Read Online Almost a Cowboy by Em Petrova - Free Book Online

long enough to roar his release. She issued a long moan to complete the symphony and collapsed against his sweat-dampened chest.
    For a long minute, she fought to calm her heart. He stroked her hair and back, raising shivers. His heart thumped hard against her chest too.
    At least I affect him as much as he affects me.
    She’d agreed to go with him on this search for his siblings. It still stunned her that Hollis Davies had done such a dastardly thing. He’d seemed like such a straightforward man. And the whole time he’d been cheating on his wife, making more families.
    It proved people weren’t always what they seemed.
    It was exactly the kind of story she chased.
    Thoughts for her human interest story swirled in her mind. Too easily she could plug this information into an article and blow the newspaper sales through the roof.
    But no, of course she’d never do that to Utah. On the road trip, she hoped a story revealed itself.
    How crazy that she’d fallen right back into his arms as if he’d never left. However, the same girl wasn’t in Utah’s arms now—she was harder, more jaded by life. Judging by that crease between his brows when he looked at her, she puzzled him. Even when she’d spoken to Tom Berger, Utah had looked at her as if she were a stranger. And if she knew anything about Utah, it was that he didn’t like change.
    Could he really love the new Caroline? She was about to spend days, possibly weeks, in close company with him.
    She’d find out soon enough.

Chapter Five
    The trip into town for supplies had gone better than Utah expected. Being seen with his ex-fiancée was no small thing in South Ogden. While he expected people’s lips to be flying, they simply nodded and smiled.
    “’Bout time everyone stopped giving their forty-two cents about our relationship,” he muttered.
    Caroline pushed her hair behind her ear but remained silent. He made a left turn to head back to the ranch and then looked at her hard. Even to someone who was out of touch with humanity, it was apparent that buying toiletries together hadn’t upset her.
    “What is it?”
    She shook her head but didn’t meet his gaze. He rested a hand on her warm, bare thigh. After coming down from the ranch, they’d stopped at her house, and Caroline had changed out of her dress clothes and into cutoff shorts he ached to peel off her.
    Soon he would.
    They’d also spent an hour with Mrs. Wilks, settling the kitten she’d been asked to pet-sit. Caroline’s ma hadn’t batted an eye at seeing them together, especially after his late-night house call to find out where Caroline lived. She was as sweet as pie, offering homemade cake and iced tea, talking to Utah as if she’d never plotted to keep her daughter from becoming his wife.
    “Talk to me, Caroline.” His tone came out harsher than intended, and he caressed her thigh to soften the words.
    She twisted and looked through the passenger window. The houses in town stretched out and soon gave way to fields. Still, she didn’t speak.
    He pinched her inner thigh, not enough to bruise, but it made her squawk. She slapped his hand away. “Ow!”
    He let his eyes hood. “I’ll make it better soon, I promise.”
    Lips twitching, she covered his hand. “I’ve just been thinking about all of this.”
    “What? You worrying about leaving the kitten?” He knew it wasn’t the case, but he’d always pried up the wrong corner to loosen the others.
    She sent him a sidelong glance, obviously aware of his strategy. “I’ve only had Arial a short time. Ma will love having something to take care of. I’ve been trying to talk her into getting a pet for years.”
    Okay, so they’d use the cat to get to the real problem. “But you’ll miss the kitten?”
    “Well yeah. I guess. It’s something warm in bed with me.”
    “You’ve been lonely?” He guided the truck down the road leading to the ranch. They’d make one more stop there, lock up, and then hit the road. It was late