Elly: Cowgirl Bride Read Online Free Page A

him as anything other than a casual friend. And there was his pride. And the promise he’d made to himself on the heels of her rejection to never let himself get that attached ever again. Besides, the current situation with her parents likely didn’t foster romantic notions in her mind. He tried to imagine how she must feel, how he would have felt if he’d ever found out his dad had cheated on his mom.
    He couldn’t help that part of him wished he’d bumped into Elly under different circumstances. He now knew that Elly wasn’t married. Delia Barstow, his secretary, had filled him in with a lot of details. Elly and Jesse were the only two unattached Cody siblings, and word was neither of them was seeing anyone.
    It had taken a monumental effort not to react with excited possibility when Delia had imparted the news about Elly.
    Damn, he was pitiful. Still stuck on the same girl he’d fantasized about since he’d developed hormones.
    The one who’d actually laughed when he’d offered to take her to prom.
    He glanced at the clock and decided to take a break to pick up some lunch and look for a birthday present for his mom. Maybe getting outside and walking would help him settle on his next move in the case and stop thinking about Elly.
    “Delia, I’m headed out for bit.”
    “Okay.”
    “Need anything while I’m out?”
    “A winning lotto ticket and a good man would be fab, if you can swing it.”
    Will laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
    He was still smiling when he reached the sidewalk that led into the downtown area of Cody. Delia was as funny now as she’d been when they’d gone to high school together. That was part of why he’d hired her, to ease his clients’ anxiety.
    Plus, they worked well together. Mrs. Threadmiller’s biology lab had proven that when they’d been lab partners. If you got out of that class without murdering your lab partner, that was a very good sign it was a working match made in heaven.
    Another bonus was that she hadn’t demanded a huge salary. And just starting out, without a lot of experience to recommend him, he needed to watch his bottom line until he saw how things would shake out. Especially when he was trying to make a go of it in a small town where the other attorneys had been there since he was a toddler.
    He slowed when he reached the line of shops showcasing gift options in their front windows—everything from T-shirts to high-end artwork. At the Tangled Antlers Gallery, he noticed a painting of the area’s red-rock cliffs he thought his mom might like. Movement inside the store caught his attention, and he glanced up. Elly stood talking to another woman. He blinked, wondering if his imagination had gone three-dimensional. But no, she was still there when his eyes reopened.
    Curious what had brought her to Cody, he headed for the door. Damned if he didn’t wish that he was the reason for her visit to Markton’s bigger neighbor, but her current location said otherwise. Still, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say hello, to stand near her again, maybe even have a chance to catch up a little without Jesse’s large presence looming. He could allow himself to be around her without making a fool of himself or getting in too deep, right?
    “I’ll be with you in a moment,” the woman talking to Elly said when she spotted him.
    Elly glanced his way. “Will.” Surprise filled her voice and widened her eyes.
    He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought her cheeks pinkened in embarrassment. Great, he was going to be forever associated with her father’s infidelity. Not exactly what he’d been going for when he’d walked through the gallery’s door. But he was inside now, and he couldn’t just leave without making the situation even more embarrassing for both of them.
    “Doing a little shopping?” he asked.
    “Uh, no.”
    The older woman brightened. “Elly is quite the talented photographer. And she’s just dropped off some of her newest work.”