Her Lone Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

too hot to wear long sleeves.”
    “And so that is…” She nodded slightly toward his shoulder, where a stretchy fabric covered the end of his arm.
    “A stump sock.” It was almost a relief to say it. “It protects the sheath, and, well, it looks nicer.”
    He spoke of his arm as if it were an entity separate from himself, he realized. Well, perhaps it was. It certainly was difficult to equate it with the man he’d been for years. A whole man.
    “Does it hurt?”
    The straightforward yet gentle question touched him, and he relaxed his shoulders. Lily didn’t look away from him, or act strangely. She just said everything plainly, and yet with a compassionate concern that reached in and chased away his resentment.
    “Sometimes,” he admitted. “I have something that goes over top right now, getting it ready for a prosthetic. And the sock over that. Mostly it’s just phantom pain.”
    She nodded again, her eyes liquid blue as she met his gaze. He couldn’t believe he’d actually told her that much. What was it about her that put him off balance, made him tell her things? He’d have to watch that.
    “Jen and I went shopping this afternoon. We got the material for her dress.”
    He blinked as she accepted his answer and changed the subject without offering the sympathetic platitudes he’d grown used to, or further prying. “That’s good.”
    “Yes.”
    The conversation seemed to lull and Noah found himself gazing into her eyes again. He’d never met a woman as no-nonsense as Lily, and having that trait paired with such femininity was a potent combination. But that was the end of it. Even if he were interested, which he wasn’t— curious would be a better word—what woman would want a man like him? Maybe cripple was a good word. He bore the scars to prove it. More than she knew. He saw the reminders every day when he looked in the mirror.
    “I should get back to work.”
    “Oh…of course.” She started to back away, then reconsidered and instead hurried forward, as if afraid she would change her mind. As she looked up at him, he saw a tiny wrinkle form in between her eyebrows and he had the suddenurge to touch it with his fingertip. Oh, Lily Germaine could be a dangerous woman if she wanted to be. It was just as well she was off-limits.
     
    “Noah, wait.” Lily stopped only a few feet away from him and looked up into his proud face. Faint freckles hid beneath his deepening tan that came from being in the sun. These past few minutes told her that things were even more awkward between them than before, and if they were going to stand up at the wedding they should at least come to an understanding. Getting through the wedding would be difficult enough without being at odds with him. A tingle went through her, thinking about how they would witness the marriage certificate together, or stand for pictures, or be seated together at the reception. Somehow she felt she needed an ally, rather than a cold stranger at her side.
    “What is it?”
    “I don’t want things to be weird.”
    He laughed tightly. “Things are already weird. My whole life is different from what I’m used to.”
    She seized on the opening. “You see? I don’t know what that means. And so I don’t quite know what to say to you.”
    “You seem to manage quite well,” Noah remarked. His cheekbones became hardened edges and his eyes darkened. “You don’t miss a beat when it comes to telling me how it is.”
    Lily tried not to let the dark expression intimidate her. “You seemed like the kind of man that would appreciate plain speaking.”
    “I am.” He raised an eyebrow, challenging her. “In the army I was also a stickler for insubordination.”
    She couldn’t help it, she laughed. Oh, he could definitely be a piece of work, she thought. He was trying to provoke her. But all his stubborn ways made her far too aware of thebreadth of his chest beneath the T-shirt or the way he had tiny tan lines in the wrinkles beside his