The Rancher's Wife Read Online Free Page B

glass pane.
    Logan stood at the foot of his truck. Eyes fixed on hers, he crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest and leaned back against the tailgate. He didn’t shiver or waver. Just stood there. A solid pillar of heat in the freezing onslaught of ice, not heeding its vicious bite.
    Amy clenched her jaw. A sharp ache throbbed in her head at the tight press of her teeth. There was no need to rush. No need to try to outrun the storm. It had already hit.

Chapter Two
    He’d come on too strong. Had pushed Amy too hard.
    Logan shifted to a more comfortable position in the truck’s cab and eased his foot off the accelerator. He glanced to his right, finding Amy in the same position she’d adopted an hour ago. Perfect poise, legs crossed at the ankles and eyes straight ahead. Her hands shook in her lap.
    â€œCold?” He stretched over to cut the heat up and angle the vent toward her.
    â€œNo. I’m fine, thanks.”
    She didn’t look it. The closer they got to the ranch, the tenser she became.
    â€œHow much longer?” Traci asked from the backseat, removing her earbuds. “I’m getting stiff.”
    Traci rearranged her long length in the back of the cab, stretching her legs out to prop her boots on the console. Logan’s mouth twitched at the sight of the muddied heels. A few clumps of dirt dropped from them, tumbling into the front seat by his jean-clad thigh.
    He eyed her in the rearview mirror. “You got two floorboards back there, Traci.”
    â€œAnd a lotta leg,” she drawled, raising her voice above the deep throb of music from her cell phone. “I’m starving. We haven’t missed dinner, have we?”
    Logan shook his head. “Nope. We’re right on time. Not much farther now.”
    Traci stuck the earbuds back in, settled against the seat and closed her eyes.
    Logan faced the road again and they traveled in silence for a couple of miles before he glanced at Amy. The brash glow of the low-hanging sun flooded the cab and highlighted the pinstripes in her pantsuit. Her black hair was pulled up, giving him a clear view of her pale cheeks and blank expression.
    Logan opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly. He used to be able to talk to Amy about anything. Never even gave a thought to what he would say. Knew she’d be as eager for his thoughts as he’d always been for hers. But over the past twenty-four hours, he’d discovered that even though they were no longer separated by miles of road, a distance still remained between them. One he had no idea how to cross.
    â€œIs dinner still at six?” Amy’s green eyes flicked to the clock on the dashboard.
    â€œYeah. Betty runs a tight ship.” It was almost 5:30 p.m. They’d cut it close. “We’ll make it.”
    Barely . Despite his best attempts last night, they’d been unable to start home before the storm hit. Instead, the ice fell fast once they’d arrived at Amy’s apartment and by the time he’d loaded Amy’s bags in his truck, the roads were too slick to drive on. They decided it would be best to spend the night and start back in the morning after the ice began to melt. Traci had slept in the guest room and Logan had slept on the living room couch.
    He winced and rubbed the kink in the back of his neck. Or better yet, he’d tried his damnedest to sleep. It’d been hard to do with his legs dangling off one end of the sofa and his head the other. It didn’t help matters that Amy’s bedroom had been only a few feet away. He’d heard the rustle of sheets every time she’d tossed and turned. Apparently, she hadn’t been able to sleep either.
    He rolled his shoulders and tightened his hold on the steering wheel. At least they were almost home now rather than holed up in that suffocating apartment. It’d been obvious that Amy had already begun preparing for her move to Michigan. The stacks of boxes lining