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

I've been super busy, like
I said." Could she sound any lamer? This was Pete. They were
friends. They'd been friends since forever. She'd enjoyed
reminiscing with him over pizza and root beer the other night. The
stroll down memory lane had reinforced her affection for him,
brought back to mind the crush she'd had on him, and amplified the
new feelings surfacing between them.
    Most importantly, it made her realize that
Pete was a very significant person in her life. She didn't want to
lose his friendship, so she needed to tread carefully in how she
handled the newly ignited desire she felt for the him. She didn't
think she'd been imagining the sexual tension emanating between
them. But if he wanted to ignore the chemistry and just be friends,
then so would she.
    That would be the safest thing to do,
anyways.
    Turning her swivel chair to face Pete, Kelsey
gripped her hands together on top of the desk and tried to still
the pounding in her heart. It was beating rapidly, having revved up
a notch the moment Pete had walked in the door.
    Pete set his Stetson on top of the stack of
catalogues he'd pushed to the floor. He sat for a moment just
looking at her, tenderness and concern making his brown eyes dark
and rich. A warm feeling simmered low in Kelsey's stomach.
    "Listen," he said, "I've been meaning to
apologize for making you cry at Mrs. Ruth's party. We've both been
so busy with work that it got shoved aside, and I don't like the
feeling of distance hanging between us. So, I'm sorry. I hope you
know I would never deliberately do anything to hurt you."
    "I know that, Pete." Kelsey's throat burned,
and just like that, she wanted to cry. "It wasn't your fault; it
was mine. Chris' death hit me hard, and I'm having a difficult time
getting over it. As if you didn't know that. I thought dancing with
you would, oh I don't know, help me make progress." She bit her lip
and felt a blush stain her cheeks. "But then it felt so good
dancing with you that I felt guilty. Sometimes, I don't think I
deserve to feel that happy ever again. Dancing with you made me
feel like I was doing something wrong and betraying Chris. I know I
wasn't, but that's how I felt. Obviously, I still have a lot of
issues to work through."
    Pete nodded. "I can only imagine your pain.
And believe me, I don't want to add to it. So, are we good?"
    Kelsey gazed across her desk at him. His
features were so familiar, comfortable, friendly, yet at the same
time, there was an excitement mixed in with the new discovery that
Pete was a good-looking male who made her insides turn all mushy.
Yes, he'd always made her insides go all quivery. But now, there
was the added element of sexual tension and chemistry zinging back
and forth between them. It made her feel more alive than she'd felt
in over a year.
    She'd known Pete all her life, yet since
she'd moved back to the ranch, she was seeing him in a new light.
Her teenage crush was morphing into a strong case of adult
attraction . . . and lust.
    Why did things have to change? Why couldn't
they stay the same? These feelings for Pete were making her life
even more complicated than they already were. She was still
recovering from the loss of Chris, slowly learning to move forward
with her life. Farmtime Trails had been her salvation, preventing
her from falling into a deep chasm of sorrow.
    Pete watched Kelsey and wondered what was
going on in that clever brain of hers. Would they ever get back on
track in their relationship? Because whether he wanted to admit it
or not, he did have a relationship with her. There'd had
always been something special about Kelsey McCade.
    Raw emotion flitted across her beautiful
face. She was hurting bad, and he wished with all his heart there
was something he could do to help her, to somehow ease her sadness
and pain. When a single teardrop slipped down one smooth cheek, he
thought he'd die from the helplessness engulfing him.
    "Oh, honey," he said. "Please don't cry
again. You don't know how bad it