Never Love a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath Read Free Book Online Page B

distract her so she wouldn’t notice?
    Therein lay one of her fears. If she gave in to a kiss, she might give in to everything—and she was unwilling to pay the price that came with giving everything, especially to a man who thought a woman could separate her heart from her body.
    Still, if she was honest with herself, she liked a lot about Harry. Except the beard. He’d been clean-shaven the first time she’d set eyes on him, with his gleaming black hair falling past his collar and those long, thick lashes framing his emerald eyes. His features were strong, as though chiseled by a hand intent on perfection. She remembered everything about him from that first encounter—even the little indentation in his chin that was no longer visible.
    Yep, she liked that intriguing dent. She thought it was a shame he’d grown a beard that hid half his face. She needed to find a subtle way to get him to shave it off just so she could take a little additional pleasure in gazing at him. A pity that the few pleasures on a cattle drive made her resort to contemplating the merits of a man’s whiskers.
    He’d surprised her today. She hadn’t expected him to work so diligently to get a bull out of the mud when he earned the same money with no effort. Her mind longed to understand him; her heart dreaded the knowledge.
    “You still angry?” she called out.
    She saw him stiffen, and thought that if she were closer, she might have seen his muscles tighten.
    “I am not angry.” He raised an arm and scrubbed viciously at his skin.
    “You’ve hardly spoken a word since we got that bull out of the mud.”
    He glanced over his shoulder and nearly cut her with his glare. “It’s a bit difficult to speak when someone else is constantly chattering. I’m surprised the man’s jaws stay hinged.”
    “You’re upset ’cuz I invited him to join us.”
    “I thought we had agreed to keep our cadre small until we’d gathered more cattle.”
    Sighing deeply, she wrapped her arms around her knees. “I know, but he seemed lonely.”
    Harry spun around, the water swirling out. “Lonely? Are we now to become a haven for lonesome souls as well as lost cattle?”
    “No, but he knows a lot about cattle—”
    “Which would be fine if he told us exactly what he knew when we needed to know it!”
    Jessye bit back her laughter, knowing she’d only rile him further if she released it. But Lord, he had looked funny covered in mud—especially since he took pride in looking like he could sit in a widow’s drawing room with only a moment’s warning. “I know he was sorta unkind not to warn you about slipping in the mud, but some men enjoy pulling harmless pranks. He wants me to send you snipe hunting.”
    “What in God’s name is a snipe?”
    “That’s the point. There’s no such thing, but you send a greenhorn out into the night with a flour sackand tell him he’s gotta find one…and well, it’s funny ’cuz you know he never will—”
    “You believe this activity to be humorous?”
    “Some folks do.”
    “Do you?”
    Avoiding the question, she cracked her knuckles, wondering if she’d have knotty fingers when she was old like her father constantly warned her.
    “Do you?” he prodded. “Do you think it’s funny to embarrass someone?”
    “No. I just understand that some men never grow up, and I try not to hold it against them.”
    He waved his hand in the air. “Be off with you. I need to get out of the river.”
    “Afraid I’ll see your shortcomin’s?”
    With a distinct purpose to his stride and an unmistakable challenge in his eyes, he waded through the water toward her. She jumped to her feet and headed into the bushes. She ought not to tease him. Men were sensitive about certain aspects of their bodies…but she couldn’t help but wonder exactly what Harry looked like in the altogether. She had a feeling he’d make accepting the challenge worth it.
     
    Harrison walked into the camp, his mood unimproved and threatening to