A Place Of Our Own (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Texas Heat series: Book 3, Jim and Maddies story) Read Free

that. But time is running out and he needs to begin thinking about what you need too.”
     
    “Well, I’d like to stay here.”
     
    “That’s what we all want but it isn’t going to happen if we keep running cattle. The bank will throw us off as soon as look at you and we’ll have no choice at all.”
     
    “I know what you’re saying about the goats, Maddie. It makes sense and I know you and young Jim would never have suggested it if it wasn’t viable. I could learn to like goats and I know for a fact they’re easier to manage than cattle. All I can do is keep trying to convince your grandfather.”
     
    “He doesn’t want to be convinced, and anyway, it’s not as if Jim and I are together any more. You know, I’ll always regret breaking up with him. But wishing never got anything done and certainly won’t bring him back. What’s done is done.”
     
    “Maddie, do you remember when you were small, you always used to tell me you could make anything happen if you wanted it enough? I think you need to start telling yourself that again. You’re a smart girl, determined too, much more than me. If you set your mind to it, I bet you could think of a way to change your grandfather’s mind. Now, off you go. Go and enjoy yourself for a while.”
     
    “Thanks, Gran. I needed that. I guess I have some serious thinking to do.”
     
    Maddie made her way back to the kitchen. She did have some serious thinking to do because Gran was right. She also knew she couldn’t stay living in the same house as her grandfather for much longer. Loving him and her gran was one thing, but living with them was another and she knew in her heart that they’d never be able to afford two places in town, even if they did manage to secure a reasonable price for the ranch.
     
    Nothing had changed in two years. She and Jim still had the same problem – families they both loved dearly, but couldn’t handle living with. Maddie found herself wandering over to the fence that bordered the Circle O, then climbing through it and heading to the old homestead about fifty yards away. She hadn’t been inside in two years and as she approached, the walls she’d carefully built around herself came crashing down as memories of her time here with Jim washed over her.
     
    ******
     
    Maddie had played here with Jim when they were children, playing house as children do. Then when they were older, Jim had moved some old furniture in and they had played out some of their dreams for real. Maddie had always had long blonde hair and vivacious blue eyes, and still did. Jim had loved to run his fingers through it and plait it for her. Her face was heart shaped and her mouth was so generously proportioned, when she smiled, it was as if her whole face lit up. Jim used to tell her that all the time.
     
    She wasn’t tall, but didn’t mind because Jim had always liked to tower over her and she’d always relied on his solid presence. Maddie thought she was scrawny, too thin and wiry to be attractive but she’d filled out over the years until senior year, when Jim had told her how hot she was. She remembered how he had told her he loved the way she filled out a pair of jeans, and how her breasts were exactly the right size and shape to fit perfectly in his hands.
     
    He had loved the way her nose was a little turned up, her face lightly dusted with freckles and the way her blue eyes seemed to twinkle when she smiled. Most of all, she remembered how he had looked at her body with awe, the first time they had come here to the old cabin and explored every nook and cranny of each other’s bodies. She remembered when they’d had sex, the way she had responded to his loving and how he had treated her with reverence, like a goddess.
     
    Maddie still loved Jim and even if another two years went past, she knew in her heart she would still feel the same way.
     
    The old cabin was sorely in need of repairs and the whole place was full of dust but she didn’t care.