Page 3 of The Cowgirl's Chosen Love
“It’s a big change.”
“It’s anexcitingchange,” Lisa said with conviction before eyeing him. “Nice try at distracting me, by the way. I’m not letting you off the hook until you tell me how you gotonthe hook.”
“Such a comedian.” He took a step away, picking up his coat and sticking a finger through the hole. He eyed it, deliberately not looking at her as he confessed, “The cat wasn’t the trouble, but there was this spider…”
As his voice faded, Lisa slammed her lips together. She tossed away the smart-ass comments she’d been planning to make.
She wouldnotmake fun of anyone’s fears. No matter how amusing it was at first to picture such a fine example of manhood running scared from something the size of his fingernail.
“There will be no tormenting about anything except finding you doing a scarecrow imitation,” she assured him quietly.
That gorgeous blue gaze of his swept over her face as if judging to see how serious she was. He nodded, pulling his coat back on. “Appreciate that.”
The thick layers settled over the broad width of his shoulders. It wasn’t right how much her fingers itched to touch him again.
Then again, what wasn’t right was failing to take advantage of a perfect opportunity to move ahead on something she’d been thinking about pretty hard.
She was leaving town sooner than later, but there was nothing to say she and Josiah couldn’t have fun while she was around.
Lisa reached up to arrange his collar, smoothing the fabric into position before letting her hands linger on his chest, stroking the warm lambskin of his coat as she focused on his face. “I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.”
Josiah was looking down at her as if he wanted to consume her—which, hey, okay by her—the bright blue in his eyes hot and needy. His gaze fell to her mouth, stalling as if debating his next move.
The motion was trite, perhaps, but impossible to stop—Lisa licked her lips, and his eyes dilated a little further.
Anticipation hung in the air. A sense of not what, butwhen, and she found herself leaning forward, adding pressure to her touch. Closing the gap between them.
Josiah shifted position, his breathing grew ragged, then he—
He left.
He turned on his heel and slid past her, gliding like a western gunslinger into the hallway, then past the row of horses. His perfect ass moving away from her as he made a measured yet hasty retreat.
The hole in his jacket was already fraying, strands spilling outward as a visible sign that something had gone wrong.
Something messy like her getting shot down again, because unless she wanted to chase after him, Lisa had little choice other than to watch Josiah vanish in the distance.
Shehatednot knowing what a person would do next. Especially someone like Josiah Ryder who was intriguing and sexy and a man she would be very willing to get to know better during her remaining interlude in Heart Falls.
It appeared her love life was on hiatus, the same way the rest of her life teetered on…
Nothing. She had no idea what the future should look like. Sadly, it appeared she was going to wallow in loneliness while she figured it out.
Lisa took a deep breath and kicked her own butt. Enough moping.
While her future was out there,somewhere, her present was waiting in the house. Back where her sister needed help. And if Lisa had learned anything over the past years, it was how to take care of her sisters.
She gave the nearest horse a pat on the nose then headed through the snowy winter night to the ranch house. Her night’s agenda now involved hiding out in the basement guest room to give her sister and brother-in-law some privacy.
The sad truth was no matter where she ended up she was going to daydream about Josiah Ryder. About how she wished the two of them were together in the barn. Maybe in the hayloft, generating heat and getting to know each other far more intimately.
Walking awayfrom the temptation of Lisa Coleman had been hellishly difficult.
Josiah closed the final gate behind him and headed up the long driveway to his spread overlooking the Alberta Rocky Mountains. He lived far enough out of town to have some privacy. Close enough to be able to enjoy the few luxuries a small town could offer.
His phone rang, and he put it on speaker even as he aimed his truck into the darkness. “Josiah. What’s your emergency?”
“What’s yours?” Caleb Stone’s deep drawl echoed over the line, and in spite of the twitch of irritation in his belly, Josiah had to smile.
