Second Chance Rancher by J. Margot Critch

Author:J. Margot Critch
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-01-23T16:35:14+00:00

* * *

Outside, there was a bit of a chill in the night air, and Daisy wished she’d remembered to bring a jacket. She folded her arms across her chest as she made her way to an empty table in the far corner of the patio.

“It’s cold out here,” he said behind her. She didn’t turn to face him, not even when he put his jacket over her shoulders. She inhaled, and took in the faint notes of his cologne, and a scent that was purely him.

“Hi, Wes,” she said, watching him over her shoulder.

He turned and smiled. “Hello again, Daisy.”

“You somehow keep turning up,” she noted playfully.

“What can I say—it’s a small town.”

“That might be true, but you followed me out here, didn’t you?”

“I can’t argue with that. Any sane man would follow a woman like you anywhere, Daisy.”

Even the way he said her name made her heart stutter. But several breaths stilled it to a normal rhythm. “We need to talk,” she told him.

“You always say that.”

“It’s always true.”

“We could have talked a few nights ago, but you ran out after the barbecue like you’d been asked to pay the bill.”

“Let’s go over here.” She gestured to a dark, empty area away from the building. “You know how people talk. I don’t think we need an audience.”

He pointed to a more private spot near the side of the building. “Let’s go over here.”

The place where they stood was lit solely by the yellow glow of the bulbs that hung over the patio, and because they were farther away, the light cast a golden glow that slanted across the bottom half of his face and highlighted his square jaw and full lips, which turned up in a grin.

“We made a mistake...” she said, trailing off.

“In Las Vegas.”

“No, not just then.” She shook her head. “Man, all we seem to do is screw up massively.”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“The mistake we made was deciding to keep seeing each other casually.”

“I don’t see it that way.”

“Of course, you don’t.”

“I think that agreement proves that we still have a pretty powerful connection.”

“It’s only physical.”

“I still fail to see the problem.”

“And that’s the problem. I need more than that.” He stepped closer to her, near enough for her to feel the heat from his body. She pulled his coat tighter around her shoulders so that he was surrounding her completely. “You complicate my life,” she revealed, not even realizing that was what she was going to say.

It also clearly wasn’t the response he’d been expecting, and he tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

She shook her head, trying to piece together the words and put them in the proper sequence. “My life is here in Applewood. I have a home here, friends, family, my dog, my practice. I never questioned that or felt any different—this is where I belong. And then you ride in here, say some nice words, touch me like you do, and you make me question that.

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