Big Sky Eyes by Sawyer Belle Read Free Book Online

place.
    “You’ve got big sky eyes, Mackenna,” he said.
    “What?” she asked with a confused smile.
    “Your eyes,” he repeated. “They’re the color of a clear,
blue Montana sky.”
    “Thank you,” she said quietly, fighting a blush that was
simmering inside of her cheeks. She blinked rapidly a few times and lowered her
eyes demurely, knowing that she must have seemed girly and meek to him. He
almost laughed at her shy, feminine response to a simple compliment. Instead,
he took advantage of her diverted gaze and began tying the rope around his
saddle horn.
    “I’ve got a question for you.”
    “Yes?” she asked hopefully.    
    “How are you with knots?”
    “Knots,” she repeated dryly on deflated dreams.
    “Yep,” he quipped cheerily. “See if you can figure this one
out. If you can, I’ll see you at dinner. If not, I’ll come back and help you
out.”
    She gasped as he stepped around her and headed toward the
barbeque. She looked at the confusing twists of the rope wrapped around the
horn. The bit around her waist was too tight for her to shimmy out of. She
shook her head at his gall and turned to hear him whistling as he sauntered
off.
    “Brent!” she called out. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
    “Just having a little…what was it you called it? Fun!”
    Her mouth was left hanging open and her eyes narrowed in
shock. After a full minute, she snapped her mouth shut and shook her head.
    “Why, you little son of a…”

 
    Brent gnawed on a rib bone, fighting back a fit of
triumphant giggles. He’d been eating for twenty minutes already and had seen no
sign of Mackenna. He knew she would never be able to figure out that knot. It
had taken him three years to do it. So, she thought he wasn’t handy with a rope,
eh? She would learn her lesson this night.
    As he was imagining the look of utter defeat and
bewilderment on her face when he’d go to rescue her, she plopped down on the
ground beside him and stuck out her hands to warm them near the fire. The look
he had just been envisioning on her face was now firmly plastered across his.
    “Aah,” she moaned. “That fire feels nice.”
    “How…” was all he could manage and that on barely a whisper.
    “It was pretty tough,” she said nonchalantly. “I’ll give you
that one, but all it takes is a little brain power. I mean, seriously, Brent.
It’s just a rope. How difficult can it be?”
    He fought the urge to huff defiantly.
    “I’ll tell you how difficult it is,” he defended. “It took
me three years to figure it out!”
    “Really?” she said incredulously, then grimaced. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to touch a nerve.”
    “You have got to be kidding me,” he sputtered again. “There
is no way that you figured that out. You must have seen that one before.”
    “Nope, this was the first time. Oh, and before I forget,
here’s your rope.”
    She handed it to him, perfectly coiled and tied. He tossed
it angrily on the ground, as if it had betrayed him and Mackenna fought back
her own laughter.
    “I can’t believe it took you three years,” she jabbed. “Man,
I guess women really are smarter than men. How is it your species has ruled the
world for so long?”
    He shook his head, still flabbergasted.
    “So, I’ll hear it from you now,” she said haughtily.
    “Hear what?”
    “Hear that I beat you at your own game.”
    “Not a chance,” he said, recoiling.
    “So, you’re a sore loser then, too?”
    He grunted, looking sideways at her.
    “Come on,” she urged. “Let’s hear it.”
    He sighed heavily and then turned to her in defeat. “Fine. You won. You beat me at my own game.”
    She laughed triumphantly. “Don’t feel too bad. It really was
quite clever of you to leave me tied up there. It’s not your fault that I’m
cleverer.”
    Before Brent could bite back with the retort on his lips, Ty
stood on the other side of the fire holding several lengths of frayed rope.
    “Whose is this?” he called out.