Eight Second Angel: The Ballad of Lily Grace (Lonesome Point, Texas Book 7) Read Online Free

yoga?”
    Grace tilted her head to one side, considering him. “No, I haven’t. But I like that you have.”
    “Why’s that?”
    “Because it’s sweet,” she murmured. “A bull rider named Meriwether, who takes yoga, saves women in trouble, and eats pink donuts. Someone should write a song about you.”
    “The name’s Canyon,” he said, flustered by the compliment.
    “I know,” she said, bringing her fingers to wrap around his thumb, her hand so tiny all four of her fingers could line up in a row between his joint and the end of his thumb. “And I know you don’t have it as together as you would like me to believe, Canyon.”
    His hand curled into a fist. “Is that right?”
    “It is,” she said, strength in her voice he hadn’t heard before. “So why don’t you stop trying to save me and give it to me straight. What do you really do when the sad and the lonely refuses to go away?”
    Canyon held her gaze, his chest tightening as the silence stretched between them. For the first time, he noticed the intelligence in her soft brown eyes and the core of steel beneath her pretty face. There was more to Grace than he’d imagined, more depth, more heart, and more pain. He could see that too, a pain as deep and wide as his, though she was still struggling to stay on top of it, fighting to stay on the surface instead of giving in and sinking like a stone.
    He’d realized Grace was pretty the first time he’d laid eyes on her—she looked like an angel with those blond curls and big brown eyes set in skin as pale as porcelain—but he’d never been aware of her in the way a man is aware of a woman. He hadn’t been aware of many women that way since he and Reilly divorced, but those he had were much older and less innocent than the pretty young thing sitting across from him.
    His misery loved company and he looked for women who wanted the same thing he did: release and an easy goodbye. He wasn’t interested in love or passion. Sex was a biological urge he satisfied when the need grew too great and hated himself for immediately after. He didn’t deserve pleasure, but there were nights when he couldn’t help reaching for something to ease the ache.
    But he refused to reach for this girl. It didn’t matter that something inside of him was sitting up and taking notice of a woman in a way it hadn’t in years. He wouldn’t be good for Grace. She needed a friend, not a one-night stand, and he wasn’t in the position to offer a woman in his bed more than that.
    He tried to pull his hand from hers, but she held tight.
    “That’s what I thought,” she said. “So I have a proposition for you.”
    “No,” he said, his voice rough.
    “You haven’t heard what it is yet,” she said, undeterred. She leaned in, eyes shining. “I think we should get away from it all for a while. We could head north and find a cute little town to rest up in for a few days. I bet if we put our heads together we can figure out something better than yoga or bull-riding to take the sad away. Bet it would be good for both of us.”
    “I don’t think so, Grace,” Canyon repeated, gently prying her fingers from his thumb. “You’re a beautiful girl, but I’m not in a place for a relationship or anything else.”
    She laughed as she picked up her bear claw. “Who said anything about a relationship or anything else , Meriwether? That was a friendly proposition, not an X-rated one. You know men and women can be friends, right?”
    Heat crept up his neck. “My apologies. Guess I misunderstood.”
    “Darn right you did,” she said, taking a bite of her pastry. “I’m offended, but you can make it up to me on the road by giving me control of the radio. I’ve already quit my job so I’m ready to leave when you are.”
    He shook his head, unable to keep the smile from his face. “Anyone ever tell you you’re trouble, Grace?”
    “All the time,” she said. “But I’m not. I’m just bossy and bad at taking no for an answer.