A Silver Lining Read Online Free Page B

Heather slumped against it, breathing heavily. She had to get control of herself. If she planned on winning this little competition between favorites, she was going to have to keep her head clear and her eye on the prize. Falling for Tristan's charms would do her no good.
    Shaking off the lingering tingles from her brush against the virile cowboy, Heather quickly dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a form-fitting, low-cut T-shirt that nicely hugged her breasts. She fluffed her hair, applied some makeup, and then pulled on a pair of Ugg boots.
    Boots were boots, right?
    She left her room and crossed to her grandfather's door, not even bothering to knock as she strolled on in. Mabel sat next to him with an open ledger in her hands. Heather caught the tail end of her talking about some accounts before the housekeeper-accountant clammed up.
    "We're not done yet, girl,” Lincoln Hart wheezed. “Come back in a while."
    "I'm supposed to meet Tristan,” Heather said. “But I guess I can stand him up. I have a new bikini I can wear as I work on my tan. Think your cowboys would like that?"
    "Quit trying to seduce the men out of work! Mabel, can you give us a moment?"
    Mabel shot an annoyed look Heather's way before snapping the ledger shut and rising. She straightened Lincoln's bedcovers before walking out the door, shutting it behind her with a soft click.
    Heather folded her arms, waiting, one eyebrow arched.
    "You got a mouth on you, don't you?” her grandfather grumbled over his labored breathing. An oxygen hose ran up each nostril.
    "Why did you tell Tristan about our arrangement?"
    "How else am I gonna know if you're keeping your end of the deal? It's not like I can play detective while carrying around my breathing tank."
    "I'll keep my word because I've decided I want this ranch,” Heather announced.
    "The deal was for cash."
    "We both know it was for a lot more than money. Otherwise, you wouldn't have demanded the stipulation."
    He narrowed his eyes and regarded her steadily, sizing her up like a cow at auction. And perhaps that described her predicament perfectly.
    "It'll take a lot more than that to win my decision, Heather,” he finally said. The sound of her name coming from his lips startled her a bit, his rusty voice old and tired.
    She pursed her lips and turned to leave the old man to wither away another day in his room, but at the threshold, she turned. Her chin went up a notch. “Whether you like the fact or not, I am your granddaughter. And I suspect I've gotten my backbone and determination from you, because there's no way in hell I'm losing this ranch to a fucking replacement."
    She slammed the door behind her, the Ugg boots not quite making the noise she'd hoped for.
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Chapter Five
    The stable housed forty horses, with twenty individual stalls on each side. Heather stood in the open doorway on the soft dirt and wrinkled her nose at the undeniable smell of manure, leather, and beast. It brought back memories.
    Tristan had promised to come see her all those years ago, to see how his home remedy had helped, but he didn't show. She had gone looking for him and had ended up at this stable, where she had been told by his friend Duke that he had left Hart Ranch. She had forgotten that until just then. Her little schoolgirl crush had been almost overwhelming, her disappointment at missing Tristan heartbreaking.
    "All the horses are gone right now,” Tristan said from behind her, startling her out of her musings. “Which makes this the perfect opportunity for you."
    "Excuse me?"
    He walked around her and held out a shovel. She eyed him warily.
    "Here,” he said with a thrust of the shovel in her direction.
    She took it, but held it away from her body as she eyed it with disgust. “What am I supposed to do with it?"
    "Your first task is going to be cleaning the stalls."
    Her gaze narrowed on his face. “Are you joking?"
    "Not what you had in mind?"
    "I thought we could start out