Read Online Send Me a Cowboy by Joann Baker - Free Book Online Page A

the
shower. She looked almost as bad as she felt. And she didn’t
care.
    She opened the door and found John standing
there dressed in a leather bomber jacket, an open necked green knit
shirt and a pair of stone washed jeans. The shirt almost perfectly
matched his eyes. Eyes that held a mixture of trepidation and
determination.
    He looked like a dream.
    “Katie.”
    She wanted to throw herself at him. Instead,
she stiffened her spine and her resolve.
    “What do you want?” She blocked the entrance
to the apartment. She’d opened the door without looking but was
prepared to close it quickly.
    “Now that would be telling, wouldn’t it?” he
replied. He placed a hand against the paneled door above her
head.
    Any other day, the remark would have made
Katie’s temper soar. But now? Now it just didn’t matter. Nothing
mattered. He might be on her doorstep, but he’d never be in her
life. She moved to close the door. She couldn’t do this.
    “Wait.” He caught the door before she could
slam it shut.
    “You said everything you needed to say.”
    “I said things I shouldn’t have said, Katie.
Let me come in. We need to talk.”
    She studied his face. She’d seen him angry,
amused, and in the throes of passion. Tonight he looked almost
defeated. Something she couldn’t imagine the man had ever
experienced.
    “Invite me in for coffee.”
    “I don’t drink coffee.” She wasn’t about to
make this easy for him.
    “Katie,” he growled.
    “Fine. I’ll make hot chocolate.” She turned
around and stomped off to her small kitchen. Well, kitchenette.
Reaching up, she removed two thick white mugs from the top cabinet.
She filled them with milk, added a packet of cocoa mix to each,
then extra sugar and chocolate syrup. After carefully stirring the
ingredients together, she placed them in the microwave to heat.
She’d be damned if she gave the many any marshmallows.
    When she carried the drinks into the living
room, she found her uninvited guest sprawled across her small sofa,
his large body taking up more than his fair share of the available
space. He took the mugs from her and placed them on the small side
table. He didn’t move to make room for her to sit down and she was
forced to squeeze between him and the arm rest. The sofa was the
only place to sit in her small living room. No one besides Jessica
ever came to see her and another piece of furniture would have just
cost her money and taken up room she couldn’t spare.
    “Why are you here, Mr. Kinkaid?” Better to
get right to the heart of the matter before hers broke
completely.
    He leaned against the low back of the sofa.
The brown micro-suede fabric enhanced his masculine appearance. He
looked right at home. Her eyes went involuntarily to his prominent
cheekbones, his slightly crooked nose, and his firm, sensuous
mouth. She shivered.
    “Remembering how I taste?”
    “No,” she denied quickly even though that was
exactly what she’d been doing.
    His gaze fell to her lips. “I remember,
honey. I can’t forget. You taste sweet, like cotton candy.” His
eyes held an unreadable expression. “Go get dressed. I’ll take you
to dinner.”
    “No.”
    He laughed. “You enjoy telling me no, don’t
you Katie-cat.”
    “Don’t call me that.” Kate was trying to reel
in her spiraling senses. His words had thrown her off balance,
instilling a ray of hope in spite of her best defense.
    “Why not? You’re a little kitten with hidden
claws.”
    His smile bordered on being mean and Kate’s
temper soared. She rose from the couch, intent on showing him the
door. Her heart was too sore, too broken. She’d never get over him
if she allowed him any more time in her life.
    “Get out, Mr. Kinkaid.” She pointed to the
door, but instead of following her sharply spoken demand, he caught
her hand and jerked her down on top of him. She could feel the
pressure of his muscular thigh under her buttocks and the way his
heart hammered against her breasts where they