Read Online Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl - Free Book Online Page A

tired.”
    Truth be told, he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in nine
months. His leg and hip throbbed every time he closed his eyes. “I’m back at the
ranch now.”
    “Speaking of…” Jenny said, raising her chin toward the
door.
    Cole turned and narrowed his eyes against the daylight. The
shaft of light narrowed as the door closed, and Easy was walking toward him.
Though the man was only sixty-five, he looked closer to seventy. He was still
lean and wiry, but all those years under the open sky had weathered his skin and
turned his crew cut silvery-blond. His pale eyes locked on Cole and he
glared.
    “Were you out at the ranch today?” he demanded.
    Ah, shit. Cole stood up and set his beer on the bar. He
wouldn’t lie to Easy, so he kept his mouth shut and crossed his arms.
    “Damn it, Cole! You know what the doctor said.”
    Quiet fell around them. Cole tipped his head. “Let’s talk
outside.”
    “We’re not talking about anything. Come in on Tuesday. You’re
taking Monday off.”
    “Goddamn it,” Cole snarled. “I can handle it. I’m doing
fine.”
    “What you’re doing is fooling yourself. But you’re not fooling
me. If you don’t do what—”
    “I get that, all right? I’m not a child, Easy. Let me do it the
way I need to.”
    “Tuesday,” Easy said. “And if it happens again, I’ll do the
same thing.”
    Christ. This was outrageous. Easy walked away, though he paused
to tip his hat to Rayleen on the way out. Cole glared, but he let Easy go
without cursing him out for being a mother hen instead of a ranch boss.
    Easy cared about him. He knew that. But Cole knew his body and
what he could handle. Sure, his thigh hurt. And now his back and his hip, but
what the hell was he supposed to do? Lounge around in bed? It all hurt there,
too. May as well make himself useful. And he needed to get back in shape.
Quick.
    He had insurance that had paid for the surgery and
hospitalization. But half the physical therapy was coming out of his pocket. Not
to mention rent and food and drugs. He had the money to cover it, but that money
was supposed to be locked up in a safe for the day he bought Easy’s ranch. He’d
finally saved up enough, but every month out of work was one step backward. Cole
wanted to be ready the moment Easy said he was ready to sell.
    If his leg hadn’t quite healed yet, it could heal on the job.
Hell, how many old cowboys did he know who limped around for forty years? Easy
himself was a damned pile of old breaks and busted-up joints, and he could
barely sit in a saddle for an hour. That was the way it went for old
cowboys.
    “Maybe you’re pushing too hard,” Shane said, interrupting
Cole’s internal diatribe.
    Cole pressed his lips together.
    “You were looking better last week. Now you look tired.”
    “Just getting back in the swing of things,” Cole said. “And
maybe all that snoring from your place upstairs is keeping me awake.”
    “I don’t snore. At least, your mama never said anything about
it.”
    “Really?” Cole asked, forcing his shoulders to relax as he
leaned against the bar. “A your-mama joke, huh?”
    Shane tipped his beer. “I know how to bring it.”
    “That’s not what my mama said.”
    “Touché.” Shane signaled for another beer, but Cole held up his
hand to let Jenny know that he wasn’t joining in. It was only four o’clock, and
he was so damn tired. If he had another beer, he’d go home and fall asleep. And
he knew from experience that meant he’d wake up around midnight and not get
another wink the rest of the night.
    The two beers ensured his anger wouldn’t quite bubble over,
anyway. He was too tired and too relaxed. But he couldn’t believe the way Easy
was acting. The man knew how much the work meant to Cole. Jesus.
    He needed to get back out there. For the money, yes. For his
savings and his plans and dreams. But he also needed to get his life back.
    For the past nine months he’d been a patient. Doing nothing but
reading