Rebel Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

out the way they had, she could see why Rod didn't want one either.
    Maybe now would be the time to get one.
    “Do you know how to set up accounts?” she asked.
    Jase nodded, concentrating on the calculations.
    Shannon wandered over to the window and gazed out across her ranch. A fierce pride surged through her as she looked at the grass all golden brown in the late summer sun, the endless acres that comprised her home and livelihood. She had to keep it. It represented all she had in the world, all that defined her now. She was a rancher. She never wanted to return to working for someone else. She wanted to make this small cattle ranch the best one in West Texas, maybe even the whole state.
    And to do so she needed to rely on herself alone. She refused to let herself return to the position Rod had found her in: alone, bewildered, scared. She'd learn everything there was to know about ranching and make sure she did everything right.
    Turning swiftly, she walked back to the desk and sat down. Attraction or not, she had to settle down to business. Clamping down on her awareness, she leaned over Jase’s arm and studied the figures he jotted down.
    “Explain to me what you’re doing and why. You’re supposed to be teaching me things, not doing them for me.”
    He sat back in his chair and looked at her. Almost absently he reached out his hand and ran it along the single braid down her back, his fingers tracing the plaits, toying with the soft ends that hung free below the elastic band.
    “You can graze your beef from late spring through the early fall. But for the cattle you keep over the winter months, you have to bring in feed. I’m seeing how much you used the last few years. We can get an average and know how much to expect for the coming winter. You’ll need to see if you can grow your own hay in some of the fields to supplement what you buy. It’s cheaper.”
    She listened to the words, enjoying the richness of his voice as it poured through her. He could probably read the cattleman’s journal to her and she’d find it entrancing. But the feel of his hand in her hair had her mesmerized. Every quivering nerve in her body focused on his hand. Over and over he trailed his hand over her hair as he talked. Yet he looked at her, not at his fingers. How could he know what he was saying when he was driving her crazy?
    She jumped, her eyes moving to his. She’d missed the last thing he’d said.
    “What?”
    His hand stilled in her hair as he watched her with an intensity that shook her.
    “I asked you what Bobby’s plans had been.” His eyes narrowed as he watched her, considering.
    “He didn’t have any plans. He only bought this place that year he made so much money. He wanted it as somewhere to come back to. His real love was the rodeo, only I didn’t know that at the time.” The hint of bitterness escaped, despite her best efforts to hide it.
    “So he left you behind.”
    “Yes.” She tried a smile, but it was shaky at best. “I was an encumbrance.”
    “So why did he marry you?”
    She swallowed, wanting to look away, unable to do so. “I often suspected because he couldn’t get me any other way.”
    Jase remained silent for a long time as he thought about what she’d revealed. Then he spoke carefully, as if cautiously testing the words.
    “A lot of women who hang around rodeos are only too willing to offer anything a man wants.”
    She nodded. “I know. But I wasn’t one of them. I didn't meet him at the rodeo, but at the bank. He found me different I guess, from the women he was used to.”
    “Shy, quiet, in awe of the brash cowboys?” Jase guessed, his own eyes dropping to her lips.
    She shivered as if he’d touched her. Nodding, she longed to end this discussion. It would cause nothing but heartache. She didn’t want to remember, she only wanted to make a future for herself.
    “I can understand the appeal. You appear almost virginal even now. I suspect Bobby’s the only man you’ve