Loving You: A Cowboy Romance (Texas Hill Country Romance Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

and a wink, he walked back to the cooler for a beer, then went and sat on a rock near Jake, who was already sitting next to Jennie.
    Cord breathed a sigh of relief. Relieved Annie didn’t fall for Dan’s charm. He took a beer out of the cooler while Jake was recapping their water adventure and started to make his way to Annie when Lisa got in his face and planted a kiss on his lips.
    God damn, why was she always doing that? He pulled away and looked to Annie. Lisa turned Annie’s way, too, and saw the disappointment on her face and smiled at her.
    Annie saw their kiss and when they both looked at her, she quickly turned toward Jake and pretended to listen to his story.
    “Come sit with me,” Lisa said to Cord.
    “No,” he said curtly, and she backed off, hoping Annie didn’t hear the way he spoke to her. She went back to sit down.
    The boys, except Cord, told their own version of their adventure. Cord just sat and brooded over his beer.
    They ate, drank, teased, and mingled with each other for the next hour or so. Everyone, well, everyone but Lisa, praised Annie on her fried chicken, salads, and club sandwiches. Jake even brought out a bottle of Pinot Noir wine, from the cooler, for Annie, knowing that was her favorite type.
    Lisa huffed, annoyed that Annie was getting special treatment.
    After the food was put away, Rory said, “Last one in is lugging all the supplies back to the car by themselves.”
    He quickly got up, dragging Calista, and started running toward the water. Everyone was on the move, stripping down to bathing suits and running.
    Cord and Jake grabbed the rope they brought, and ran to the tree that was hanging over the water and Cord climbed it and tied the rope to it.
    Back on land, Jake grabbed the hanging end and flung himself into the water. Rory got out and used the rope to fling himself in too as did Jennie and Dan. Annie and Calista swung from the rope also. The only one that didn’t was Lisa.
    They all laughed and frolicked about in the water. Rory went underwater, beneath Calista, and came up with her on his shoulders. Calista screamed “Chicken fight!”
    Jake went beneath Jennie, and came up with her on his shoulders. Calista and Jennie pushed and shoved playfully.
    Annie screamed “Go, Calista!” While Lisa and Dan rooted for Jennie. Cord was amused by the whole thing. Then Jennie went under.
    “Woohoo!” Calista screamed. “Who’s next?”
    Cord got closer to Annie, and before she realized it, he went under and brought her up on his shoulders. She and Calista laughed hard as Cord and Rory moved closer together.
    Calista and Annie pushed and pulled each other while laughing. Calista almost knocked Annie off of Cord’s shoulder, but she was able to right herself with Cord’s help.
    “Don’t let me get all Bensonhurt on you,” Annie teased.
    “Don’t let me get Fredericksburg cute on you,” was Calista’s retort.
    Calista got the upper hand and was able to bring Annie down, and she right behind her. They both reached the surface of the water at the same time, laughing and coughing, and swam to each other and embraced.
    “That’s what I’m talking about,” Dan said. “Anyone else getting turned on right now?” He teased.
    Both Calista and Annie swam to him and dunked him.
    He came up laughing. “What, what’d I say?”
    The chicken fights continued with Lisa on Dan’s shoulders. She asked Cord if she can get on his shoulders, but he said he was done playing. They were taking on Jake and Jennie.
    While they were playing, Annie swam toward the waterfall. Cord saw her and followed. She felt him behind her and waited for him to catch up, then they proceeded.
    She, Cord noticed, was a strong swimmer, like him.
    Climbing up the rock behind the fall, Cord hoisted Annie up by gently pushing her backside up as she grabbed onto the rock with her hands and lifted herself. Touching her sent a warm sensation straight to his groin. He hoisted himself up with ease. 
    “It’s