No Ordinary Cowboy (Mills & Boon American Romance) (Rodeo Rebels - Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

confessed that she was the reason Michael had driven home drunk from the bar, would Tony change his mind about leaving?
    The truth won’t bring Michael back.
    The thought made Lucy feel even guiltier.
    “If we’re successful in shutting down this human-trafficking ring, I’m positive I’ll get my transfer.”
    “I doubt your mother is happy about you transferring.”
    “At least I’m not moving across the country.” He waved a hand. “Forget about my job. I want to know why you’re driving wasted cowboys home. Don’t you want to do something worthwhile with your business degree?”
    She was doing something worthwhile—saving lives. But how many lives would she have to save to make up for Michael’s? “For now, I’m content running my nonprofit business.” Until she found the courage to come clean with her parents about the circumstances surrounding Michael’s death, Lucy didn’t have a whole lot of options.
    “Have you ever been threatened by a passenger?”
    Although she’d never admit it, there had been one passenger last year who’d made her keep her pepper spray close at hand. After that night she’d informed the bar managers where she was taking the cowboys. If she suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, the sheriff could ask a few questions and figure out her route. “Most cowboys are decent, God-fearing men who treat women with respect, whether they’re drunk or not.”
    “That may be true, but a girl like you—” Tony leaned closer and his masculine scent went straight to Lucy’s head “—would test any cowboy’s morals and values.”

Chapter Three
    Was he nuts?
    Tony had no business kissing Lucy, but he did anyway. Emboldened by her soft moan, he thrust his tongue inside her mouth, her sweet taste reminding him of the nights they’d shared on the rodeo circuit. His body shook with need, memories fueling his desire.
    On the verge of losing control, he ended the kiss—or tried to. Lucy’s mouth followed his when he pulled away, their ragged breathing filling the truck cab. Damn. The joke was on him. He’d kissed Lucy because he’d been trying to make a point about her safety, but the sizzling chemistry between them proved that two years of trying to put this woman behind him had been in vain. He’d better keep his guard up, or she’d make him forget his reasons for leaving Stagecoach.
    Lucy pressed her fingertips to her lips and mumbled, “What did you do that for?”
    “Do you want me to apologize?”
    “Do you want to apologize?”
    “Not really,” Tony said.
    A woman like Lucy came along once in a man’s lifetime, and he’d blown his shot with her. Who was he kidding? Even if they had gone through with their plan to tell their parents about their relationship, Cal Durango would have made Tony’s life miserable until he’d broken up with Lucy. No way would the wealthy, prominent businessman have allowed Tony anywhere near his daughter.
    “Tony.”
    “What?”
    “I’m still mad at you.”
    “For what?”
    “For ignoring me after Michael died.”
    Tony tensed. He didn’t want to discuss this.
    “Why didn’t you return my calls after his funeral?” she asked.
    “I wasn’t in the right frame of mind.”
    “Okay. I’ll buy that, but we were all grieving, Tony, and I really needed you.”
    “I’m sorry.” The walls were closing in on him. “I couldn’t be with anyone.”
    “I thought what we’d shared meant something to you.”
    The wounded look on Lucy’s face squeezed his heart, but he remained silent. There wasn’t anything he could say in his defense.
    “I felt so alone,” she said.
    Not as alone as he had felt after he’d been banned from Michael’s funeral service. He’d gotten the message loud and clear—now that Michael was gone, Cal Durango had no use for Tony. In truth, he might have found the nerve to stand up to Durango and insist he was good enough for Lucy, but he didn’t have the right to after he’d ditched Michael in