Sidelines (Wounded Hearts #1) Read Online Free Page A

standing on the sidelines.” She shrugs as if it isn’t a big deal, but it kind of is.
    “Thank you. I haven’t even caught your name yet, I’m sorry.”
    She beams again. “Kelsey.”
    “Well, thank you, Kelsey.” I take a sip and marvel at the fact that she got it almost perfect with what resources she had.  Grinning, I go to reach for my wallet but she waves me off.
    “It’s on the house. Just do us all a favor and if Mr. Logan gets all grumpy like he did before, feel free to throw him a dose of his own medicine.”
    I am just about to lose a mouthful of coffee when she finishes her statement. Oh how I would love to do just that.
    “I can’t make any promises about that, but I can promise you I’ll be back for more of this.”
    She grins again, her eyes shining as brightly as the braced teeth she flashes. “I’ll be here. It was nice meetin’ you, Miss Mooreland.”
    Grinning over my shoulder I thank her again. “And please, call me Allie.”
     
    ***
     
    I’d probably enjoy the smooth ride of the brand new Ford Mustang Mr. Inman had reserved for me if one, it hadn’t come from him with a personal note telling me how excited he is to be working with me, and two, if it wasn’t so ridiculously windy. I nearly spill my coveted coffee all over my pants when the car starts to veer into the left lane of the tiny county road and I pray over and over that the turn to Double L Ranch would appear any second now. My phone beeps the last of its battery power just as my maps app tells me to turn onto the long drive. I try to keep the wheel steady as I set the coffee into the console and try to juggle my phone, but when a small branch full of green leaves flies across the driveway and makes me slam on my brakes, I abandon the phone to the passenger seat and firmly place both hands on the wheel.
    My eyes widen as I finally take in my surroundings. Even with the threatening gray clouds as a backdrop, the ranch is breathtakingly beautiful. The modern, yet rustic looking house is expansive, with antique white siding, grand wooden pillars holding the porch roof in place, and smooth, gray river rock framing a few of the windows and the corners of the house. Tufts of monkey grass and lovely, purple-leafed shrubs that sit in the middle of a loop in the driveway blow around frantically in the wild wind, but even with all their movement, the landscaping is pristine. I start to park the car in front of the wide, walnut front door, but a small group of figures running toward a stable set about fifty yards off from the house makes me follow the path around to the back of the house. Half a dozen farm trucks line the fence like spectators at a rodeo. I pull up next to one of the massive trucks, the stark white of my rental catching the attention of a couple of guys securing the shutters on the barn.
    The moment I step out of the car, I inhale a mouthful of my blond hair and end up in a coughing fit trying to keep myself from suffocating. Because of the ferocious the wind, it’s hard to catch my breath, so I’m still hacking up a lung when Logan jogs toward my car.
    “Allie!” I turn and pull my hair back with one hand and hold my sunglasses to my face with the other, barely catching sight of him. “Head on inside. I’ll meet you there in a minute.”
    He points toward the end of the wraparound porch, where a set of short steps lead to a side door. I turn to head that way, remembering at the last minute to grab my phone, bag, and coffee. A gust of wind catches the door to the house just as I open it and I barely step out of the way before it can smack into my face. When I step inside, I have to wrestle the door closed so it isn’t until I heave a sigh of relief and turn that I find I’ve stepped into my dream kitchen.
    Black cabinets with white quartz counter tops line the wall along the front of the house. A white apron sink sits with a fancy looking faucet just below a picture window that overlooks the front drive. The