Texas Wide Open by KC Klein Read Free Book Online

blood quarter horse Jett had promised, which meant Katie had
     been right: Sweet Thing was beautiful. The mare’s coat had turned a deep red sorrel,
     and her chest had filled out, showing off wide shoulders.
    Though the mare looked better, it didn’t mean she acted better. Katie had come every
     day with gifts of food, yet made little headway. No matter who walked up, the horse
     reared back and then cowered into the shadows of the stall. At least now, Sweet Thing
     would eat what Katie brought, but only if she stayed a safe distance away—thus the
     rolling of the apples.
    Her last apple gone, Katie stood and brushed off her backside. Taking a deep breath,
     she stepped forward and narrowed the distance between her and the mare. Sweet Thing’s
     head shot up, and her nose sniffed the air for danger. Katie drew closer and rested
     her arms on the wooden gate. She watched the horse stomp her hooves and whip around
     her flaxen mane, but this time no teeth were bared. Progress.
    Katie wiped her face with the back of one hand, both of which were filthy from mucking
     out Star’s stable and giving her a much needed bath. She brushed the stray straw off
     her bare legs. Yes, shorts and cowboy boots were not dress code, or even fashionably
     acceptable, but Cole wasn’t here. And if truth be told, she was itching for a fight.
     Cole barely said boo to her these days.
    In retrospect, the whole white shirt incident might’ve been a mistake.
    The front door banged against the barn wall. Boots sounded confidently on cinders,
     and Katie’s breath hitched in her chest.
    “What are you doing here?” Cole snapped.
    Katie smiled, couldn’t help it. She loved the gruffness of his voice. “Half-day, teacher
     conferences. Thought I’d get a jump on mucking out the stall, but I didn’t count on
     it getting so hot.”
    “Yeah.” Cole’s voice softened as he lifted his hat and swiped at his dark hair before
     resettling it. “Unseasonably warm for May.”
    She nodded, suddenly preoccupied with how crazy her hair must’ve gotten in the humidity.
     She quickly hoped for semi-tame, and then tucked wayward strands behind her ear.
    The corner of Cole’s mouth tilted up, but to Katie that wasn’t the best part of his
     smile. No, Cole’s true smile wasn’t just a turn of his lips, but more of a softening
     in his eyes, an easing of stress and fatigue. “Hey, I’m heading into town, gotta pick
     up some things from the store. Wanna come?”
    “Like this?” Katie glanced down and groaned inwardly at the mud caked to one calf.
     Then noticed her nails; black rimmed with dirt, jagged and broken.
    His eyes twinkled as he leaned against the stall, apparently in no hurry. “You wouldn’t
     have gotten so dirty if you wore jeans.”
    Katie sighed, all of a sudden not wanting to fight. It had been too long since they
     had just talked, just been easy with one another.
    Cole must’ve thought so too, since he shook his head and closed his eyes for a brief
     moment. “Never mind, I don’t want to hear it. Come on, I need someone to push-start
     the truck anyway.”
    He seemed so casual, with one boot crossed in front of the other, a slightly damp
     T-shirt smoothed across his chest. And this was what she missed. Things between them
     had been tense, not quite right. But now, here, as Cole slung one thumb through a
     stretched-out belt loop, Katie could almost believe those heartbreaking moments were
     all in the past.
    “Sure, if I can charge you time and a half for hard labor. Oh, but that’s right, I’m
     not even on your payroll,” Katie said, mirroring his stance.
    “Ha, you’re hilarious. Fine, you start it and I’ll push, but I’m driving. I’m not
     listening to your music all the way into town.”
    They had a rule, the driver controlled the radio, and nowadays Katie’s taste leaned
     more to the newer rock-infused country, while Cole gravitated toward the older, more
     classic country music. Katie rolled her