Expecting the Cowboy's Baby Read Free Page A

make some changes in her life.
    It was time for Cassie to take a stand.
    She wouldn’t tell Brian her plans to relocate until he got back from his honeymoon in Kuaui. She wouldn’t tell him that she had a job offer in Nevada, very near her own hometown, and that all had been settled but the signing on the dotted line. Upon his return she’d explain to her brother how badly she needed to do this. She would make him see that she wasn’t cut out for big city life.
    â€œI can’t wait to meet your date,” Alicia said eagerly. Both she and Brian had looks of anticipation on their faces.
    Cassie really hated lying. “He’s just a friend, really. I mean to say, he’s not my boyfriend or anything.”
    â€œHe’s coming all this way for our wedding. To be with you,” Alicia reminded her.
    Cassie’s heart sunk to the floor. The soon-to-be married couple read far too much into this. And Cassie knew they only wanted her happiness. “Well, sure. But—”
    â€œIt’s time for a toast,” Rick said, rising from his seat with a glass held high.
    All eyes at the table turned to Cassie, to see her reaction. It was natural for people to be curious, she supposed, but facing Rick and his new bride, after a humiliating breakup,was almost too much for her to bear. Yet she kept her composure and plastered on a smile for all to see.
    For certain now, she had to find herself a date for the wedding. She couldn’t take another day of concerned looks and sympathetic stares. There’d be no place to hide on the Sundance Riverboat Wedding Cruise tomorrow.
    Unless she tossed herself overboard.

Two
    J ake slipped into the back of the Caboose Lounge and took a seat at the hotel bar. It was Rodeo Days in the small river city and rodeo riders from all over the country were welcomed with open arms at the hotels. He ordered a straight-up whiskey and turned to listen to the Country Riders Band, hoping their down-home tunes combined with the shot of Wild Turkey would lull him into sleep mode. He’d been keyed up lately, too wired to sleep and anxious about the rodeo tomorrow. It was always the same. Nerves. Excess energy. When he knew he should be sleeping, his body never seemed to cooperate.
    And visions of Cassie Munroe had danced in his head since he’d met up with her at the banquet today. He needed to get a grip, to get the tempting lady off of his mind and get some rest. What he didn’t need was a distraction. He’d come so far and was extremely close to achieving a goal that had been just out of his reach for years.
    Winning the rodeo championship meant more to him than the notoriety, money and respect he’d garner from his peers. Winning meant he’d done something that his father hadn’t been able to accomplish. Winning meant he’d finally be able to look John T. in the eye and say that he was just as good a man, if not a better one.
    He glanced at his watch. Damn, it was after midnight. He really should get some sleep. He ordered another drink, deciding to take it up to his room when a flash of red caught his eye. He stood up from his position on the bar stool and peered over the crowded room, thinking his mind played tricks on him.
    But it was no trick of the mind. He had seen Miss Sexy Red Dress. He stepped in a bit closer, making his way forward, watching her move fluidly, her body gyrating like some exotic dancer’s. Jake’s chest tightened and when her cinnamon hair lifted then fell onto her flushed face, he cursed silently. Mesmerized, he continued watching her. Her green eyes, big, wide, animated, focused on the man she danced with.
    Jake sat back in his seat and twisted his mouth in a frown.
    The woman intrigued him, but better to take his drink up to his hotel room than to sit here and listen to his heart pound hard against his chest, watching her dance. Jake glanced back behind the bar. “Could you hurry it up?”
    The