BROKEN Read Free Page A

workload cut in half, she had time to go horseback riding with him and have picnics down by the pond or just take a walk in the woods.   Those were the times she cherished most, because that’s when he opened up to her.
    As much as Kincaid loved what he did for a living, it came with a lot of baggage.   He couldn’t give her specific details about the missions, of course, but that wasn’t what wormed its way into his mind and heart anyway.   It was the deaths that lay so heavily on his shoulders and preyed on him; those he had tried to save but failed, and the comrades who lost their lives attempting the rescue.   And he worried incessantly about his brother and often had nightmares that Mitch got injured or killed.   Yet he was driven to go back, to keep trying to make a difference.
    It wasn’t that Jessie liked hearing the horrible stories, but it made her feel special knowing she was the only one Kincaid confided in about it.   For whatever reason he trusted her, and in telling her what happened, he was able to release the demons that haunted him.   Until the next time, she thought ruefully.   She hated how badly those missions tore him up inside , but she cared for Kincaid a great deal and as long as he needed her, she would be there for him.
    Jessie sighed and sat up, resigning herself to another sleepless night.   The idea that she should have gone into town with the boys had just flitted through her head when she heard the distinct sound of a truck engine.   She glanced at the clock.   It was way too early for them to be returning.   Most of the time they drank so much they just spent Saturday nights in town and didn’t return until early afternoon on Sunday, so it didn’t bode well that they’d come home so soon after leaving.   It usually meant one of them had gotten a little too rowdy and ended up with a split lip or some other minor wound she would be expected to stitch or patch up.
    Jessie crept down stairs to sneak a peek out the front window.   She wasn’t in the mood to play doctor .  W ith any luck, the damage would be minor and they would opt to bypass waking her rather th an endure the lecture that inevitably accompanied the bandaging.   Jessie swore under her breath when the pickup continued on up to the house instead of veering off towards the bunkhouse .  She was just about to run upstairs for her robe when something made her stop and take another look out the window.
    He was nothing more than a shadow when he stepped out of the truck, but Jessie had spent enough time pressed up against that rock hard body to know who it belonged to.   With a squeal of happiness, she sprinted for the door and was racing down the stone pathway in a matter of seconds.
    “Lord, have mercy,” Mitch muttered when Jessie came flying out of the house in her nightgown.
    He had just enough time to brace himself for impact before she threw herself in his arms and claimed his mouth with a searing kiss.   His heart thumped wildly in his chest as she pressed herself into him and every ounce of blood in his body made a mad dash south and pooled in his loins.   A low groan of pure agony rumbled deep in his throat when her tongue found his , and for all his doubts on the ride to the ranch, Mitch could think of nothing else at that moment but burying himself inside her soft body.
    “God, I’ve missed you,” she said breathlessly before reclaiming his mouth.
    Never in his life had Mitch been greeted like this by a woman and he had to question his brother’s sanity at ever being able to leave her.   His entire body was on fire from the feel of her satiny skin and her soft, feminine scen t.  And when she rolled her hips invitingly against him, Mitch wasn’t altogether sure he would survive an entire night with Jessie Buchanan.  
    Attempting to regain some self control by putting a little distance between them, Mitch drew his head back.   It was a monumental mistake.   It was bad enough that she was so