Cowboy Love on Hold [Love: The Cowboy Way 1] Read Online Free Page A

later, after a few more beers and a rerun of a Lobos game that she knew for sure Wade had watched the first time, Kimber cast a glance at Brandon to find him asleep in the chair. Gratified to know she wasn’t the only one exhausted by Wade’s enthusiasm for everything, Kimber nudged Wade and gestured silently towards their friend.
    “He’ll have to spend the night. I’m too wasted to drive him home,” Wade said in a stage whisper loud enough to wake the dead. Or at least, wake Brandon.
    “It’s okay, I can walk.” Brandon mumbled the words as he lurched to his feet, only to sit back down again with a silly smile on his face. “I think.”
    Kimber groaned under her breath. He couldn’t stay. He just couldn’t. The thought of him naked and laying in wait somewhere in her house would kill her, but she couldn’t say that out loud, so she said, “You can’t walk home in that condition. I’ll make you up a bed down here.”
    Brandon shook his head then winced and held on to it. “Can’t stay…got family coming down first thing in the morning.”
    Kimber looked at Wade and shrugged. “I didn’t drink anything. I can drive him home.”
    “You sure? I’ll come with you. I don’t want you driving on your own at this time of night.”
    “I’ll jog back to the ranch. You two don’t need to put yourselves out.”
    She laughed, raising her hands to silence them. “Oh, my God. Shut up, the pair of you. It’s barely eight o’clock, and we had to go out tonight anyway, Brandon. I think Wade forgot that he told our neighbor that he’d go check on that calf for him?”
    “Shit!” Wade scrambled to his feet and grabbed his hat. “You’re right. It’s just as well you’re here to keep my ass in check.”
    Kimber grabbed the keys off him. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’ll drop you at the barn, take Brandon home, and swing round and pick you up on the way back.”
    Brandon tried again to insist he could run the five miles home, but Wade raised his hand, a rueful smile on his face. “Spare yourself the grief. Once Kimber sets her mind on doing something, there’s no talking her out of it. Just do what I do—keep your mouth shut and enjoy the ride.”
    Ten minutes later, Kimber pulled up in front of the Reed Ranch house and kept the engine running as she waited for Brandon to get out, but he didn’t.
    “Thanks for dinner. It was great seeing you two again.”
    “No problem. I’m happy to do it for you. I’m sure you probably haven’t been taking care of yourself at the moment with so much going on.”
    Brandon placed a hand on her shoulder, and Kimber could feel the warmth of it through the thin cotton of her blouse. “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. The army, my mother, and my wife trained me well.”
    “Wife? But Wade said—”
    “Yeah, he did, didn’t he? He just assumed I never got married.” Brandon dropped her gaze and looked out of the window.
    “Why isn’t she here helping you out? Your wife, I mean.”
    “Because she’s helping out her new husband I guess.”
    “So, you’re divorced?”
    He nodded but still didn’t turn around to face her. “I guess she got sick of waiting for me to love her the way she needed to be loved.”
    “She left you?”
    Kimber heard Brandon’s snort of derision. “Yeah, in an ass backwards sort of way. She hooked up with this guy from my squad, and started seeing him behind my back.”
    “Oh God, Brandon! I’m so sorry.”
    “Not as sorry as he was.” He fell silent and Kimber didn’t like the dangerous undercurrent she’d heard in his voice. The hand resting on his thigh clenched into a fist for a second then relaxed, and when he turned to face her, she could see the emotional storm had passed
    “I almost got myself court-martialed for kicking his ass all over the squad room, but the really stupid part is that deep down, I knew the only thing hurt was my pride. When I heard she was seeing someone else, the fact it was a member of my