Read Online His Hometown Cowgirl by Anne Marie Novark - Free Book Online Page A

Kelsey! Hold up a minute!" Maddie
trotted toward her from her position behind the group, where she
followed the riders, bringing up the rear, encouraging stragglers
and making sure every horse was behaving properly.
    "Rest break!" Kelsey lifted her arm to signal
the group to stop. All the riders reined in and looked to their
leader for instructions. "No need to dismount," Kelsey called to
them. "This won't take long."
    One lady's horse began prancing about and
jerking its head, fighting the bit. "Whoa! Whoa, I say!" The lady
fought the reins as the rest of the guests looked on as interested
spectators.
    Kelsey signaled to Maddie to wait a minute
before intervening, seeing if the older woman could regain control
of her horse. She and her cousin exchanged looks, both admiring the
finesse the woman demonstrated with her mount.
    The horse finally settled down, and the woman
grinned at the group. "Just gotta show 'em who's boss, right?"
    Kelsey grinned back. "Yes, ma'am. Very well
done. It's always a pleasure to see an experienced rider handle a
fidgety horse. Not that our horses misbehave often, but once in a
while, they do get a wild hair." She turned to Maddie, who'd sidled
next to her. "What's up?"
    Maddie motioned to the northeast. "I don't
like the looks of those clouds. I didn't know if you'd noticed. You
seemed to be in deep conversation with Mr. Hurley. I swear that old
man's been flirting with you from the get-go."
    Kelsey rolled her eyes. "I know. But what can
I do? He's a paying customer. I can't refuse him or his money. He's
harmless. You know that." She gazed to the north. "You're right
though. Those clouds look ominous. We'll turn around and head back.
We'll start our campfire activity early, so everyone can get on
home before the storm hits. I swear I checked the weather for
today. I don't remember rain in the forecast. But we need it, so I
can't complain."
    "Right. I'll get these folks pointed in the
right direction." Maddie was gone on the words, making the
announcement in such a way so as not to alarm the trail riders.
    Once back at the compound, Kelsey and Maddie
handed the group off to Molly who had the fire already going and
the s'mores ready to make. The wind had died down, and it looked
like the storm had decided to go around instead of dumping a
torrential downpour on top of them all.
    Which was really too bad.
    She hadn't been kidding when she'd told
Maddie they needed rain. They were dangerously behind for the year.
Any day now, she expected a burn ban to be put into effect, and
that would mean the end of their campfires.
    Oh, well. Nothing she could do about that, so
no need to borrow trouble, as Grams always said. And worrying about
it wouldn't change anything anyway.
    She headed to the office to work on the
never-ending pile of paperwork that seemed to grow by leaps and
bounds on top of her desk. She was answering email when the door
opened and Pete walked in.
    "You busy?" he asked, taking off his Stetson
and swiping his hair back before setting it back on his head.
    Her heart lodged in her throat; she quickly
cleared it. "Yes, but I'm always busy these days. Busy is good, you
know?" She hadn't seen him since the night at Defalco's when he'd
reached out to comfort her when her feelings had become all tangled
up inside.
    He'd emphasized the fact that they were
friends, and she should have been happy with that, but a little
voice whispered that she might want more from him.
    Pete closed the door and stepped toward the
desk. The office seemed to shrink with his strong masculine
presence. He wore a shearling bomber jacket over a blue plaid
western shirt, Wranglers and boots. A hint of his aftershave
floated on the air.
    "I cancelled a herbicide application up on
the Cap Rock because of the storm and thought I'd come on over
here. You have time to talk a minute?"
    "Sure." Kelsey hit send, then closed her
laptop. "Have a seat. Just shove those catalogs to the floor. I
need to put them in the recycle bin, but