The Cedar Tree (Love Is Not Enough) Read Online Free PDF Page A

a blaze-faced sorrel mare, and then something thudded against his bumper.
    The young woman's face registered sudden horror. She screamed. Throwing her leg over her horse, she slid to the ground. He slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop. The blonde ran across the road in front of him to a still mound of gold fur in the grass. She fell to her knees. He jumped from the cab and ran to her just as she gathered a small dog into her arms.
    She raised astonishingly blue eyes, full of tears and glinting with shocked anger. "You killed my dog, you moron," she cried.
    "I'm sorry," he exclaimed, gaping down at her delicate, heart shaped face. She was really pretty, even mad. "I didn't see him."
    "Well, why not?" she wailed. She pulled the dog to her chest. "He was right there in plain sight."
    "I'm…sorry," he stammered, uncharacteristically rattled. He hadn't seen the dog because he'd been looking at her, but he couldn't very well say so. "Here, don't do that, you'll get all bloody."
    But she bowed her head over her dog, crying. He stood staring uncertainly down at her glossy hair drawn back in a long ponytail. Wiping out his wad of chew from his lip, he flipped it away then fished his handkerchief from the back pocket of his jeans.
    Squatting beside her, he held out the handkerchief. "Here."
    She didn't look up. "Go away. Leave me alone."
    He scanned the deserted road, a thin grey strand intersecting rocky, cedar dotted pastures. "I can't just leave you here like this. Let me take you home."
    She jerked up her head and glared at him, her face wet. "I've seen how you drive. What makes you think I'd go anywhere with you?"
    Unused to a reaction like that from a girl, at least not until later, he stared at her. "I'm tryin' to be nice."
    "You've been nice enough. If you got any nicer you might run over me ."
    "I told you I didn't see him." He removed his hat to run his hand over his hair in frustration. "If I promise not to run over you, will you let me take you home?"
    Her gaze flicked over his bare head. She turned away. "I'll ride my horse."
    "Let me take the dog, then."
    "I'll carry him."
    Squatting there, he studied her dainty profile. She was a stubborn little thing.
    He thrust the handkerchief at her again. "Here. Your nose is…er…runnin' a little."
    She snatched his handkerchief with one hand and wiped her nose. Thrusting it back at him, she stood, the front of her white shirt covered with blood.
    "C'mon. Let me take you home. I feel bad."
    Without looking at him, she picked up the dog and carried it toward her mare grazing on the other side of the road. He followed, but stood back while she tried to mount. With the dog in her arms, she couldn't pull herself onto the saddle, so she tried to hoist the body first. She was too short to heave it up far enough. The dog's body slid back into her arms.
    He stepped forward and took the dog from her. "This is ridiculous. Get on."
    Turning the mare's head to face him, she jumped to get her booted foot in the stirrup. She swung onto the saddle then held out her arms for the bloody mass of fur. He reluctantly handed the dog to her. Their hands brushed together and the contact rushed through him like an unexpected electric shock.
    The blonde flushed and jerked away.
    He gaped up at her for an instant then he moved his hand to grip the saddle horn. "What's your name?"
    "You don't need to know."
    He suddenly did need to know. "I might."
    "You don't." She nudged her mare into a trot and moved away with the unthinking grace of one raised in the saddle, her silvery ponytail bobbing.
    He stared after her then slid into the pickup. By the time he pulled alongside her, she had dropped from a trot to a walk to keep the dog's limp body from bouncing off.
    He leaned out the window. "I'm tryin' to find Jon Campbell. Am I on the right road?"
    She glanced at him. "Why?"
    "My gramps, Gene Howard, told me he has a horse for sale."
    She stopped her mare and stared at him as though trying to figure out