Trouble With a Cowboy Read Online Free Page B

growled.
    "Kyle.
Nice to see you again," the man replied.
      Jacie tipped her head to get a glimpse of his
face. The voice sounded awfully familiar. "Tucker?"
    "Jacie?"
A startled gaze raked her from the top of her baseball cap, over her loose
fitting shirt and dirty jeans to the boots on her feet. "What are you
doing here? Why are you dressed like that?"
    A
quick glance at her clothing revealed nothing out of the ordinary to her. "This
is how I always dress when I'm working."
    "Working?
You work here? I thought you said you weren't from Littleton?"
    "I'm
not. I needed something from the shop, but I didn't realize Kyle was the proprietor. I guess I'll
have to go elsewhere for what I need."
    "Good
luck with that one, Jacie. My shop is the only one in town."
    The
smirky, half smile on his lips pissed her off even more.
    "I'll
rot in hell in this podunk hole in the wall before I even listen to a
proposition from you. I'm not willing to barter for the tires I need, asswipe,"
she snarled at Kyle. Tucker stood with his arms crossed over his tempting chest
and a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. "Nice to see you again,
Tucker, but I've got something I need to take care of." Without waiting
for a reply, she spun on her heels and headed across the parking lot toward her
truck, grumbling and cussing with each step. "Goddamn, son of a bitch,
fucking asshole. The devil will be dancing on the polar icecaps before I do
anything to—"
    "Jacie!
Jacie, wait up!"
    She'd
just reached her rig when Tucker caught up with her. "What?"
    "This
yours?" he asked, eyeing her truck.
    "Yeah,"
she replied, bristling with indignation even before he said much.
    "You
drive eighteen-wheelers?"
    The
incredible look on his face pissed her off, but it really shouldn't have. She'd
seen it way too often from people. "Yes I do. You got a problem with
it?" The smile she'd seen earlier returned two-fold and she wasn't sure
she liked the look in his eyes. "Why?"
    "No,
no problem. It suits you."
    "Great.
I think." Stomping to the cab, she popped open the door, preparing to
climb inside when she realized he'd continued to follow her. "What exactly
do you want, Tucker?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
    "Have
lunch with me."
    She
tilted her head to the side. "Excuse me?"
    "I
want you to have lunch with me."
    "Why
exactly?"
    "I
have a proposition for you."
    "I've
already been propositioned once this morning. I'm really not in the mood to go
for round two," she replied as she brought her foot up and started to
climb into the cab. Why exactly she felt the need to be inside, she wasn't
sure, but it seemed like the thing to do.
    His
hand wrapped around her ankle. "Come on, Jacie. I'm talking about a real,
honest to God business deal."
    "What
kind of deal?"
    "I'll
help you get the tires you need for your truck, but we have to discuss the rest
over lunch."
    Her
mom had always taught her to hold her temper, but the more she had to deal with
egoistical, male-chauvinistic men, the harder it got. True, she'd had to put up
with all her siblings, all seven of them, but dealing with the handsome devil
who stood at her feet tested every ounce of self-control she possessed.
    "Please?"
    Well, crap. What the hell do I say
so that? "Fine," she grumbled, retreating down the
couple of steps on the side of the cab. "Where?"
    "The
diner? There isn't much to choose from around here."
    "Don't
I know it."
    Her
boots hit the pavement as one of his eyebrows arched in an
I'm-the-man-and-I'm-tolerating-your-independent-woman-attitude look.
    Wonderful. Last night I thought he
might have been different. I guess I should have known. I haven't met a man yet
who didn't cop an attitude once they find out what I do for a living. With
a need to do something with her hands, she brushed invisible dirt from the
front of her jeans before she looked in his direction, and then headed off
toward the diner without a backward glance. I
will not let him get to me. I will not let him get to me. A heavy