was his convoluted logic beginning to make sense? Greta wondered uneasily. Or had she simply gone loco, too? With a great deal of effort Greta forced her mind back to even more important matters they had yet to touch on. “Normally, Shane, that would be fine,” she told him. “Unfortunately I have a reputation to maintain.”
    Shane slanted her a bad-boy smile that was enough to make her stomach drop. “That’s what I thought we were workin’ on, Greta, darlin,” he teased in a soft, sexy voice that had her tingling all over.
    And it was then Greta knew she couldn’t even think about ever kissing him again. Because if she did, there was no telling what would happen.
    â€œA professional reputation,” Greta said. “You may not have heard, but I’ve just bought a business. My dinner and dance hall—”
    â€œThe Lone Star Dance Hall, right?”
    â€œRight.” Greta nodded, then continued. “It’s opening on Saturday night.”
    Shane shrugged his broad shoulders, unconcerned. “And I close on my new horse ranch later this afternoonif all the paperwork is in order by then and I suspect it will be.”
    Her new “husband” wasn’t the first person not to take her seriously but by golly he was sure going to be the
last. Greta’s lips set stubbornly. “I don’t want to lose any bookings because of this.”
    â€œYou need publicity to open a place like that, don’t you?”
    â€œOf course.” She twisted the wedding band on her left hand, hating the cheap insubstantial feel of it even as she relished the memory of their wildly exciting escapade the night before.
    â€œAnd publicity is expensive?” Shane persisted in that excessively smooth, practical tone that always preceded one of his misadventures.
    Greta regarded Shane cautiously, aware it would be all too easy to get hopelessly caught up in whatever Shane was planning next. To her own detriment, of course. Determined not to let him get her into any scrape she couldn’t handle, Greta calmly answered his question about publicity. “Some types are...like radio and newspaper advertising.” She’d done a limited amount already, but unfortunately her budget had fallen far short of what she would have liked to do.
    â€œThink of all the free publicity our elopement will get you,” Shane continued enthusiastically as he reached over and gave her bare knee a warm, companionable squeeze. “Everyone’s going to be talking about it. And everyone’s gonna want to get a gander at the two of us.”
    Greta plucked his warm, callused hand—which was causing far too many tingles just sitting there—from her skin and set it on his own. “You think they’d show up at Greta’s just to see us?”
    â€œOh, yeah.” Shane braked as they approached the turn-off from the main highway to a less-traveled ranch road. “Come opening night,” Shane predicted boldly,
“I think it’s gonna take a fire marshal to keep the crowds away.”
    Greta wasn’t so sure about that. She did know if they were in for a penny,

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