Kissed by a Cowboy Read Online Free Page A

she
explained gently.
    He exhaled a long, slow sigh, shifting his
feet. "How much?"
    "Fifteen hundred dollars."
    He ran his fingers through his hair. "You've
got to be—"
    "She's got a restaurant willing to sell her a
used blast freezer at a great deal."
    "A what?"
    "It's a commercial-grade ice-cream
maker."
    He shook his head, looking down at the papers
in the binder.
    "I know it's a lot of money." Haley tapped
the folder. "She's done some research. She's got great ideas, I
think we could work up a marketing plan—"
    "Thanks for encouraging her, but I can't
afford something like this." He sounded sincere in his thanks, but
also discouraged. He ran one hand against the back of his neck,
fluffing the bottom of his slightly-too-long brown curls.
    "I'd like to do more than encourage her."
    He narrowed his eyes. "You want to give my
niece fifteen hundred dollars?" he asked slowly. "Why?"
    She shrugged. "I'm here for"—she drew a
breath—"the summer, probably. I'd kind of like to go into business
with her. Be her partner."
    "Why?" he repeated.
    For Katie , she wanted to say. And for him. For the dreams that had been
lost to Katie's pregnancy and untimely death.
    But mostly for Livy. When they'd been talking
this afternoon, Haley had seen a glimpse of herself in the younger
girl—a little girl hungry for love, for someone to believe in
her.
    "What if she fails? What if you lose all that
money?"
    "It's just money."
    He looked at her like she'd said something
crazy.
    "Anyway, that's my problem, mine and
Livy's."
    He was softening. She could see it in the
minute drop of his shoulders.
    "Whatever happens, it'll be a learning
experience for her," she offered.
    "Teach her that life's hard," he muttered,
looking back down at the table again.
    "What if she doesn't fail?"
    When he looked up at her, she saw the truth
in his gaze. This wasn't the same confident football star she'd
known before. Maybe he didn't believe in his own dreams,
anymore.
    But Livy deserved her chance.
    He glanced toward the kitchen again. From
where she stood, Haley couldn't see Livy, but knew the girl could
probably hear them. He seemed to have the same thought, because he
lowered his voice. "If we do this, I'm not letting you take on the
whole expense."
    Her heart thumped loudly as she heard what he
didn't say. "If...?"
    He smiled. A sad little half-smile. More a
turning up of one side of his mouth. "I shouldn't. This is
crazy."
    Maybe it was a little crazy. It felt more like
one of Katie's old schemes than something the responsible,
college-educated Haley would do.
    But being here for her aunt, coming back to
the place where Katie's life had ended too suddenly—both were
reminders that sometimes, life didn't give you second chances.
    Livy deserved to chase her dreams. Life was
too short to waste it.
    And Haley was determined Katie's daughter
would have the chance. Even if it meant bumping into this handsome
cowboy a few more times.

 
    Chapter Two
     
    A week later, Maddox still couldn't quite
believe he'd agreed to Haley's wild scheme. Or that Haley had
agreed to give his niece that kind of money.
    He'd been gone on the harvest crew for four
days, arriving home late last night. While he'd been gone, he'd
relied on his cousin Ryan to help out and keep Justin in line. At
least Olivia hadn't run away again.
    After a short night's sleep, Maddox had been
out with the cattle since dawn, starting with a headcount and
checking fences. Since high school, he'd spent years building the
farm back up after his old man had let things get so bad. Maddox
had vowed he would never give up on life like his father had.
    He'd just ridden his horse into the barn
after cooling the animal down when he heard a car pull up in the
drive between the house and the barn. Haley had promised to deliver
the machine this evening. Olivia had mentioned it about ten times
when he'd gone in for lunch earlier.
    He stayed with his horse. He wasn't going to
rush out to greet her like a high