Elly: Cowgirl Bride by Trish Milburn Read Free Book Online

after their dinner, then several times again the next night. Sweet dreams where she simply turned and looked at him with a beautiful smile. Dreams where they were riding horseback through the mountains, side by side. And then there were the dreams that left his heart pumping and other parts of him demanding satisfaction.
    He shook his head as he drove toward the Cottonwood Ranch, scolding himself for not being stronger in the face of her temptation. He’d changed so much in his life. Why couldn’t he cure his attraction to her like he had his allergic reactions? If only there was an anti-infatuation pill.
    How was he going to face her and not think about the dreams he’d had the night before? Would his inner dork come out and cause him to turn ten shades of red?
    The entrance to the ranch came into view. He slowed then waited for a dualie pickup hitched to a new trailer to pull out of the ranch road. He waved at the driver and glanced at the truck’s door as it passed. Longstreet Ranch—Billings, Montana. Looked like the Codys had sold a couple more quarter horses.
    Once the ranch road was clear, he made the turn through the large metal gate under the giant arch of elk and deer horns and tried for the millionth time to figure out what he was going to say to Elly when he saw her. If he saw her. There was no guarantee she was even at the ranch, though he certainly hoped so.
    When he arrived at the old homestead, he parked and ran up the front steps. He knocked but no one answered. He’d raised his hand to knock again when he heard the sound of hooves running. Will walked to the end of the porch and looked out across the ranch. No running horses in sight. But then he noticed the big door open at the end of the practice barn.
    He listened closer and realized he recognized the rhythm of hoofbeats as those of a horse rounding barrels. Instead of turning toward the ranch’s main office to see if Jesse was there, he gave in to temptation and headed toward the barn. He used to love to watch her ride, and he doubted that had changed, either. But now he wouldn’t make a fool of himself by breaking out in a fit of sneezing.
    When he entered the barn, he spotted her immediately.
    She stroked the big black horse’s shiny neck as she steered the animal out of the end of the arena. Will watched as she lined the horse up for another go at the barrels. As she kicked the animal into a full-on run, Will held his breath as she flew across the starting line and headed for the first barrel. Despite the fact she’d spent her entire life on a horse, he couldn’t help the moment of fear when he saw her speed, the difference in size between her and the animal she rode. His heart beat hard as she urged the horse tightly around the barrel, her inside boot nearly dragging the ground.
    She rounded the first barrel, giving it a good shave as she remained in total control of her powerful beast. Barrel two danced a little as she circled it, but it stayed upright. As she flew by, she was nothing but a blur of blue denim and green shirt, her braid flying out behind her. She and the mare seemed like one animal as she rounded the last barrel and raced back to the starting gate.
    A glance at the time caused her to whoop. Elly leaned forward and hugged the horse’s neck then guided her into a cooldown walk around the outer edge of the arena.
    Elly had been so much in her own world that she hadn’t noticed him until they were halfway up the side where he stood. When she smiled, his heart leaped for an entirely different reason.
    “You sure that horse doesn’t have wings?” he asked as he approached the fence circling the practice arena.
    She laughed, a musical sound with a hint of mischief. “Now that might come in handy.”
    The horse sniffed at him, so Will reached over the fence and let the animal smell his hand. “Don’t think you need wings. You were already flying.”
    “I’m going to have to if I want to win in Denver.”
    He looked up at