Going Cowboy Crazy Read Online Free PDF Page B

insides were being jarred out. Without the dash to stabilize her, Faith felt like she had back in high school gym class when she was paired with a more aggressive teenager on the trampoline… never the bouncer, always the bouncee. She glanced behind her to see how Buster was holding up.
    “Ohmygod! Stop!”
    Slate slammed on the brakes, and the truck’s tires locked up and skidded a few feet. “What?!”
    “Your dog!” She pointed at the empty window. “Your dog fell out!”
    After the confusion cleared from his eyes, he shook his head. “Geez Louise.” He gunned the truck, and it took off again, this time in the direction of a copse of trees—a rarity in the barren Texas landscape.
    “But your dog?”
    “Is fine.” He tapped on the back window with his elbow, and the dog’s head reappeared. “He was just lying down.”
    “Oh.” Her face heated up.
    He flashed a cocky grin. “City girl, I take it?”
    Faith nodded.
    “East?”
    “Chicago.”
    “Ahh, that explains the weird accent.”
    Before she could argue over who had the weirdest accent, Slate whipped around a large cottonwood and a cluster of wind-ravaged elms to reveal a breathtaking sunset. Vibrant orange flamed up from the horizon to merge with the deep grays and purples of the wispy clouds while the black silhouettes of fence posts, power lines, and the large duck-headed beasts that pulled oil up from the ground stood against all that color like charcoal drawings on an acrylic painting.
    “What do you call those?” Faith pointed to one of the nodding oil pumps.
    “A pumpjack.” He turned off the engine, and Buster let out a howling bark and flew past her window.
    She started to voice her alarm, but then thought better of it. If the cute dog got eaten by some wild animal, who was she to complain? Besides, his owner didn’t seem to be too concerned.
    Slate unfastened his seat belt and slouched back in the corner of the truck, stretching his legs out toward her. “So who are you?”
    Unable to stop herself, Faith watched as Buster bounded through the dry, thick grass, scaring up flocks of birds, before disappearing into a jagged crevice lined with bushy vegetation. She pointed a finger at the windshield.
    Slate groaned. “He’s fine, but you’re not gonna be if you don’t start talking.”
    She pulled her gaze away from the spot where the doghad disappeared, but it was hard to talk when facing such raw sexuality, so instead she stared down at the round scuffed toes of Slate’s brown boots.
    “Faith. Faith Aldridge.”
    “So, Faith Aldridge, what brings you to Bramble?”
    “The weather.” The smart-ass reply surprised her. She had never been a smart-ass. It had to be the tequila. Yes, that explained it. The tequila had to be responsible for all her inappropriate thoughts and behavior thus far.
    “You like wind, drought, hailstorms, and tornados, do ya?” He took off his hat and flipped it up on the dashboard. “Let’s try this again. What brings you to Bramble?”
    She would’ve loved to wipe the smirk off his face with some whopping good lie, but she couldn’t think of one. Not even a wimpy one. Besides, she had only herself to blame for being in this predicament. If she hadn’t posed as Hope, she wouldn’t be stuck in a king-sized truck with a king-sized cocky cowboy.
    “My sister.” Just saying the words caused her stomach to flutter.
    Slate’s eyes widened. “Hope?”
    She nodded.
    Pulling his feet off the edge of the seat, he sat up. “Twins?”
    “Yes.”
    A slow whistle escaped through his teeth. “But how? I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. I’ve known Hope and her family for years, and I never heard anything about some long-lost twin sister.”
    All the bitterness she’d felt over the last few months came back in full force. It didn’t make any sense to her, either. How could a mother keep that a secret? And whywould she want to? A person had a right to know if they had a sister. Especially a twin