Cowboy on the Run Read Free

leaving here without you,” he stated, leaving no room for argument.
    As if she could. The thought filtered away as quick as it appeared, replaced by the blissful heat of his mouth scorching her neck. She closed her eyes as the longing she’d denied for years returned full force.
    A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine, and she abandoned all thoughts. He reached for his hat, his body leaning into her and pulling her out of the lust enhanced stupor.
    She opened her eyes, drawn to a bouquet of small, purple flowers in the spot where the worn Stetson had been. A forgotten memory jolted her senses as she stared at the wildflowers, unsettled by the romantic gesture.
    “Not this time,” he said huskily, seducing her with his words once more before making his way out of the bar.
    This was the Nate Walker she remembered. The man who disappeared into the night. She’d witnessed the exact departure years ago.
    Shouldn’t she be angry? Or even, Lord forbid, a tearful mess?
    Jessie continued to stare dumbfounded at the door. Awareness flushed through her as if she had been reawakened, her judgment no longer cloudy.
    Crystal clear.
    The daunting realization penetrated Nate’s spell. She cursed again, this time out loud. “Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! ”
    It was official. She clearly wasn’t over Nate Walker.

Chapter 2
    A person could run from his past, but those demons always caught up to you, Nate realized, standing in his father’s kitchen. He had known coming home was going to be anything but easy. But how could a person live this way?
    The kitchen was destroyed. A complete wreck. The room looked as if it was the aftermath of a tornado, and he was standing in the middle of it. A man-made disaster. To top it all off, everyone was gathering here to show their respects after the funeral. In three days.
    He scanned the room, jotting down a quick inventory of the destruction. The sink, filled with dirty dishes stacked up well past the edge. It appeared his father didn’t believe in buying dish soap. Or a trash can.
    His mood blackened, accelerating from a deadened sense of disbelief to one of complete disgust. Garbage covered the linoleum, replacing the tired and torn flooring with a colorful accumulation of empty pizza cartons and various other fast food wrappings. And the smell...
    Gagging at the stench, he made his way to the kitchen windows. After opening them and the door, he started on the garbage. He bent down to grab a discarded carton of eggs, but the cardboard, stuck to the linoleum, resisted. Several attempts later, he pried the container free and tossed a stringy mess of eggs and broken shells into the garbage bag.
    What had he expected? This had been a normal sight growing up, Nate’s mother long gone by the time he hit his teenage years. He could leave, too. Jump onto his black cherry Harley and allow the relaxing rumble to take him far away from this hellhole. A nice concept, one of his better choices, but he couldn’t leave yet. Not without facing those demons. And not without the one person he came back for.
    Jessie.
    Damn, if she hadn’t been a sight for sore eyes. He’d forgotten her temper. Picturing her furious face and the irate green glare she’d directed at him, he chuckled out loud. It didn’t matter if she was angry at him or not, she was still the sexiest woman he had ever seen.
    Nate recalled the moment her flesh melted into him and tucked away the pleasant memory for later. A grim smile wrenched the corners of his mouth and returned to the endless task at hand. As much as he’d rather think about Jessie right now, he had a mess to deal with first.
    The pollution was not just in the kitchen, stepping into the living room. The entire house, a cesspool, needed to be condemned. He kicked a pizza box out of his way, questioning once again how the old man could have lived in this filth.
    Then again, he recalled the fair share of damage his dad and Johnny Walker Red could leave behind. Nate kicked