Read Online Holding Haley (The West Contemporary Romance Series) by Jill Sanders - Free Book Online

house, some horses and cattle.” He laughed. “A tire swing on an old oak tree.” He shook his head and his eyes turned dull. “Then you told me it was a false alarm and I was shattered.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. She couldn’t explain it, but she had been torn as well. He leaned closer to her, until their breaths mixed. “I wanted it so bad, then it was gone, and I didn’t know what to do. You looked so relieved when you told me; I thought you didn’t want children. Didn’t want them then and with me. The next morning, I saw things the way you had—clearly. We were so young.” He shook his head. “I didn’t have a job or a future. How was I going to support a family?” He closed his eyes for a second and sighed. “I thought I was doing the right thing by giving us a chance to grow up a little. Then I was called overseas and realized how big of a fool I’d been.” He brushed his hand over her face again and she held her breath. “I never should have left you. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about you, about us. I told myself that if I survived, I would do everything I could to get back to you. To win you back and show you how much you meant to me. How much you mean to me.”
    She shook her head. “I just . . . I didn’t . . .” She swallowed. She couldn’t think. Her mind was whirling with everything he’d just told her. She pulled back and took a step away. Without saying a word, she turned and started walking fast away from him.
    “Haley?” He called out and rushed over to her, keeping pace next to her. “Are you okay?”
    She nodded, not wanting him to see the tears falling down her face. He had wanted to start a family with her. He’d wanted the baby just as much as she had. She stopped and turned on him.
    “I thought you didn’t want to start a family with me. I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
    “ I know. I’m sorry.” He took her hand.
    “ You left me because you thought I didn’t want a family with you?” She shook her head. “We used to be good at communicating. We grew up telling each other everything.” She reached up and touched his face. “You hurt me.” She dropped her hand to his chest and grabbed his shirtfront in her fists. “Don’t do it again.” Then she was up on her toes, her mouth fused to his. She felt the shock of the heat between them, the zip that traveled down to her toes. Then his hands were on her, roaming over her skin as she yanked his shirt open, sending his buttons flying in all different directions.
    “ Haley, my god,” he gasped, trying to slow her down. But she needed speed. She needed him now.
    Shaking her head, she pulled him backwards until they stood next to a tall pile of hay. With shaky fingers, she reached down and pulled her tank top up over her head. She saw his eyes heat when he saw her exposed skin. His lips curved into a smile slowly.
    “Beautiful.” He reached down and pulled off his ruined shirt. Then he was standing next to her, his hands on her hips, his eyes on her skin. “I’ve dreamed about this moment for years. Forgive me if I don’t go slow.”
    She shook her head. “No, I need the speed. I need you.” She reached down and took his belt buckle in her fingers as he reached down to help. They both laughed when he tried to remove his boots and almost landed on his butt. Finally, he stood before her in the dying light of the day, gloriously naked.
    She noticed the nasty scar that ran down his left thigh. She ran her fingers over the raised skin. “Later”—she looked up into his eyes—“you’ll have to tell me about it.” When he nodded, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He had several more muscles than he had before. She played her fingers over them, enjoying the feel of his tan skin.
    He gathered her skirt up, bunching it in his hands. He moved them until they lay on the soft hay as his hands roamed over her sensitive skin, causing her to moan as he kissed