Read Online Cowboy with a Cause by Carla Cassidy - Free Book Online

start reaching for dreams that would never, could never include her.
    They could be friends, but she had to remember that she would always just be his landlady. And after he left, hopefully there would be another boarder...and another and she’d live her life vicariously through the people who rented her upstairs.
    “I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but I wish you would stop.” Adam’s voice pulled her from her reverie.
    She looked at him in surprise. “Why? Was I making faces?”
    “Just one face...a sad one. I absolutely don’t allow a sad face at the dinner table!” he exclaimed with a ring of mock authority.
    His teasing chased away her dismal thoughts.
    “My sister, Cherry, used to say that we all make a choice each morning. We choose to either be happy or be sad. She was the happiest person I ever knew,” he said with a touch of wistfulness.
    “You miss her,” Melanie said softly.
    “Every day. And I’m sure you miss your mother.”
    Melanie took a sip of her coffee and leaned back in her chair. “I had a lot of time to prepare myself for Mom’s passing. She was sick for a long time, but yes, I miss her.”
    “And what about your father?”
    “He checked out of our lives when I was two. I wouldn’t know him if he walked right up to me and said hello.”
    “He doesn’t know what he missed out on,” Adam replied.
    She smiled and suddenly she’d had enough. She felt slightly overwhelmed by the clatter of dishes, the chatter of people and Adam’s kindness.
    By the time they left the café, twilight had fallen, deepening shadows beneath the trees and around buildings. Adam offered to push her and she relented and allowed him to do so.
    “I should be wheeling myself to work off some of that chicken fried steak and potatoes,” she said as she leaned back in the chair and relaxed. “But, to be perfectly honest, I’m completely exhausted.”
    She was aware that it was more of a mental exhaustion than a physical one. Her mouth ached from all the smiling she’d done and after months of near isolation she felt overstimulated and edgy.
    “You did really well for your first time out.”
    She thought she felt his breath on the back of her neck, a provocative warmth that was oddly soothing. “It was nice to be out,” she admitted.
    “You have more friends than you think you have, Melanie. I wouldn’t be surprised if your phone starts ringing off the hook with all kinds of invitations.”
    “I’m not ready to become a social butterfly just yet. Tonight was nice, but I want to take it all slow. I’m still adjusting to this darned chair and all the limitations in my life.”
    “The only limitations you have are those you put in your own mind.”
    She bit her bottom lip to keep from snapping at him. Easy for him to say. He was walking on his two feet. He could run after a toddler who was chasing a ball. He could dance a two-step. There were so many things he could do that she would never do again.
    She was grateful when they reached her front door. All she wanted now was the privacy of her own room. Adam unlocked the door and turned to look at her, and in the purple glow of evening she thought she saw a whisper of something inviting in his eyes. It was a look that said he wouldn’t mind a kiss and she caught her breath as he half bent down toward her.
    For just a minute she felt like a young woman coming home from a date, her chest filled with the anticipation of a first sweet kiss, a promise of something more to come.
    She quickly backed up. She didn’t want him to kiss her, because she realized she wanted him to kiss her. She wondered what his mouth would taste like, how his lips might play on her own. It would be the height of stupidity to allow a kiss to take place between them.
    “Thanks, Adam,” she said, surprised to find her voice lower, deeper than usual. “You can go on upstairs and I’ll lock up from here.”
    He snapped straight up and stepped back from her. “Then I’ll