Forbidden Passions by India Masters Read Free Book Online Page B

early Monday morning.” She looked at Archer and laughed, shaking her head. “Gentlemen, it’s been real enlightening.” She urged the flighty Cinnamon into a gallop and raced to catch up with her sister.
    “So, how long has this thing with Arch been going on?” Libby asked when she finally caught up with Alex. “I thought you said it was over.”
    “It is over!” Alex shouted the words, a world-class scowl on her face.
    Libby leveled a gaze on her, raised an eyebrow. “Honey, what I saw was about as far from over as it gets. Five more minutes and he’d have had you bent over that boulder with your pants to your ankles. That is definitely not over, by any definition I’ve ever heard.”
    Alex heaved a sigh. “He was using me. For sex.”
    Libby nearly choked. “Oh, please, no man uses Alex Wild for sex unless she wants him to. Not and lives to tell about it. Try again, big sister.”
    “He was cheating on me. I saw him at Bubba’s with Mavis Gardner.” Her voice broke when she spoke the other woman’s name.
    Libby’s heart ached for her sister. “Alex, Bodie and Ty said it was perfectly innocent. They were both in there at the same time and just shared a table.”
    Alex sniffed. “Yeah, that’s what Arch said, but Mavis said different, and you know the Cade men.”
    They arrived at Little Rocky Creek and dismounted, loosening the saddle girths for their animals’ comfort.
    “I do know the Cade men,” Libby reasoned. “I know Mavis Gardner is the town slut too. And it’s true Arch has had his share of women, but I’ve never known him to be a liar.”
    Alex sighed. “I know. But it’s too late now. I made my bed—”
    “But wouldn’t you rather lie in it with Arch?”
    Alex untied a blanket from her saddle and spread it on the ground while Libby grabbed her saddlebags.
    “I guess I would, but—”
    “But nothing, Alex. You were wrong, and you need to call him and apologize. From where I was standing, he still wants you, and you’re a fool if you don’t try to make it right before it’s too late. You do realize Archer is seriously hot, right?”
    The sisters doffed their hats and boots and sat down on the thick blanket. Alex had put together quite the spread—thick roast beef sandwiches, home-canned pickles, an assortment of fresh-cut vegetables, and for dessert, fat, chewy macaroons.
    Libby ate a macaroon first, moaning at the sweet treat. “Oh, man, I’d forgotten how good you make these. How, I’ll never know, ’cause you can’t cook for shit.” She licked her fingers. “I swear, if you were ever inclined to give up ranchin’, you could go into the cookie-baking business.”
    “Didn’t anybody ever tell you dessert comes after the meal?”
    “Sure.” Libby snatched another cookie from the plastic bag. “But I’m all grown up now, and I can eat whatever I damn well please.” She popped the entire cookie in her mouth. “Hey, Alex, you like seafood?” Before her sister could answer, Libby opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.
    Alex groaned, then laughed. “Eeww, gross!” But she bit into her sandwich, chewed a couple of times, and did the same thing to her sister.
    They dissolved into laughter, then settled down to eat their lunch. It occurred to Libby, as they silently polished off the food, that not much had changed over the years. She and Alex still ate with the dedication of ranch hands, and the Little Rocky still ran fast and clear.
    Libby cleaned up the picnic mess and eyed the creek. “I see our little pool is still there.”
    Alex nodded and belched. “Sorry. Yep, me and the hands keep it up. I figured there’d come a day you might come home and wanna use it.”
    Libby unbuttoned her work shirt and pulled off her tank top. “Well, you figured right.” She sniffed her pits. “Jeez, I smell like a goat from mucking those stalls.” She undid her jeans and shimmied them down.
    Alex stared at her. “Damn, little sister, you filled out real nice. Check you