Page 8 of The Cowgirl's Chosen Love
When he woke in the morning to dreams that involved female hands running over his torso, damned if the illusion didn’t bring up another reason why he was tired of being alone.
Lisa Coleman was smart and sexy, and both descriptors turned him on.
In that restless space between sleep and awake, he pictured her perfectly, her dark hair curling softly around her shoulders. He’d only seen it down a few times instead of pulled up into a ponytail as she rushed after her nieces or gave her extended family a hand doing tasks around the barn.
Slim body, smaller up top, but with more than enough curves. He’d be happy exploring every one of them for a hell of a long time.
He had far too good of an imagination, which was both a weakness and strength. Josiah forced himself into his morning routine instead of lingering in bed and dealing with his hard-on.
This impulse he had to press Lisa up against the nearest surface and kiss the grin off her face until she was screaming his name with pleasure—that was only part of it.
Although that was the part he’d been dreaming about with great regularity.
Enough. The day was young. Somehow, he was going to move forward and find out more. Find out what needed to happen to make both their dreams come true.
If he had to do someahead of time planningto make sure he didn’t once again get caught unawares—
Oh.
Oh,yes.
Josiah found himself grinning as an idea bloomed from seed to actionable. He had plenty of past experience following a script.
Maybe it was time he wrote one for himself.
Lisa stoodon the back porch and stared at the snowy morning landscape in appreciation. The recent warm snap was over, and the huge dump of snow the previous night had turned everything pristine again. Crisp white covered all the spots where dirt had worked its way to the surface along well-trod routes.
The world was a wintry wonderland, the air crackling with a fresh clean scent. A perfect beginning to the day, yet Lisa itched for more.
A truck pulled up the long drive, slowing as it approached Caleb Stone and his two little girls, en route to the school bus stop.
Josiah Ryder rolled down his window and chatted with Caleb for a moment. Sasha and Emma ran in circles, kicking up snow as the big, shaggy dog, Demon, barked his fool head off. Billows of white escaped as the girls shouted and laughed, and the whole scene was full of life and happiness.
And annoyance, as Lisa realized she’d been staring at Josiah’s firm jawline, imagining what his scruff would feel like against her naked skin.
He lifted his gaze to hers, eyes crinkling at the corners as his grin widened.
When he tipped his hat and winked, her cheeks grew hot. No way could he have read her mind, but from the pleased expression he wore? She could have sworn he had.
She shoved away the thought and turned from the blue Alberta sky and sunlight reflecting off the frozen surface of the lake.
Sliding into the cozy home Tamara had made with Caleb Stone sent a wave of different emotions through her. First and foremost, though, deep satisfaction. Lisa was so happy for her sister.
There’d always been something missing in the house where they’d grown up, or at least it had felt that way to Lisa. Her mom had died shortly after Lisa was born and while she couldn’t fault Dad in providing for their physical needs, her childhood home had lacked the little touches.
Her gaze drifted to the living room. To the soft cushions and throw blankets. The pictures on the wall, and everything else that screamed family—
No, that was totally unfair to her dad because they’dhadpictures on the wall. They’dhadartwork from school on the refrigerator, and between them, the three sisters from the Whiskey Creek ranch had developed a deep sense of family and friendship. A far deeper connection than a lot of siblings experienced.
But something had been lacking. As her gaze settled on a portrait of Tamara and Caleb with their two little girls, the only thing Lisa could think of wasunconditional acceptance.
George Coleman had been a man alone with three girls to raise. Extended family had stepped in to help, but at the end of each day, it had been the four of them. Dad wasn’t the touchy-feely type, and he’d had definite opinions about what occupations were appropriate for a woman.
That last point had been a major roadblock for three active young girls who had minds of their own and dreams that seemed completely contradictory to everything he wanted them to do.
Caleb Stone, with Tamara’s help, was creating an entirely different world for his two daughters to grow up in. Lisa was fiercely gladanddetermined not to be jealous of their good luck.
As she finished hanging up her coat and putting away her things, Tamara, heavily pregnant and nauseous most of the time, looked up from where she sat at the kitchen island. Her belly seemed noticeably bigger than the day before, and her hand nestled over the top portion of the swell.
