Read Online The Rancher's Second Chance by Victoria James - Free Book Online Page B

complain.”
    “This ankle warrants complaining. You need ice,” he said, gently lowering her leg to the cushion. He stood, walked over to the freezer, and pulled out an ice tray. He grabbed a dish towel from the drawer and dropped a handful of ice into it and sat back down beside her. He held her ankle and gently raised it so that it rested on his thigh. Cole slowly positioned the cold pack on her ankle and then looked up at her. “Better?”
    She nodded, forcing the emotion to remain deep inside. She had never witnessed or experienced a man that was so obviously powerful, be so gentle. And so sweet.
    “I wish I had some painkillers or something. You really should have told me, you know.”
    “I didn’t want to be that woman…”
    “What woman?”
    She waved her hand around, trying to concentrate while he adjusted the ice pack on her ankle. And tried not to think about how hard and warm his thigh felt beneath her leg. “You know, the one in the movie that gets hurt during a big action scene.”
    The corner of his lip turned upward. “Well, I wouldn’t have held it against you. I would have helped you. You actually made me feel like an ass, thinking you were walking around like this.” Melanie didn’t say anything for a moment, caught somewhere between the reality of Cole and the memory of her father.
    “It’s okay. I’m fine, really. It doesn’t feel horrible now that I’m sitting. Besides, we have jerky and whiskey, right?”
    He grinned, holding out a piece of jerky. “Absolutely. Hope this snow blows through during the night and we can get out of here tomorrow morning.”
    She accepted it, biting off a piece, listening as the wind rattled against the windows. The cabin was getting much toastier, thanks to the whiskey, the fire, and the cowboy on the couch beside her. “You think it’ll be over by then?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “I need to get back to town. I have an important client coming in tomorrow at noon.” She needed every single high-end client that came her way, especially during the winter months. “And I’ve probably just lost two potential clients because I wasn’t able to call them to reschedule today’s appointments.”
    “Ouch. Well, chances are because of the blizzard they wouldn’t have come to the studio anyway. I’m sure if you explain to them you were caught in the storm without cell-phone service, they’d understand.”
    Melanie nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
    “I’m sure. Who would be going out in this weather anyway?”
    Melanie tilted her head. Bridezillas, that’s who .
    “How is business?”
    She shrugged. “Not bad, but new business takes a while to really turn a profit. I mean, even though I’m bringing in money, I’m servicing debt, and I’m running out of time to pay it all off.”
    “Daddy doesn’t help with that?”
    There it was. That chip on his shoulder. The assumption that she was a certain type of person because of her family. She had let him think what he wanted, because if she had to clarify, it would mean letting him in on her past, something she never wanted to do. She didn’t want sympathy or pity, and she certainly didn’t want judgment, because maybe he’d think what she did was wrong. That would be unbearable, because there were many nights she’d lie awake at night thinking she’d made the biggest mistake. Maybe she’d been the wimp, not her mother and her sister. Maybe they were stronger for staying. She’d spent so many times alone, while Meredith and her mother were together.
    “No, Daddy doesn’t help. This is my business. Built by myself, for myself. I wanted to know I could stand on my own two feet,” she said with a fervor she couldn’t hide as she stared into the flames. The fire crackled, sparked as a log fell forward, the only sound in the cabin. She knew Cole’s eyes were on her, but she stared straight ahead. He removed the ice pack, his warm fingers pressing slightly on her ankle. “That’s admirable,” he