Read Online Leaving Liberty, a Western Romance (Book 5) (Texas Hearts) by Lisa Mondello - Free Book Online

dirt in your boots if you’re not careful.”
    “So,” she said, as he walked over to her.
    “So you’ll end up with sores on your feet walking in those boots. Here, put your hands on my shoulders.”
    Libby did as she was told as Jackson bent down in front of her, lifting her foot off the hard, dry earth, and brushing the soles of her feet with his hands. She closed her eyes at the feel of his hands on her skin. She liked his hands. They were strong and reassuring.
    Today wasn’t the first time she’d noticed them. When he’d been working in the barn the other day she’d noticed them. He wasn’t just a man who pushed paper and pens around. He got himself dirty and didn’t mind it. She liked that about him. So many men wanted to prove something. But Jackson didn’t hide behind a title or his badge. He was real.
    “What? No sock?” he asked.
    Libby dropped to a grassy patch on the ground and grabbed her socks from inside her boots. “I can do the rest myself. Thank you.”
    Jackson sat down next to her while she finished getting her boots on, staring at her feet with a wide smile.
    “What?”
    “Bows?”
    “You have a thing about my socks.”
    “I have a thing about you. You’re…”
    “What?”
    “You never cease to amaze me.”
    “Good. It’ll keep you on your toes.”
    He threw back his head and laughed up at the sky, which did wonders to calm the panic she’d felt when he’d found her.
    “You’ve already done that, sweetheart,” he said, adjusting his cowboy hat on his head.
    She looked at him for a brief moment, her head spun. Uneasy by how close he was to her, how the scent of him still swirled around her, how the heat of his closeness affected her to the core, she abruptly got up from the ground.
    “I need to get back.”
    “Why don’t we ride back together on Spirit? I left the supplies for the fences in the back of the truck.”
    “You walked out here in this heat?”
    Jackson got to his feet. “Yes, ma’am. It was a nice walk, made even more pleasant with my finding you in the pond.”
    Her cheeks flamed again. “Forget about that. Let’s get back to the house.”
    They both climbed on Spirit, who took to carrying both of them in stride. Having her back up against the heat of Jackson’s body was only made hotter by the sun beating down on them. But she liked the feel of his arms loosely draped around her waist. Every once in a while on the ride back, Jackson would lean forward and whisper something in her ear, tickling her senses.
    It wasn’t anything romantic or erotic. He just mentioned something he noticed on the ranch. Yet her mind wandered to places she hadn’t allowed herself to go in a very long time. She loved the feel of Jackson’s body against her and wondered what it would feel like to be flesh-to-flesh, making love.
    Her blood stirred just thinking about it and she was infinitely glad she was sitting in front of him where he couldn’t see her expression. She was sure her expression would betray her thoughts.
    When they reached the barn, they worked together to get Spirit settled in the paddock where she could enjoy some fresh water and hay, and then put the saddle and gear away in the tack room.
    The refreshing feeling of swimming in the pond was long gone. Libby’s skin was still hot and electrified from being so close to Jackson during the ride back to the house.
    When she turned to leave the tack room, Jackson dragged her into his arms.
    “Hold on a second,” he said.
    Her legs melted beneath her and the only thing holding her upright was Jackson. In his arms she felt small and whole and special in a way she’d never known.
    Libby had dated men over the years. She’d thought she’d been in love once. But nothing had ever felt like this.
    Jackson pulled her closer, pressing her chest against his. But she didn’t feel the sensation she’d expected with the contact.
    She fought all the usual fears she’d had about what it would be like to be with a man