Home on the Ranch: Her Montana Rancher by C.J. Carmichael

Author:C.J. Carmichael
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-06-13T20:41:50+00:00

Chapter 2

So much for not giving Cole Kelley another thought.

Bethany stood in the pharmacy in the neighboring town of Honey Creek the following morning, berating her lack of control. She’d spent the entire night tossing and turning, reliving every nuance of that strained encounter in the barn. She’d overreacted. She’d let Cole’s vibrant blue eyes demolish her composure, bringing back a flood of rejection and pain. But she hadn’t expected to see him so soon—or that he’d look so impossibly good.

Disgusted with herself, she exhaled, determined not to spend more time thinking about Cole. If she’d learned anything in the years since high school, it was that there were things she couldn’t change. So she’d moved on. She’d made a good life for herself in Chicago. And she had enough to worry about without obsessing over him.

“I’ve got it in stock,” the pharmacist said, returning to the counter where she waited. “But it will be about twenty minutes before I can get to it.”

“That’s fine.” Pulling her mind back to her father’s prescription, Bethany glanced at her watch. “I’ll do some shopping and come back.”

Dead tired from the lack of sleep, she strolled up the narrow aisle of the pharmacy and pushed open the door to the street. It was early, barely nine o’clock, and nothing else was open in Honey Creek except the ranch supply store and Kelley’s Cookhouse, the town’s most popular place to eat.

Yawning, she glanced up the empty main street toward the restaurant, debating whether to get some coffee while she waited for the prescription. She could definitely use the caffeine boost. But Cole’s aunt and uncle owned the cookhouse, and she’d gone there on dates with Cole—memories she didn’t need to stir up.

Another yawn convinced her. She started up the tree-lined sidewalk just as a black, four-wheel-drive pickup pulled up to the restaurant and parked. Cole Kelley climbed out, and Bethany came to a halt.

Her heart somersaulted as he turned toward her. Their eyes met in the morning sunshine, and her traitorous pulse began to race. She shifted her weight, the urge to flee surging inside her, but she forced herself to stay put. She wasn’t going to spend the next two weeks bolting like a startled rabbit whenever she ran into Cole.

He started toward her, his long, determined strides devouring the distance between them. She pasted a neutral expression on her face, refusing to let him see how rattled she felt. But it was hard to feign indifference when the lanky, rangy teen she’d once loved had turned into an impossibly virile man.

She skimmed the wide, thick planks of his shoulders, the intriguing fit of his faded jeans. Years of ranch work had broadened his neck and back, erasing any hint of softness, turning his powerful biceps to steel.

She swallowed around the dust in her throat, her blood humming as he drew near. Cole had certainly aged nicely. And he was no vain Chicago businessman with muscles toned in front of a mirror. He was the real deal, a rugged Montana cowboy, a one-hundred-percent-natural male.

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