His Heart to Have (Cowboys of Whispering Winds) Read Online Free PDF

about my parents. She’s already clued Charlie in, but I doubt he’d say anything to anyone regardless.”
    “For someone who was such a pain in the ass as a kid, she turned out all right.”
    “I never understood why the two of you could never get along those first years after her family moved here. It took five years for you to stop hating each other enough to be friends.”
    “If you understood that, our lives would probably be a lot different right now,” he said, then exhaled deeply.
    “Huh?” she asked, confused. 
    “We have to get going or we’re going to be late.”  He disappeared into his room to finish dressing, apparently having no intentions of further elaborating on his previous statement. Sometimes, he drove her so mad she could scream.
    A fully clothed Jase returned a few minutes later.  It really was a shame to keep that gorgeous body covered, she thought. Maybe she should stop telling him to get a shirt on, but then her mind would never think straight.
    Grabbing his hat by the door, he then reached over to snatch the thermos from the counter. “Coming?” he asked.
    “You exasperate me,” she muttered before squeezing past him.
    “The feeling’s mutual, sweetheart,” he responded with a chuckle, much to her annoyance.
     
    ***
    Twenty-three.  That was the number of yellow Post-its stuck to the memo board.  He could also break down the ratio of black to white to straw cowboy hats in the room. Jase was fighting to keep his mind from drifting to thoughts of Allie. Monday morning staff meetings had been a long-time routine at the Whisperings Winds. All staff members from the entire operation joined together.  Any pertinent information for the upcoming week was shared, along with any special announcements.  It was also a time for the whole staff to be together and catch up with each other before and after the meeting.  The Whispering Winds crew was a tight community, more of a family than co-workers.
    And soon they’d all know he was a married man.  If there was one bright spot of this temporary marriage, it was that Lexie Daniels might finally leave him alone.  She was the one sore spot; the only staff member he couldn’t stomach.   Hired as a housekeeper last winter, she sure managed to find her way out to the stables and arena more often than he thought necessary.  Not a day went by that she didn’t find a way to approach him and touch him in some way.  She’d made it blatantly obvious she was interested but couldn’t take a hint that he wasn’t. 
    “That about wraps it up for this week’s meeting,” Frank Tyndale, Allie’s dad, announced. 
    The staff members hung around a few minutes, gathering around tables of various pastries Cook had set out. From across the room he caught Allie’s attention and nodded his head toward an exit door away from the majority of people. Catching his meaning, he saw her excuse herself from her present conversation and slipped out the door.
    “Ready?” he asked.
    “Not really, but here goes nothing,” She took a deep breath, looking terrified.
    “You’re being dramatic,” he chided, but softened his words by taking her hand, lacing their fingers together. The familiar need to protect her rose within him. “We’re in this together,” he promised her, squeezing her hand.
    “Sometimes I think I don’t deserve you as a friend,” she confided.
    “You don’t,” he quipped.
    “Oh, you!” she huffed, pretending be offended. 
    Jase knew better. It was an age old banter every time he came to her rescue, but it made her smile and loosened her tightly-wound nerves.  Releasing her hand, he pushed the wooden door open and went back into the conference room.  Only a few stragglers remained, including his parents.
    “Do you and mom have a few minutes to talk?” he asked his dad.
    “Sure. Meet us in the office in ten minutes. I have to talk to Shorty first.”
    “Have you seen my mom and dad?”  Jase watched Allie shift from foot