Boots and Chaps Read Online Free PDF

bright red pickup and headed to her little house on the edge of Temptation.
    Tonight she’d get what she wanted and give the Gray Wolf men what they wanted and walk away string-free—no commitment, no one maintaining control over her.
    Win-win!

Chapter Three
    When Jackson entered through the back door of the Ugly Stick Saloon, he braced himself against the loud music and the potential of even louder screams of Surprise!
    Instead Charli stepped in his path before he’d gotten five feet inside the door. “Jackson. Just the man I was thinking about.” Charli’s laugh was a little more high-pitched than usual. She hooked his arm, dragged him through the Ugly Stick and pushed him toward a barstool, shooting a furtive glance over her shoulder at the bar entrance. “Can I get you a drink?”
    He frowned, his gaze roving over the bar, the dance floor and the patrons already seated at the tables. A few of the regulars lifted a hand or nodded in his direction. “I didn’t plan on staying.” So where was the party? The only surprise he had was the niggle of disappointment he felt that no one pounded him on the back, congratulating him on reaching his thirtieth birthday.
    “Oh, come on, just one drink. Then you can fix that light bulb that’s blown out in the back entryway.” Charli scooted around to the other side of the bar.
    “Already replaced it.” Jackson hesitated, then slipped onto the barstool.
    “Oh. Well, then have a drink on the house for fixing our light.” She grabbed a tall beer mug and filled it from the tap, her movements jerky, almost nervous, if Jackson wasn’t mistaken.
    “Something wrong?” he asked.
    “What could possibly be wrong?” She slapped the beer on the counter, sloshing liquid over the sides. “Oops.” With an apologetic grin, she grabbed a rag and sopped up the beer.
    Jackson snagged her wrist, rag and all. “Hey, it’s me. Why are you so nervous?”
    “No reason.” She gave him a smile so fake, Jackson thought her lips would crack. “None whatsoever.” Charli untangled her wrist from his grip and moved out of reach. “Excuse me. I have to get something from the back.”
    “Is Audrey working tonight?” Jackson asked and lifted his beer to his lips, feigning a nonchalance he didn’t feel.
    “No.” Charli grinned. “No, she’s got another commitment.” The woman disappeared into the back room.
    His hands wrapped around the cool beer mug, Jackson stared down into the frothy liquid. No party, just as he’d asked. The sense of satisfaction wasn’t all he’d thought it would be. The fact that Audrey wasn’t there had more do with it than the lack of celebration, and the thought of Audrey’s other commitment made him grind his teeth.
    The swelling in his groin hadn’t dissipated much from the previous night, leaving him more twitchy and frustrated than before. Worse still, he didn’t have a hope of alleviating his need in the very near future.
    He downed the rest of the beer and set the mug on the counter. He had to get out of there, maybe take a drive with the windows down to cool off. He could swing by Audrey’s place, if he knew where that was. She’d said something about living in Temptation.
    Nah, she’d think he was stalking her, and Jackson didn’t want her to think he was that desperate.
    Hell, he might as well go home and hit the sack. There was plenty of work the next day to wear him out. Living on a ranch, he never lacked for something to keep him busy—always a fence to mend, an animal needing attention, equipment to fix, not to mention a herd of steers to load onto a tractor-trailer rig.
    Jackson left the bar and climbed into his truck. Driving away, he glanced back at the Ugly Stick and shook his head. He couldn’t believe his brothers really didn’t plan anything for him. And many of his friends had been at the bar, which meant no party awaiting his return to the house.
    With a sigh, Jackson shifted into drive and headed for the ranch, to slog