Loving Lauren Read Online Free Page B

She turned and glared at her sister. She didn't like him coming onto her land anymore, and she was sure he was speeding away since he'd seen her truck parked out front.
     
    Alex just shrugged her shoulders. “He was just returning my stuff and he wanted to talk to me. You know we broke it off weeks ago.”
     
    Lauren walked over and plucked a piece of hay from her sister's blonde hair, then held it up for her to see. “Did you two do a lot of ‘talking’ in the hayloft?”
     
    Haley snickered behind them, causing both her sisters to glare at her. “Sorry.” Haley quickly looked away.
     
    Lauren walked over and picked up the knife and started chopping items to go into their salad. Alex crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “Wasn't that Chase Graham I saw in town earlier today?” Lauren stopped chopping the vegetables and looked over at her sister.
     
    “Doc's retiring.”
     
    “What?” Haley jumped out of her seat. “Doc can't retire!” She walked over and took a carrot from the chopping block and bit into it.
     
    “He is, and Chase is taking over.” Lauren went back to making the salad as Haley pulled the dishes out of the cupboard and set them on the table. Alex stood there and watched her sisters. “Chase is going to be stopping by later this week.”
     
    “I don't like anyone looking at the herd except Doc.” Haley dumped the silverware on the table and sat back down. As far as setting the table, Lauren knew that was as nice as it was going to get around here, at least with her sisters helping.
     
    “I think we should give Chase a chance,” Alex put in. She had a wicked smile on her face and Lauren immediately knew what was coming next. “After all, he is still single. According to Mary Beth, he's been living in upstate New York for the last four years. Before that he was in Dallas. And according to Mary Beth, who heard it from Cheryl Lynn, who got it straight from Chase's daddy, he hasn't been seeing anyone serious. So...” Lauren rolled her eyes, wishing her sister's speech was over already. “Now that Travis and I have called things off, maybe I'll put on my Sunday best and give Chase a visit.” Alex pulled her shorter hair back into a band and walked over to sit at the table.
     
    Alex sure knew how to push Lauren's buttons, but she wasn’t going to let it get to her this time. Lauren had been sideswiped already once today; there was no way she was letting her sister get under her skin. With her back turned towards her sisters, she smiled. “Go right ahead. I think you two would make a very handsome couple. At least we wouldn't be seeing so much of Travis anymore.”
     
    She heard Haley chuckle and try to cover it up with a cough.
     
    The next morning, Lauren rode Tanner, her three-year-old gelding, out of the barn, her tools for the day packed up in her saddlebag. She knew it was going to be a long day when she started riding the fence and saw that a large branch from an oak had taken out a chunk of the front fence. Pulling Tanner to a stop and tying him to another branch under the oak, she walked the fence and assessed the damage. Luckily, it wasn't all that bad. She decided she could do most of the repairs without heading back to the house to get the chainsaw or needing any of the men to help her.
     
    She put on leather gloves from her bag, grabbed the wire cutters, and got to work. Dingo ran up to her and lay at her feet and Lauren started talking to her. She was enjoying the fact that it wasn't quite summer yet. The cool breeze helped a little as she worked under the hot sun. She'd just finished repairing the largest section when a shadow fell over her. Spinning around, she almost screamed as she took a step back and fell right into the barbed wire, backside down.

    Chase pulled the old mare's mouth open and looked at her teeth. He shook his head and then scratched between the horse’s ears, causing her to push her head farther into his hands. He laughed and continued