RESCUED BY THE RANCHER Read Online Free PDF

inside.”
    He moved forward, held on to the back of one of
the dining chairs as he watched her. “You manage to get everything you needed?”
    She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt he didn’t
recognize, so he was guessing she did fine. Plus, her hair was tied up in a
high ponytail now and he could see she was wearing a few touches of make-up,
not that she really needed any.
    “I hope you don’t mind but I got a few things
for myself, just the basics, and I picked up some groceries. You didn’t have a
lot in the cupboards, so I got enough for the next couple of days.”
    Jake shrugged. He didn’t care that she’d spent
his money, or the fact that she’d restocked his kitchen, but a couple of days?
Hell, he was struggling with just tonight. But then he’d asked her to stay and where
the hell was she going to go if he changed his mind?  
    “You mind if I go wash up?” Jake needed to get
out of the kitchen. A shower was what he needed – long and hot enough to wash
both dirt and memories away.
    Faith wasn’t even watching him any longer.
    “Sure, go for it. I’m just going to pop this in
the oven.”
    Jake smiled at her son when he realized the kid
had been watching them all this time. He was a nice boy, quiet but friendly,
and his dog didn’t usually take a liking to anyone who wasn’t worthy. So why
did it scare the hell out of him that there was a child sitting in his living
room?
    He marched down the hall and walked straight
into the bathroom. Jake stripped, kicking his jeans and boxers off, and
throwing his shirt on top of them. He reached in, turned on the faucet, and
walked under the water. Shit! It was freezing cold, but it did what it needed
to – stripped him of all thoughts of the buxom blonde out there in his kitchen
who seemed very much like she’d just moved in and taken over the role of being
his wife. He’d been the one who’d invited her to stay, he just hadn’t expected such a simple domestic act like her cooking him dinner
to affect him so much.
    He held Rachel’s hand, looked into her eyes,
sitting across the table from her.
    “You’re pregnant?” He laughed. “I’m going to be
a dad?”
    Jake let out a whoop and ran around to her
chair.
    “You’re going to be an amazing dad, you know
that?”
    He touched his hand to her belly, spread his
palm over it and looked into her eyes. “You realize this kid will be riding
horses as a toddler, right?”
    Rachel laughed. “I love you.”
    “Baby, I love you too.”
    Jake stifled the groan – the roar – that was
fighting to be heard in his throat. It wasn’t fair. Just when he thought he’d
moved on, when he hadn’t had the dreams or the thoughts about her, his mind
slammed him with a memory like a kick to the gut.
    He turned the water up hot, burning hot. Cold
hadn’t helped him, but maybe scorching his skin would. Maybe he needed to stay
in the shower a while…a long while.
    What the hell was she doing? Faith was acting
like a seasoned homemaker when she’d never had anyone other than herself and
Tom to care for – she was behaving like she was the woman of the house,
catering for her husband at the end of a long day. Jack had done a lot to help
her, which was the reason she was making an effort, but that panicked look he’d
had in his eyes told her he might run out the door and not return until they
were long gone.
    Speak of the devil… she untied the apron,
folded it and placed it in the drawer where she’d found it.
    “Smells great.”
    This time Jake had a wide smile on his face
when he walked in. And he looked handsome
as sin. Faith had thought he looked good in his work clothes, all messy
from a day outside on the land, but now? He had a pair of faded jeans on with a
worn patch on one knee that looked like it was about to become a hole. His t-shirt
was white, fitting close enough for her to see his muscles clearly defined, and
his hair was still damp – messy and dark. The
rancher was hot, she’d give him that.