Cowboy with a Cause by Carla Cassidy Read Free Book Online

house?”
    “Quite well. Tilly Albright comes in a couple times a week to do some cleaning and cooking, but for the most part Melanie seems relatively self-sufficient inside the house,” Adam replied. He took a sip of his iced tea and thought about the past three days.
    It was as if he and Melanie had warily circled each other, careful not to step on each other’s toes or get too personal. For Adam the days had been particularly hard as he’d fought against a growing respect and the faint thrum of an unexpected desire for her.
    It had begun on the morning he’d frightened Tilly and raced down the stairs to explain to her that she knew him and he wasn’t the serial killer haunting the town. He’d been embarrassed to find himself on the stairs clad only in a towel, but he’d been enchanted when he’d seen Melanie in her dark blue nightgown.
    The spaghetti straps had exposed her slender shoulders, the silk material had hugged her curves and the plunging neckline had given him a glimpse of the grace of her long neck and the creamy skin of the top of her small breasts.
    He never really considered a real relationship with a woman before. He definitely knew he wasn’t in a place in his life to have anything to offer to a woman. With two months’ sobriety behind him and a need to figure himself out, the last thing he needed to do was drag a woman into the uncertainty of his own life.
    “Unc Dam!” Garrett exclaimed and with his cheesy finger pointed at Adam and smiled.
    “Uncle Adam loves you,” Adam replied and leaned over to kiss the boy on his dark hair.
    “He misses having you here,” Nick said.
    “It’s better this way,” Adam replied. “I needed my own space and so did the three of you.”
    “You coming back to work on the ranch?” Nick asked.
    “Only if you really need me. You were always the real rancher around here. I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
    Nick smiled at him. “Anything we can do to help?”
    “Nah, I think I need to suffer through this early midlife crisis all alone,” Adam responded.
    “If you trade your truck in for some fancy little sports car, then we’re stepping in,” Courtney said, making them all laugh.
    A half an hour later, as he drove past the lumber store, part of his conversation with his brother and sister-in-law still lingered in his head. On impulse he turned into the parking lot.
    When he’d asked Melanie why she didn’t go out, she’d said it was complicated. Hell yes, it was complicated without a ramp. He could only assume that when she went out to doctors’ appointments, she’d have to leave the house by the back door and go through the side yard and around to the front of the house to get into Tilly’s car.
    Minutes later, as he helped load the lumber and nails he’d just bought on the back of his truck, he knew that he was definitely overstepping his boundaries and he also knew he was running the risk of majorly ticking off Melanie. But the truth of the matter was he wanted more for her than she seemingly wanted for herself.
    Funny, for the last couple of months Adam had done nothing but look inward and feel sorry for himself. It felt good to actually do something for somebody else.
    He had no idea if she’d really use the ramp he intended to build, but he liked the idea that if she decided to venture outside, he was making it a little easier for her.
    He arrived back at the house just after two, lumber and tools loaded in the back of his truck. He didn’t go inside to tell her his intentions. He decided it would be easier to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission.
    He’d just started hammering the nails in the frame when the front door opened and Melanie appeared at the threshold. “What on earth are you doing?” she asked.
    He straightened and eyed her boldly. “Probably overstepping my boundaries.” He knew she possibly wouldn’t be happy, and she didn’t disappoint him. Her nostrils thinned and Adam