Cowboy with a Cause by Carla Cassidy Read Free Book Online Page B

her hands in his.
    Dainty and cold, it lay lifeless in his own, but he was shocked by the electric connection that sizzled through him at the simple touch.
    “People will only look at you with pity if you’re pitiful,” he said. “There’s a man here in town, Brandon Williams. He’s a war veteran, and his face is scarred, he’s bald and he’s in one of those motorized wheelchairs. He runs all around town. He’s pleasant and has a great sense of humor, and nobody feels sorry for him, because he obviously doesn’t feel sorry for himself.”
    Her hand slowly warmed and tightened in his. “But I do feel sorry for myself.” She offered him a small smile. “And I’m getting pretty sick of it, of myself.”
    “Then have dinner with me at the Cowboy Café tonight. Let people see that you’re in a wheelchair, but you’re just fine. Let them know that you’re dealing with the injury that sidelined you from your very successful career.”
    His desire to take her out was palpable in the air as she squeezed his hand even more tightly. He knew he was way too invested in getting her out of the house, out around people who might help her transition into a less lonely existence.
    She hesitated for a long moment and then nodded. “Okay,” she finally replied softly.
    “Great!” he exclaimed. He gave her hand an answering squeeze and then released it and stood. “Why don’t we plan on heading out of here in about an hour? That will get us to the café around six.”
    “I’m nervous,” she admitted and her lower lip trembled slightly.
    “There’s no need to be nervous. The people of this town are good people. Besides, I’ll be right beside you the whole night and I would never let anything bad happen to you.” As he said the words forcefully, he realized that Melanie Brooks was definitely getting under his skin and he wasn’t sure that was necessarily a good thing.

Chapter 4
    M yriad emotions whirled through Melanie as she dressed for the dinner out with Adam. There was no question that she was nervous about facing people, but there was also something about him that made her more than a little bit nervous.
    She stared at the mirror, and instead of seeing a reflection of herself, she saw herself as she’d once been. The young woman in the mirror was clad in a red costume that sparkled in the stage lights.
    She closed her eyes and raised her face as if to seek the warmth of a spotlight. She was comfortable there in the heat of the glare, and the dancer in her mind began to move, raising her leg behind her in a perfect arabesque. The beautiful ballet movement was followed by quick jazz steps that led into more classic ballet.
    The music of the dance swelled in her soul, tingled throughout her body and thrummed in her heart. She soared across the stage in leaps, executed perfect battements and developpes. She was one with the music. Her body responded in movement to the beat of the drums, to the throaty voice of a saxophone, to the trill of clarinets, all coming together in an orchestra of beauty.
    The audience roared their approval as she finally came to the end of the dance and curtsied.
    She opened her eyes and stared at her reflection, shocked to find herself a woman with runny mascara seated in a wheelchair. A ridiculous flight of fancy, she told herself as she hurriedly fixed her makeup. Adam was waiting for her and she was wasting time trapped in the past, remembering who she’d once been.
    With her face once again in order, she wheeled out of the bathroom and her bedroom to find him standing at the front door.
    “Ready?” he asked with an encouraging smile.
    “As ready as I’m going to get,” she replied.
    Adam took her outside and down the ramp to the sidewalk. Logically she knew she couldn’t hide out in the house forever, and she certainly couldn’t spend all her time lost in the past. Still, emotionally, she wasn’t at all sure she was ready to face anyone.
    She ran nervous fingers down the front