Jenna's Cowboy Hero by Brenda Minton Read Free Book Online

mystery owner of the camp.”
    â€œAdam is building a youth camp?” Clint followed her to the barn door with the mare. “The mystery deepens.”
    Jenna laughed. “It isn’t a mystery. Billy was his cousin and he convinced Adam to buy the land and start this camp.”
    â€œSis, you know he’s trouble, right?”
    â€œI don’t think he’s trouble. I think he’s confused.”
    Clint shook his head. “Remember when you thought a baby skunk would be a good pet because it didn’t spray you?”
    â€œI remember.”
    She laughed at the memory. Because eventually the skunk did spray her. She gave it to a zoo and missed school for a week. She really did learn by her mistakes. Sometimes it just took a few tries before the lesson sank in.
    Men were included in the list of mistakes she’d learned her lesson from. The father of her boys had walked out on her. He went back to California, and she let him go because she knew she couldn’t force him to stay and love them. The soldier she’d fallen in love with, he’d written her a Dear Jane letter after her surgery.
    She would never again own a pet skunk. She wouldnever again fall for a pretty face and perfect words. She had a five-year plan that didn’t include falling in love.
    â€œHe’s getting out of his truck,” Clint warned as he took the halter off the mare and slapped her rump to send her back to the field with the rest of the horses.
    Jenna nodded. “He wants to talk to you about buying horses. And since he’s here to see you, I’m going to the house.”
    â€œAre you running?” Clint followed her to the front of the barn. And the twins were no longer sitting in the grassy area with their toy cars.
    â€œNope, just leaving.”
    â€œAre you afraid of him?” Clint caught hold of her arm. “Jenna, did he say something to you?”
    â€œNo, and I’m not afraid.” Much . “I have to check on the boys. They’ve abandoned the road they were building for their toy trucks. I need to see where they went.”
    â€œThat’s because they’re showing Adam something.” He nodded in the direction of the blue truck that was parked a short distance from her house.
    â€œGreat.” She watched the boys open their hands. Two blond-headed miniatures with sneaky grins on their faces, and dirt. They needed baths.
    The giant in front of them jumped back from their open hands, either feigning fear or truly afraid. The boys laughed, belly laughs, and then they ran off.
    Adam Mackenzie turned toward the barn, his smile a little frazzled. He wasn’t used to kids. She had to give him points for trying. And she wasn’t going to escape because he was heading their way.
    Who could escape that moment when they felt as if their insides had jelled and their breath caught somewhere midway between lungs and heart?
    All due to a cowboy in faded jeans and a T-shirt. Nota cowboy, she reminded herself. A football player with a life so far removed from this small community that she couldn’t imagine what it was like to live in his world.
    â€œAdam.” She greeted him with a wavering smile.
    â€œJenna.” He held his hand out to her brother, his white hat tipped down, shading the smooth planes of his suntanned face. “Clint Cameron. I haven’t seen you since we played against each other our senior year.”
    â€œFifteen years.” Clint shook Adam’s hand. Jenna waited, wondering what came next. “Jenna said you’re back to take care of the youth camp.”
    This time Adam smiled at her, that slightly boyish yet wicked grin that made his blue eyes dance. “Yeah, something like that. It looks as if I’m in charge, and I need horses. Maybe a dozen or so, with tack.”
    â€œGot it. I think I can round them up. It might take a few weeks.”
    â€œI don’t have a few weeks.” The edge was back in