Maya's Triple Dare by Heather Rainier Read Free Book Online

prayers when she’d stolen quietly into his life and had made him happier than he’d thought was possible. Even now, the sting of grief pricked his heart when he thought of her loss.
    46

    Did he want to love Maya the way he had Michelle? Could he risk loving like that again? The memory of the phone call from the hospital that tragic day wrenched his heart.
    “Do you?”
    “What?” Richard ground out. Boone kept asking all these fucking questions when he was trying to think.
    “Fuck, but you’re pissy this morning considering you just held a beautiful woman in your arms. If I’m pissy it’s because I had to walk away with a hard-on and leave her alone with Kendall.” Unasked was the reason for Richard’s black mood.
    “She could hardly look at me.”
    There, he’d said it. Every morning when he looked in the mirror, he saw his ugly mug. The beard and moustache helped, but all he saw was the hulk, the unruly curly hair he kept cut short, and the eerie, wolf-blue eyes that had always put people off. He wasn’t coyote-ugly, but he didn’t see much to recommend him as a prime catch. His quiet, solitary nature didn’t help that image either.
    He wondered if he was working himself up for nothing. He remembered the hug they’d shared and the way she’d sighed so deeply, like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders, and then she’d melted against him. He knew how she felt, having lost someone she loved very much. He also remembered how good it felt to hold her lush, curvy form in his arms. She’d lost a little weight since the last time he’d seen her, but she was just as gorgeous as ever and her full, plump breasts had felt incredible pressed up against him.
    “Damn it! Listen to me! Stop here!”
    “Fuck! What?” Richard yelled back, slamming the heel of his hand down on the steering wheel and applying the brakes hard.
    “The fence. We’ve got work to do, damned googly-eyed dumbass!”
    Richard had to grin good-naturedly at the sound of his brother’s frustration. Boone hated to be ignored, and he’d been in his own world not hearing a word the asshole was saying.

    47
    Boone was right, of course. He’d spotted a section of fence that needed repair. He climbed from the truck to help Boone. It was pitch-black outside except for the headlights, and the humidity was especially high though it wasn’t very warm yet. After they finished with the fence they continued down the drive and checked on the barns and the animals. When the morning chores were done on the JWB, they drove over to the Rockin’ C, where their workday would begin.
    Boone had lapsed into silence since Richard was once again lost in thought. As he drove back up the long driveway, Richard wondered what Maya would think of their beautiful spread. Gentle rolling hills, hayfields, wildflowers, and herds of Hereford cattle made for a pretty picture in his mind, with the exception of the wreckage that remained of their old farmhouse. Now that they’d heard from the insurance company, Richard was anxious to begin plans to rebuild. Or maybe it was because Maya was there. Maybe he wanted her more than he thought if he cared what she’d think of the place.
    “You think too much.”
    “You’re just pissed because I’m not yimmer-yammering on like you. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
    “What are you talking about?” Boone asked, giving him the quirky eyebrow stare.
    “You’ve got good looks on your side, and the tattoos don’t hurt, either. Women eat that stuff up.”
    Boone chuckled and said, “Fine, let’s go get your ass tattooed.”
    He held up two hands in front of him. “I can see it now. ‘Richard is a pansy-ass mother—’”
    “I’m being serious here, damn it.”
    “And you think you have some sort of disadvantage?”
    “We’re all so different. How can she be attracted to all three of us? You and Kendall are natural conversationalists and more at ease than I am. I’m just big and…ugly.”

    48

    “You