His Firefly Cowgirl Read Online Free Page A

time it was purely suicidal. What could he possibly have been thinking?
    She might say no.
    “I couldn’t possibly.”
    “You’ve nowhere else to go, do you?” Jesus, hell and damnation, he was out of control.
    Her mouth tightened. “You know I don’t. You of all people know.” Her eyes grew moist and she looked away.
    Guilt twisted his gut. He shouldn’t have said that. Sophie’s parents had been killed when she was eighteen, a freshman in college. As their only child, she had inherited their house, which she sold to the family who’d been renting it when she left town five years later.
    To his knowledge, she’d never even visited their graves since then. The Blackwoods might be a large, boisterous bunch of redneck Texans, but family was the most important thing in his life. They gave him the love, support and occasional kick in the ass he needed.
    He couldn’t imagine life with no family. Unless she was married or in a relationship. His gut tightened.
    “I’m sorry I said that. It was a dick moment.” He hoped he sounded as contrite as he felt.
    She shrugged.
    “I meant what I said though. Come back to the Triple B tonight. I’ve got high-speed Internet and the guest room has fresh sheets.” He was stupidly desperate to have her say yes. Must be he wanted to stab himself in the eye with a rusty nail too. “Your only other option is to sleep in the black hole upstairs. I can give you the key so you can lock it and be safe here in the firehouse.”
    No one was usually at the firehouse overnight. There was a room upstairs with a couple cots they jokingly called the black hole. There were no windows in the room. Once in a while one of the firefighters had to crash there, but it wasn’t used much. It probably didn’t smell good either.
    She stared off, not meeting his gaze.
    “I promise I’ll make sure Myron tows your car first thing and gets it running so you can get back home to…whoever is waiting for you.” He didn’t want her to fill in the blank. Not really.
    “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
    “No, but it’s the only option. My mom would be happy to see you.” He put his hands on his hips. “She moved into the guest house after my father passed but she still cooks supper every night.”
    Sophie frowned. “I was sorry to hear about your father. He fought a good fight.”
    A pinch of grief passed over his heart. It had been more than four years, but he still missed Pops. The man had taught Dax how to be a person he could be proud of. He liked to think his father still watched out for him in some way.
    “Thanks. You and me both know grief, Soph. We don’t have to give each other any more. This is an offer from one old friend to a stranded friend. Nothing more.” Dax wasn’t one to hold a grudge or seek revenge for wrongs, real or imagined. Life was too short to get caught up in bullshit.
    His father had always said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff. It ain’t worth a hole in your gut to worry about none of it. Ride a horse you enjoy, eat the food you like and hold onto the woman you love.”
    Dax hadn’t yet found the woman he loved. Or at least he had found her, but lost her too long ago to get her back. At least now he wouldn’t have a dark ball of regret in his gut over his last conversation with Sophie.
    “I don’t think I should.”
    “It’s up to you. I’ll go wait out in the truck for you. When you get out there, let me know where you want me to take you.” He knew she didn’t have any choice, but giving her the choice was important. Sophie was smart enough to use her rational side.
    Dax walked out to find Clint and Lucas waiting for him. They leaned against the now-shiny, clean pumper.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Clint was never one to be shy about letting his opinion fly. Someday it was going to bite him in the ass. His cousin was younger by one year, but they could have been brothers.
    Each had thick wavy brown hair from their grandfather. And being the