Read Online Somebody Like You by Lynnette Austin - Free Book Online Page B

Something you think Maverick Junction can fix.”
    “I—”
    He held up his hand. “None of my business. Unless I’m harboring a fugitive—or took a married woman out to dinner. Danced with her.”
    Fugitive? The word echoed in her mind. God, was she a fugitive? No. She was twenty-six years old. Nothing illegal about her leaving home without checking in with her parents first. Most women her age had moved out on their own years ago, were married with children or career women.
    But her parents might have the police searching for her, despite her assurances she was fine. Despite Sophie’s call.
    Her forehead creased as her anxiety grew.
    “You are married.”
    She almost laughed. How typically male to head there first.
    “No. I’m not married nor have I ever been married.” She raised her hand in pledge. “So help me God.”
    Douglas DeWitt’s face flashed across her mind, but she stomped on it and squashed it as quickly as she had that huge black spider that scuttled across the stable floor today. She shivered. Douglas was her parents’ choice for her, never hers.
    Determined to put away those thoughts, she concentrated on the rainbow of colors. She pulled one sample, then another, replacing some, adding others to her stack.
    “Hate to spoil your fun, darlin’, but the store’s gonna close in about fifteen minutes.”
    “Oh, no!” She thrust the samples at him. “Why don’t you take these out to the car, and I’ll finish up here?” She still needed undies and a few other things, and she’d rather he wasn’t hanging over her shoulder while she made her choices. What she’d brought with her really wasn’t appropriate for ranch work.
    He chuckled. “You want to get rid of me.”
    Her cheeks warmed. “For a bit, yes.”
    “I’ll take these and go on over to talk to Vern while you finish up.” He tucked the paint chips into his shirt pocket. “I’ll keep an eye open, and once you’re checked out, I’ll drive you home.”
    “I didn’t mean—”
    “Hey.” He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Sugar, you need to stop worrying so much about what other people think. You’re stocking up. You’d like a little privacy. Want to sneak in some Twinkies or some Ben and Jerry’s. Got that. No skin off my nose, Annie.”
    She nodded.
    “I offered to bring you.” He leaned a little closer. “And I enjoyed dinner. Enjoyed dancing. Enjoyed watching you shop.” He turned her loose. “Now finish up. You don’t have much time left.”
    Whistling some silly song, one thumb hooked in his jeans pocket, he strolled toward the butcher.
    Hurrying up and down the aisles, she tossed a package of Hanes Her Way panties into the cart. Added an ugly, utilitarian cotton bra. Some socks. A muumuu-style cover-up that could serve as a robe. And all the while, her mind was in disbelief mode. What would her mother think? Buying her unmentionables in a store with dead animals on the wall and bins of potatoes and fragrant onions.
    Oh, boy. Best not to go there.
    Thing was, she hadn’t come prepared to work. Hadn’t really thought this whole thing out very well. She’d brought along the essentials, but her Harley’s saddlebags weren’t stocked for this new life. Having never done anything like this before, she’d seriously misjudged.
    And now, she’d rectify that.
    One thing for sure, though. If she intended to spend her days in the barn, she needed boots. No doubt they were lurking around here somewhere. Scanning the aisles, she figured if they made it, Sadler’s carried it.
    Sure enough, she found a display of beautiful leather cowboy boots. Or, in her case, cowgirl boots. Not at all what she’d worn on her feet at the fancy equestrian school her mother had insisted she attend.
    Now, she needed to thank her for that. She loved horses, loved riding—and she was good at it.
    Annelise ran her fingers over the tooled leather, marveling at the intricacy. Then she remembered what she’d be doing when