Kissed by a Cowboy Read Online Free Page B

schooler on a first date. Hadn't
he behaved like that enough that last summer? He'd stay here in the
barn, even if his heart started pounding and his palms slicked with
sweat.
    Haley was here for Olivia. Maddox was in no
shape to be getting interested in a woman. End of story.
    Maddox brushed down the horse, keeping his
feet planted right where they were. He thought about how she might
smile if he went to greet her, how her curls would look in the
fading light. He ground his teeth and ran the brush through the
horse hair.
    "Hey, Mad!" Ryan's voice rang out. His cousin
had been over this afternoon, trying for the thousandth time to
cheer up Justin. Or get his butt out of that recliner. Or both.
    "Your new girlfriend is here!" Ryan called as
Maddox tucked his horse back into its stall.
    Maddox gave his horse one last pat. "She's
not my girl—" He turned and stopped short. "Howdy, Haley."
    Ryan jerked a thumb at her. "Followed me out
here."
    She peeked at him over Ryan's shoulder,
grinning.
    Something inside him responded, like his
insides broke open or something equally corny. Really? He wasn't
nineteen anymore.
    "You're early," he groused.
    She seemed to see right through him, her
smile widening. "I couldn't wait any longer. I love ice cream."
    "Livy's in the house."
    She nodded but didn't seem in any kind of
hurry to head that way. She glanced around the interior of the
barn, and he followed her gaze, seeing it through her eyes. Ryan
boarded a few horses here, and Maddox's four had stuck their heads
over the stall doors, craning to see the owner of that female
voice. Or maybe it just seemed that way to him.
    He was proud of the place. It wasn't new, not
by any stretch, but he'd replaced the roof a couple years ago, and
it was clean and the animals were well-cared-for.
    "You know, I think I only ever came out here
once when I knew..." She paused and seemed to shake off the words
"Back in high school. The place looks totally different."
    "Good." He ran a much tighter ship than his
father ever had, and it showed.
    "Uh, the junior high principal called again,"
Ryan said as they headed toward the barn door.
    "Something about Livy?" Haley asked.
    Maddox shook his head. The man wanted Maddox
to teach a class and coach the junior high football team. Mostly
coach.
    And Maddox might have considered it if he had
the college degree everyone in Redbud Trails thought he did. The
job wouldn't make him rich, but it would be better than traveling
all summer, and it would be a steady supplement to the income they
got from the cattle and small crops they were able to raise.
    They left the barn behind and crossed the
short field toward the house. He noticed the fifteen-year-old Ford
she'd parked in the drive, her aunt's truck.
    "How big is this ice cream thing?" he asked.
He'd cleared a spot on the counter, but maybe he should have asked
for dimensions before he agreed to house it in his kitchen.
    "Well, it took three college guys to load it
in my aunt's truck."
    "Sounds like you need me, too." Ryan winked
and flexed a bicep.
    Maddox rolled his eyes. He might have been
worried about Ryan moving in on Haley, except he knew his cousin
was hung up on his high school crush. She'd joined the military and
had been stationed overseas when she was injured. Now she was in a
military hospital stateside. Ryan had been in love with her since
high school. Never really looked at another woman.
    Haley rounded the truck on the opposite side
and threw back a brown tarp, revealing a plastic-wrapped stainless
steel box about the size of an ice chest.
    "That's it?" he asked. "The
magic machine?" Which cost so much
money...
    "Yep. You guys got it?" She didn't wait for
an answer. She opened the cab door and stuck her head inside the
truck.
    The machine was heavier than he thought it
would be, and Ryan hopped in the truck bed to push it toward the
edge.
    When they hefted it between them, she met
them carrying a cardboard box.
    "What's that?" he asked.
    "Early birthday