Cowboy in My Pocket by Kate Douglas Read Free Book Online Page A

hands were rough and work-worn, with deep ridges where the leather reins must pass between his thumb and forefinger. She thought about his hands, their strength and size, and how gentle they felt.
    Gentle, strong and warm. A woman would feel sheltered by those hands. Sheltered and protected from just about anything.
    She looked up into those midnight blue eyes staring back at her and wondered if he had any idea how confused she felt at this moment. There was no reason to believe she wasn’t exactly what he’d said, an ex–barrel racer now a bride of convenience he’d lined up with the help of his ex-fiancée, Betsy Mae.
    But none of it felt right.
    Why was her head so full of rodeo, images of such static clarity they might have been photographs? Why did this man beside her look familiar, when she shouldn’t even know him?
    Why can’t I remember?
    A teasing image flashed across her mind, tall buildings and crowded sidewalks and a taxi blaring, then just as quickly the image faded.
    Leaving another tremendous headache in its wake.
    “Are you all right?” He reached out and lifted her chin with one finger. His eyes darkened with concern.
    “Just a headache,” she replied honestly. “I’ll be fine.”
    “Good.” He squeezed her fingers, took another deep breath, and she heard him swallow. “Then kiss me.”
    “What?” She yanked her hands out of his and scooted away.
    “Kiss me. Or I can kiss you. Whichever.” The expression on his face was one of grim determination. In fact, she thought he looked like a man facing an IRS audit.
    “I don’t think so.” She glared at him out of narrowed eyes. She really wasn’t ready for this. Not yet, anyway. Obviously, neither was he.
    “You’ll have to kiss me at the wedding,” Tag said. “I think we need to practice or we’ll look like a couple of fools. My grandmother will never believe we’re in love, much less married.” He reached up and twisted one long strand of her hair around his fingers. For a moment the look that crossed his face was one of loss and longing.
    “That’s all, Lee. Just a few kisses to convince my grandmother. You don’t have to lie about who you are or what you did for a living, where you come from, anything other than how we met.” His gentle words took on a forceful note. “I know you’ve decided to get out of rodeo. Betsy Mae told Will you really need the money. The simpler we keep this, the better. But you’ll have to kiss me occasionally or my grandmother’ll guess in a heartbeat.”
    So many questions, and absolutely no answers. Why did her body respond to his touch, when her mind screamed beware ?
    Everything depended on her success at the Double Eagle. Why did she know that? How would Betsy Mae know she needed money? Lee tilted her head and studied his wary expression. He certainly didn’t look like he wanted to kiss her all that much. “So you think we need to practice?” she said, watching his expression and stalling for time. When he nodded his head, she looked down and smoothed the covers across her lap.
    “Just a little,” he said, dropping the strand of hair to lightly stroke her shoulder. “Just enough to be convincing.”
    “Oh.” She shivered under the light caress, suddenly so aware of him, of his size, his presence, his almost careless sensuality. She had a feeling it wasn’t going to be difficult at all to make this convincing.
    The hard part would be remembering, not her past, but the reality of the present. This meant nothing to him.
    Playacting, to put one over on a little old lady. She’d have to give that some thought as well. Lying didn’t set well with her at all. She might not be positive that Lee Stetson was really her name, but she knew she was an honest woman.
    She knew she’d been lonely. With that knowledge came awareness, and an almost shameful sense of vulnerability. How easy it could be to forget this was basically theater to him.
    It was up to her to prevent it from becoming a