Cowboys Mine Read Free

Home was another story.
    “Will you stop messing my bed, Colt. You’re too big
for your own good.” Eva struggled to shove his legs aside so she could sit. But
Colt reached up and tugged Eva down alongside him, her back pressed to his
chest. He wrapped his arm around her, whispering something in her ear until she
giggled.
    North strolled around the room, examining Eva’s
prized possessions he’d seen a thousand times—the little pink elephant and her
baby shoes mounted on an ivory plaque. Everything was so familiar, so
comfortable.
    “What’s wrong with you, North? Come here.”
    He shrugged off his jacket, forgetting he had
nothing on underneath. “Shuffle over,” he said. When they’d made room for him,
he settled in beside Eva, staring up at the ceiling and the small tin stars
dangling down.
    “You’re sad again. Why?” she asked, her arm draping
around his chest.
    He shrugged.
    Colt lifted his head. “She say something to you?”
    “No, she’s passed out good.”
    “You checked she was okay?”
    “I checked, dammit!” His body tensed. “Can we not
talk about her?”
    Eva kissed his shoulder, holding him tighter. He
closed his eyes and absorbed her goodness. “Is your mom sick?” she asked.
    He swallowed hard, not able to answer. Colt spoke
for him. “She’ll be fine in a few days. She’s just under the weather.”
    “Is there something I can do to help? Mom could
bring her some soup.”
    “No, sweetheart. Don’t you worry about her,” said
Colt.
    They rested in silence, Colt occasionally brushing
her hair with his fingers. It was so silky and long, the color of wheat. The
scent of her strawberry shampoo drifted in the air, so feminine compared to the
stench of cattle and horses North was used to.
    She began to play with North’s fingers, examining
the various healing scars. When she beckoned for his other hand, she sat up in
a rush. “What happened to you?”
    “I’m not hurt,” said North.
    She kissed his torn knuckles, not repulsed by the
bloody mess. “I’m telling mom. She’ll fix you up good.”
    He took his hand back, not in the mood for coddling.
“Later. Promise.”
    “You’re stubborn as a bull.”
    North didn’t respond. He just needed to be there in
the fluffy pink blankets where he felt safe and loved. Eva could throttle him
all she wanted.
    She twisted around on her knees between them until
she could see them both. “Dad says we’re having a corn roast when I get back,”
she said with sudden enthusiasm, breaking the hush. “Even more people are
coming than last year. It’ll be fun.”
    “Did you invite the Blackwood sisters?” asked Colt.
    Eva jabbed him in the stomach, making him grunt.
“You can chase tail on your own time. Anyway, you’ll be busy shucking. Lots of
shucking.”
    Colt chuckled, tickling her until she squealed.
North couldn’t help but join in. It was so easy to tease Eva. They were both
relentless, crowding her and offering no reprieve. He swore the bed would
shatter into splinters with the weight of the three of them bouncing around.
    “Stop!” she cried, half laughing. “Please!”
    North stilled Colt’s hand. He supported his weight
over her body as she attempted to catch her breath. She looked up at him with
her big blue eyes. Somehow Eva made life tolerable.
    He desperately wanted to tell her everything.
    But he refused to bring any of his darkness into her
world.

Chapter
Two
     
    Eva brushed her oldest prized cow in long strokes.
She’d raised Bessie and Ruby herself, keeping them separate from the herd. Her
father rarely refused her, not that she ever asked for anything extravagant.
She hoped at least one of them would win a ribbon or cash prize at the rodeo.
Although her parents had babied her, she was twenty-two and felt the need to
spread her wings. Most of the girls she’d grown up with here married, in
serious relationships, or had traveled to the city to study in colleges and
universities. She felt left behind, counting