The White Cowboy - Complete BWWM Romance Box Set Read Online Free Page B

a bar and gave me his card. I didn’t think he was serious, but he was."
    "Lifelong dream?"
    He poured some scotch from the bottle he'd retrieved. He slid it over to her, then poured some for himself.
    "Yes. I've been singing in bars since before I was old enough to be in a bar."
    "What does your family think?"
    She sipped the drink, the laughed. "That I should use my college degree and get a job," she said.
    That had been their mantra for the two years since she'd graduated. She hadn't listened to them and wasn't going to start now. They knew how independent she was, well, except for the money.
    But if she became a star, she'd have her own money. No more hitting Daddy up for everything she needed.
    He'd like that. She'd like that because he'd have no say in her life.
    Well, he could state his opinion, and she'd go and do exactly what she wanted.
    That's why she couldn't understand why she didn't just jump this guy's bones. This whole electricity thing felt much bigger than a quickie. Would they implode if they made love?
    She was a little afraid to find out. She was also afraid that she'd get sidetracked. That wouldn't do. Her ex had wanted her to settle down, but she wasn't ready.
    "So you haven't listened to them?"
    He slid onto a stool at the other end of the island.
    She shook her head. "No. I know I have it in me to be big. And apparently this agent thinks so too."
    "Then I guess you'll follow your dream."
    "Do you have a dream?"
    He grimaced. "I used to ride the rodeo circuit. I got injured, and now my life is simple. I don’t think I have the right stuff to follow that dream."
    "What was it?"
    "What? My dream?"
    "Yes, what was your dream?" she asked.
    "I sell beef and chicken at the market. I wanted to write a cookbook for those meats."
    "So why haven't you?" she asked.
    "Haven't had time. Don't know if I can write," he said.
    "So find out."
    "You make it sound easy."
    This was a pretty deep conversation with someone she had just met, but she was a big believer in following your dream. She was that personified. She'd packed her things in a car and was driving across the country. "It is. I've sung in many bars, some pretty nasty ones, but that put me in the right bar at the right time to see that agent."
    "It isn't that easy."
    "Yeah, it is. And if any of your food is like that soup, then your cookbook should be a hit."
    He shook his head. "It really isn't that easy."
    She waved her hand feeling impatient. This was none of her business, but she was still not letting it go. "You're just seeing the obstacles."
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    As he lay in bed later, Brandon knew he was going to be exhausted, but the animals needed to be fed, and he had to shovel to get to the barns. His joints ached from the storm. He never felt so old as when a storm was upon them.
    He'd never shared his desire to write a cookbook with anyone. Now he felt he'd given away a part of himself that he'd guarded for so many years. Why? Why had he told Gemma about the cookbook? Thankfully, she would be gone tomorrow.
    Spike whined at him every time he moved, but didn't leave the comfort of the bed. Brandon reached down and scratched the dog's head.
    Brandon hoped that by the time he was done with the morning chores, his visitor would be gone. She only had to walk back to her car, then keep on driving west.
    He would keep the memory of her in his head for a few days, then he'd forget that anyone had disrupted his orderly life. He could go back to being a hermit except for those few times he was in town.
    The loneliness would bother him less and less, he figured. But that hadn't happened yet. He was still lonely, and still feeling like his wife had just left him, even though she'd done the walking out more than two years ago.
    His animals were his only family.
    His parents were already gone. He had no siblings. His life was uncomplicated.
    And probably boring. Was that why Jessica left? Had he bored her?
    "Do I bore you, Spike?"
    The dog yawned in