Her Cowboy Daddy Read Online Free PDF Page B

he commented, thinking that just the sight of her in that white, form-fitting sundress was enough to cheer him up. It accentuated the cornflower blue of her eyes and the delicate sheen of her golden hair, not to mention the womanly curves of her body. In this light, admiring her gentle swells of her hips and the fullness of her breasts, it was hard to believe that he’d mistaken her for a little girl only the night before.
    And yet, there was something about her, an innocence of sorts, a fragility that made it easy to believe her much younger than her nineteen years. He saw it every time he looked at her, and it fascinated him. The only trouble was, his fascination both confused and shamed him, for reasons he couldn’t understand.
    “Set them there, please,” Scarlett asked, pointing to his counter.
    He was happy to oblige and as soon as he’d put them down she was behind him, moving around his small trailer as though she’d been there many times before. He stepped back and watched as she began to unpack the sacks.
    “Chicken soup,” she said as she placed a large Tupperware container on the counter. “And orange juice. Oh, and I got you some magazines in case—”
    “It’s a torn rotator cuff,” he scoffed. “Not a cold.”
    “I know,” Scarlett said, ducking her head as if to avoid his eyes. “I was just trying to help.”
    Colton felt like a jackass when he saw the embarrassed flush in her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Scarlett. My mama raised me better, but you wouldn’t know it, would you? What I meant to say was thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said, but she still looked unsure, so he moved toward her and put his hand on her arm.
    Touching her had been exactly the wrong thing to do. Her skin seemed to sear his fingertips, making him yank his hand back. It didn’t matter—his fingers tingled where he’d touched her. “It was sweet of you to go to all this trouble. You shouldn’t have,” he said, trying to distract himself from the strange, excited thudding in his chest. This wasn’t like him.
    “Well, I had to do something . After all, you wouldn’t be like this,” she gestured to his shoulder, “if it weren’t for me.”
    “I appreciate it. Really, I do, but it’s about time to take my meds, and Oxy makes it hard to keep my eyes open, so…”
    “Right. Well, I guess I’ll be going.”
    “Sure. Thanks for stopping by.” Yet, when she made to move toward the door, he stepped in her path almost without thinking. “So, how did you know where to find me?”
    “Oh.” She smiled faintly. “I came back this morning and asked around.”
    “That was pretty gutsy, considering everything that happened.”
    “You mean considering that I’m wearing your palm print on my ass?”
    Colton was so startled by the casual way she brought it up that he laughed despite himself. This woman was full of surprises, it seemed. “Your mouth is much too pretty for those naughty words.”
    “You think I’m pretty?” She batted her long, dark lashes at him in a seductive manner that was all woman. “Or just my mouth?”
    “You don’t need me to tell you what you already know,” he chuckled. “I’m sure you got catcalled with every step you took to get to my trailer.”
    “You know no one out here is up at this hour,” she laughed, shrugging her shoulders adorably.
    Under normal circumstances, he would have chuckled right along with her, but something in her expression told him that she wasn’t taking him seriously. “Scarlett. You do know how pretty you are, don’t you?”
    “Oh, I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It’s kind of a father’s job to tell you you’re pretty and I’ve never had one.”
    Colton’s brow creased as he looked at her. There was no way she was serious! She was nothing short of drop-dead gorgeous, yet in a way that was unique to any woman he’d ever seen before—and he’d seen plenty. “Your mom never told you?”
    “She did, sometimes. I mean, I didn’t