What a Man Needs Read Online Free Page A

“Suzy Q.” His gaze bored into her startled brown eyes. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He started to open the stall.
    â€œWait, Patrick,” Nora called. “I need to talk with you.” She took him by the arm and started off, but looked back toward Kelly and Cyndi. “Kelly, will you take Cyndi up to the house? I have coffee and Danish in the kitchen. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
    â€œMaybe we should just go,” Cyndi said. “This wasn’t a good idea.”
    â€œNo, it’s fine,” Kelly said. “We’ll be at the house. Nice to meet you, Patrick.”
    Patrick watched both women walk off. He wanted to run after Cyndi and demand to know why she hadn’t told him who she was. But he first needed to speak with Nora. He had a feeling that she’d set something up. She usually didn’t bring strangers to the ranch without telling him.
    He folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, talk.”
    Nora forced a smile. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
    â€œWho?” As if he didn’t know.
    â€œCynthia Reynolds, that’s who.” She rolled her eyes. “And she came here for help.”
    Now all the pieces were starting to fall together. “Was Cynthia the reason for our meeting at Morgan’s last night?”
    â€œWell, kind of.” She wrinkled her nose. “I was hoping that if you met and liked each other, that you would want to help her.”
    Oh, brother. He’d helped her all right…and Cyndi had helped him, too. He drew a calming breath. “Just how am I supposed to do that?”
    â€œShe has this movie part coming up and it’s a Western and…you need to teach her to ride.”
    Great. When did things get so bad that he had to teach a spoiled Hollywood actress to ride a horse? “Like hell. I don’t have the time or the disposition to put up with a demanding actress.” He couldn’t stop the flood of memories of last night. Cyndi was demanding, all right, as a lover, but she had been just as giving. He turned away.
    â€œPatrick, wait. You don’t understand. She’s terrified of horses.”
    â€œNot my problem.”
    â€œShe’s willing to pay twenty-five thousand dollars.”
    He stopped and stared at his sister. “You’re kidding.”
    She shook her head. “I know you normally work with children, but Cyndi needs to be able toride for this movie. When Kelly told me about it, naturally I thought of you. You are the best.”
    Patrick hated it when his baby sister pulled this sweet act. Ever since she was a kid, she’d brought home all kind of strays. He still had two dogs and a cat that she’d rescued. But this… “I have too much to do.”
    â€œI thought your dream was to enlarge the vineyard, to start a winery. Helping Cynthia Reynolds will bring you a lot closer to that goal.”
    It would take a long time for Patrick to save that kind of money. But the problem was, could he get past his relationship with Cyndi? Hell, what was he talking about? It was a one-night stand.
    â€œTell her I’ll give her some time in the afternoon.”
    Nora looked funny. “Patrick, she needs more than that. You’ve got to work with her full-time. And this has to be a secret. That means she should live out here.”
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    â€œSo what exactly happened between the two of you last night?” Kelly asked curiously. “The man didn’t seem to be too happy to see you. And before you deny it, I saw the sparks between you two, but I wasn’t sure if he was going to throttle you or jump your bones.”
    Cynthia paced the large farm-style kitchen. Although the room had obviously new maple cabinets and the countertops were tiled in a natural-colored stone, there was a homeyness about the place that was warm and inviting. But no matter how inviting, she wanted to leave, to convince Kelly to take