Her Country Heart by Reggi Allder Read Free Book Online Page B

welcome-to-your-new-home gift for Bobby.
    She’d hoped Wyatt’s truck would be there when she drove into the driveway of the old farmhouse. No luck. She’d better face the fact he wasn’t coming back to help her.
    She parked the car near the barn and locked the driver’s side door. Wyatt had use of the barn, but she still owned it. She had the right to enter the place and see if there was anything of value in the old building.
    It had been years since she’d been in there. With a yank on the barn door, she dragged it open. The large room smelled of hay and horses. A breeze blew through the door unsettling the dust and she sneezed. It took a second for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. The horse stalls were empty, but new hay filled the loft. She grimaced recalling the day she’d jumped off the loft and nearly landed on a pitch fork covered in hay.
    In the back right corner of the room equipment loomed casting dark shadows. From where she stood, she couldn’t make out the apparatus. As she slowly walked toward it her foot kicked something and glanced down to see the floor was covered with black rubber matting.
    A string hung from the rafters. She pulled it. A florescent light sputtered and blinked on, lighting a full state of the art workout room with a stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, free weights and a bench and more, Wyatt’s gear. He must have spent a lot of money on this setup. Did he have so much cash he would walk away from all this stuff just because he was pissed off at her? Where the hell was he? Was it any of her business?

 
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
     
    The sun sent a jab of daylight through the bare window and woke Wyatt. He threw off the cotton blanket and sat up on the sofa in his brother’s one bedroom apartment in Sacramento. With a deep breath, he stretched the crick out of his back. Then wrinkled his nose and glanced at the open plan kitchen piled high with dirty dishes, old pizza boxes and empty beer bottles. Hot air blowing in from the open kitchen window didn’t do much to mitigate the smell.
    Where did Wes keep the coffee? Wyatt rummaged through the cupboards. A bag of ground Italian roast beans and the French coffee press sat in the corner of the bottom shelf.
    Slowly the aroma of hot coffee began to replace the stale odor in the room.
    For no reason he could understand, an image of Amy stretched out in front of the fireplace, her eyes warm, and her full lips smiling at him flashed in his memory. His body tightened. The thought of touching her, kissing her, increased his temperature. She probably wondered where he was and why he had disappeared after they shared dinner together.
    He could have told her he was leaving to visit his brother, but explaining his movements wasn’t something he did easily. After spending the evening together, he’d felt something for Amy. He wasn’t about to figure out what. And he’d seen desire in her eyes as she smiled at him. It would have been easy to stay and get even closer. She wasn’t a virgin after all.
    He shook his head. It was better he left for a couple of days and got his mind back on track and his head on straight. Getting well so he could get back on the rodeo circuit was all he needed in his life now.
    Wes came into the living room wearing only his boxers. Wyatt smiled. His little brother had grown. Damn if he wasn’t almost as tall as his own six foot height. Wes ran his hands through his short brown hair.
    “I didn’t think you’d still be here.” Wes yawned. “I don’t want to be inhospitable, but I’ve got plans and they don’t include an older brother hanging around the living room. If you get my drift.”
    “Subtlety isn’t your strong suit bro. Don’t worry. I’ll be out before your woman gets here.” Wyatt laughed and then wrinkled his nose as the heat of the day increased the smell of beer and stale food. “If I were you, I’d get rid of the beer bottles and air out the place before your woman lands on your door