One to Take (Stuart & Mariska): Sexy Cowboy (One to Hold Book 8) by Tia Louise Read Free Book Online Page A

clench at the thought of someone else being here. Last year is heavy on my mind. When things got so bad, when I had nowhere else to go, I came here and got back on my feet.
    “I’m glad you were here last year,” I confess.
    He reaches out and grips my shoulder. “Me too.”
    Bill has battled his own demons in the past. When the time came for me to face down mine, he was the one person I knew I could trust. Of course, my brother Patrick and my partner Derek dropped everything to come here and see me through that dark time as well. Patrick just happened to bring Mariska… He also noticed something I’d never seen before. The tenderness my dad’s younger brother always shows to our mom.
    “Mom seems to enjoy visiting the place, too.” It’s my turn to give him a sly grin. “She’s been coming out here quite a bit since December.”
    His hand is still on my shoulder, and he gives it a gentle push. “It’s not her kind of life. It never has been.”
    My dad came to Great Falls once, shortly after Bill bought the place. He was supposed to stay a week, but he left after two days. It was too wild, too uncontrollable. I remember a time when I wanted to be just like my dad, then I learned things I never wanted to know about my father. As a Marine, he died with honor, but he and I weren’t as much alike as I used to believe. He made my mother sad for a very long time.
    I know Bill won’t confide in me about his feelings for Sylvia, his brother’s widow. I think I understand his reasoning, but still I wish he would. Instead he leaves me at the hearth with more questions than answers, as usual.
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Mariska
    Even with our trip to the craft store, Sylvia and I make it back to the ranch with plenty of time before supper. Stuart is in the round pen working with Jessie, and for a moment, I spy on the two of them. I watch as he quietly opens his hand to the side and she bows her head, walking slowly toward him. Her nose is at his chest, and he gives her a treat I can’t see.
    Still, when he reaches up between her ears, she shakes her head and pulls away. Resting my cheek against the weathered wood of the barn door, I sketch out this scene in my mind. My gorgeous cowboy and the beautiful little horse he gave me. As much as he tells me not to get too attached, I know she’s mine.
    For a moment, I watch as she jogs around the pen, until he looks up and sees me watching them. His hazel eyes darken, and it’s like shimmering heat against my skin. It’s time, and I can barely breathe with wanting to tell him.
    “Starting without me?” I walk over to the metal fencing and rest my chin on the top bar.
    Stuart comes to where I’m standing, sliding his warm hands up the sides of my forearms and holding my elbows before leaning down to give me a gentle kiss. Every touch fans anticipation higher in my chest.
    “I wanted to get an idea of her personality.”
    Reaching for his waist, I grip the sides of the striped-white cowboy shirt he’s wearing. “I’m sorry for cutting our ride short this afternoon. Would you come with me now? I’d like us to go somewhere alone.”
    The breeze blows a strand of hair across my face, and he reaches out to smooth it away. “What did you have in mind?”
    “Winona is packing dinner for us. I’d hoped we could drive to the cabin, where we can talk.”
    “Talk?” His dark brow lines.
    Stepping back, I grasp his hands and squeeze them. “Just… trust me.”
    In less than twenty minutes we’re in the truck, driving out toward the little place where our love story began. I look out the window at the miles of green grasses dotted here and there with darker clumps of trees or bushes. The sun is making its way toward the horizon, but the sky is still brilliant blue with lazy clouds drifting along, assuming imaginary shapes and dissolving just as fast.
    Our conversation is light. I tell him almost everything about going into town with his mother, leaving out the most important part of all. It