His Tempting Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 5) Read Online Free

snorts and chuckles sent Cody’s temper towering higher.
    “How else was she going to look at you?” Travis asked.
    “You know what I mean,” Cody growled. “Her eyes are blue.”
    “Do blue eyes see better than other eyes?” Luke asked Travis, feigning innocence.
    “And she has…she has curves,” Cody finished, jaw clamped so tight he almost couldn’t get the words out.
    “Dangerous curves, I guess.” Travis shrugged.
    “Well, you have to admit that a woman’s curves can be a surprisingly dangerous thing,” Luke added.
    “Especially when that woman is your wife.” Travis winked.
    “Or supposed to have been your wife,” Luke said.
    They both turned back to Cody.
    “So, uh, you two going to pick up where you left off?” Travis asked.
    “No,” Cody barked so fast it made his neck hurt. His face grew hot, and the prickles down his back made him feel like he’d just told a whopping fib. He cleared his throat. “She didn’t even come back here to see me. She came back ’cuz she’s with a theatrical troupe that does stage shows and things.”
    “Haskell doesn’t have a theater,” Travis said, rubbing his chin in thought.
    “So I guess that’s not the reason she’s here, then,” Luke finished his thought.
    Cody had had enough of the teasing. “Well, Miriam Long can keep herself to herself, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve got plenty of work to do here at—”
    He twisted, intending to sit down again and continue with the saddle, but in the process he bumped the bench hard enough to knock the jar of linseed oil over. It spilled into the straw lining the stable floor with a viscous splash.
    “Shoot, Cody, that was our last can of linseed oil,” Luke said.
    “No, it wasn’t—”
    “You’ll have to ride into town to pick up more at Kline’s Mercantile.”
    Cody’s mouth froze halfway through his protest. Go into town? Where Miriam was? The road from Paradise Ranch went right past The Cattleman Hotel. It was too cold for Miriam to be sitting out on the porch, but if he stopped in for a cup of coffee and to say hello to Theophilus Gunn after running his errand…
    “Come on.” Travis slapped him on the back. “I’ll ride back with you.”
    “Who said I was going to go on that fool errand?” Cody snapped.
    “Your fool eyes,” Travis answered. “And the stupid blush you’re sporting. And the fact that Wendy will never forgive me if I don’t bring home a story about you and your ex-bride meeting up again tonight.”
    “There’s no story,” Cody insisted, striding across the stable to bring his favorite mount out for the journey into town. “There’s not going to be a story either. Miriam Long chose not to marry me, and I have no intention of convincing her to rethink that decision, no matter how pretty she is.”
    “Right,” Luke muttered to Travis, barely loud enough for Cody to hear. “And the seas are filled with sugar instead of salt.”
     
    The knock that sounded at Miriam’s hotel room door nearly caused her to jump out of her skin.
    “Who is it?” She leapt up from the bed—where she had been lounging with a dime novel since Eden left after calling in on her earlier—and dashed to the mirror over the fireplace. Her hair fell in a luxurious wave of gold down her back, her dress was tidy and fit well, and she pinched her cheeks to give them extra color.
    “It’s Libby.”
    Miriam let out a breath of disappointment—no, relief, it was relief—that for the second time that day her visitor wasn’t Cody, and skipped over to let her friend into the room.
    “Libby!” She threw out her arms and hugged Libby—squeaking happily at the pregnant roundness of Libby’s belly—as if they’d known each other all their lives instead of for one intense conversation on a train. “It’s so wonderful to see you. My, how you look well. Life in Haskell must agree with you.”
    Libby laughed as she came into the room, keeping the door open. “I heard you were in town, and I