Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 by Allie Pleiter and Jessica Keller Ruth Logan Herne Read Free Book Online Page B

last month and Julie Shaw cornered him.
    But maybe Jasper Gulch needed something new to shake things up. A town mired in the
     past, arguing over moving forward, tussling about fixing a long-broken bridge. A place
     with little crime, beset with strange stuff lately. The time capsule disappearance.
     Problems at the rodeo. The shed there being set on fire. Troubling things in a town
     that boasted no crime other than errant dogs and cows now and again traipsing over
     flower beds they didn’t own.
    On the plus side, Liv had come back, at least for a little while. Shop owners had
     spruced up their storefronts on Main Street and the access roads. Bright banners welcomed
     folks to town and the whole thing looked more inviting than normal.
    The changing light reminded him of the storm front headed their way, but the nice
     thing about hauling fresh-rolled hay up to the barnyard was that he had plenty of
     time to think. And since seeing Livvie earlier in the week, he didn’t mind thinking
     nearly as much as he used to.
    * * *
    Blue jeans and a shirt. What could be difficult about that?
    Everything.
    And her hair. Ponytail? Down?
    Ponytail, Liv decided as she bent over, smoothed the front with the brush and gathered
     her hair into a band.
    She frowned in the mirror, added a lace cami, then refastened the jeweled snaps on
     the short-sleeved fitted shirt and nodded at the new image.
    Cowgirl, with emphasis on “girl.” She grabbed her Stetson and had her boots on before
     Jack pulled up to the curb with the four-horse trailer attached. Jack strolled to
     the porch as she stepped outside, and the look on his face said he’d been looking
     forward to this morning, just like her. Which meant she’d be the one to put the brakes
     on. “Hey, cowboy.”
    “Hey, yourself.” He gave the brim of his hat the slightest of tweaks and watched her
     smile. “You still remember how it’s done.”
    “You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the
     girl.”
    “And who’d want to?” Jack’s expression said that was about the stupidest thing he’d
     ever heard. The look on his face made Liv revisit her years away. Her expression must
     have changed, because Jack leaned forward and ducked a little to see her face. “Didn’t
     mean to insult. And in the city, they wear what they want, but if the look suits,
     and in your case, I think you were born to ride and wear Western—”
    His compliment made her smile because she did feel at home in these clothes. Natural.
     And maybe younger than she’d felt the last few years.
    “Why not embrace it at least as long as you’re here?” He held the truck door open
     and Liv couldn’t remember the last time Billy had held the door open for her. If ever.
     She pushed the comparison aside as Jack climbed into the driver’s seat. He shoved
     the truck into gear and headed for Route 287. He made the turn onto the two-lane and
     pushed his hat back. “So here’s my plan.” He indicated her notebook and iPad. “We
     can talk baseball and history all you want. I invited Coach over tomorrow, so I was
     hoping you could come by the ranch for supper and we can pick Coach’s brain, too.”
    “Except he didn’t live around here until twenty years ago and has no family here,”
     Liv pointed out. “I’d love to see him, but can’t we get together in town?”
    “On a Sunday evening?” Jack’s look said she needed to remember where she was, and
     he was right. Jasper Gulch embraced limited business hours on Sunday, something she
     hadn’t seen much in the city. Out of respect for family time and the Lord’s Day, nothing
     was open in Jasper Gulch on Sunday evenings. “Besides, I owe Coach a dinner, and we
     might as well grill a few steaks and throw some potatoes in the fire, don’t you think?
     No biggie.”
    It was a biggie, and he knew it. She read him like an open book on a sunlit afternoon,
     but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t