Rugged Hearts by Amanda McIntyre Read Free Book Online

major trouble, for her or him. He wasn’t sure yet how the dice would roll. With a glance at the mantle clock, he reached down to bid Sadie good night with a pat on her head. The alarm was going to come early in the morning, and the memory of the girl’s backside in those painted-on denim jeans wasn’t going to allow him a good night’s rest.
     
    ***
     
    Aimee sat in front of her computer and stared at the Billings Community College Web site. She was still recovering from the effects of her day. The drink she’d had at the bar helped to calm the rattled nerves caused by driving the treacherous mountain pass in the blinding snow. However, a feeling of restlessness lingered when she thought of the dark-eyed Wyatt Kinnison, who’d left her unsettled for an entirely different reason. Her computer screen went black, shifting to sleep mode, jarring her from her cowboy daydream.
    “Wake up, girl.” She shifted, blinked a couple of times, and refocused on the task of registering for the class before her parents’ weekly check-in call. In truth, poetry was not a subject she was terribly interested in, but because her friend Sally feared a low attendance, she’d agreed to sign up. She moved quickly through the various registration forms and was printing out her confirmation when the phone rang. She put aside her computer and reached for the receiver. Her parents had started the weekly ritual shortly after she’d taken on her position at the remote, rural elementary school. Aimee plucked the phone from its cradle.
    “Hi, Dad. Is it snowing down there yet?” She walked over to the sliding glass doors of her postage-stamp-sized apartment and drew back the vertical blinds. Outside, the wind still howled, lifting the snow into sparkling swirls under the lights of the complex’s parking lot.
    “Nothing here, yet. They’re calling for a bit of the white stuff come Wednesday. According to the news, it looks like you’re getting much more in your neck of the woods.”
    Aimee watched a neighbor struggling between wind, briefcase, and a sack of groceries as he tried to make his way indoors. “A little bit,” she responded, reading between the lines of her father’s comment. He’d developed a keen interest in the weather after the death of her twin sister, Sarah. One of the ways he chose to keep tabs on Aimee was to watch the weather. “You know, Dad, they don’t even start thinking about measurable snow up here until after at least a foot.” I’m being careful, Dad, don’t worry . “Not to mention they have the best road crews in the nation,” she added.
    “I know, I know.” There was a brief silence. “How are things going, other than the weather?”
    She was glad for the shift in the conversation, and decided not to mention to him her harrowing drive earlier. She was safe now and really, that was what was most important. However, she had to admit the part about Wyatt Kinnison would please her mother to no end. She chose, instead, a safer topic. “My kids are antsy for the holiday break.” She smiled, thinking of the chaos in her classroom over the last few days. Distance had a way of giving one a clear perspective. “Tomorrow we’re going to make a paper chain to go around our tree.”
    “They still allow trees in the classroom?” Surprise punctuated her father’s question.
    “Unbelievable, I know, but keep it quiet. I really love it and so do the kids. There are a few stipulations, but as long as no parents have objections, and we don’t exchange presents, there just doesn’t seem to be a big deal about it.”
    Her father chuckled and Aimee pictured him in his brown tweed easy chair where she and Sarah used to curl up before bedtime to listen to him read a story.
    “You watching any football?” she asked.
    “Yeah, the Chiefs aren’t doing too badly this season, but I can’t stand those announcers.”
    Aimee chuckled.
    “I remember how you girls used to love this time of year when you were