Forever Cowboy (Montana Brides Book 5) Read Free Page A

hurt?”
    “Not that they mentioned, but no one’s walked away from Godzilla on their own. I appreciate you bringing me into town today.”
    “I had to come in anyway, so a detour to the hospital didn’t make much difference. So tell me, Mr. World Bull Riding Champion, how do you like being the main attraction at dad’s rodeo school?”
    “It’s not me they want to see.”
    “The school’s been booked solid since you’ve been home.”  
    He sat taller in his seat, wincing when his leg cramped. “I was going stir crazy and needed something to do.” He never thought he’d end up teaching bull riding, but after he’d gotten over his sorry ass pride, he’d started to enjoy himself. Over the years he’d listened and learned from the best bull riders in the country. If passing on that knowledge made a difference, then he was happy to oblige.
    “I hear you’ve had a few unexpected visitors?”
    Alex folded the paper in half and pushed it aside. “If you mean the single women mom keeps talking about, she’s exaggerating.”
    The mischievous spark in Gracie’s eyes made him wince. For some crazy reason they’d had a constant stream of unattached women finding their way out to his parents’ ranch. If they knew how carefully he dodged anything resembling a relationship, they wouldn’t have wasted their gas getting to Billings.
    He took a gulp of coffee, hoping Gracie got the hint and changed the subject.
    “Six in one day would have to be a state record.”
    He glared across the table. “They wanted to learn barrel racing.”
    “Of course they did.” The beaming smile on Gracie’s face told him she knew differently.  
    “We were fully booked,” he muttered. “Have you started your baby classes yet?”
    Gracie gave him a sweet smile. “I’ll let you change the subject this time, but one day you’re going to have to tell me why you never introduce me to your girlfriends.”
    “It might be because there hasn’t been one to introduce.” The trouble with finding out he had a half sister eighteen months ago, was that Gracie needed a whole pile of filling in on their family history. And there were some things he wasn’t inclined to share. Especially to a half sister who reminded him of why he didn’t do happy-ever-after.
    The doorbell jingled and Alex swore the hairs on the back of his neck stood to attention.  
    Gracie looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Hi, Nicky. I thought you were heading to Denver this week?”
    Alex turned around and wished he hadn’t. Emily closed the door to the café and stood beside her sister. The smile on her face disappeared as soon she saw him.  
    “The…umm…I changed my schedule.” Nicky glanced at Emily, then back at Gracie. “We just popped in to tell Tess something. I’ll give you a call later.”
    “Hi, Emily. Why don’t you both stay and have a coffee with us?” Gracie asked. “There’s plenty of room at our table. Alex is back in Montana for a while and we’re just catching up on...”
    “The rodeo,” Alex said quickly. If Gracie mentioned his non-existent love life in front of Emily he’d be out of the café in two seconds flat.  
    Gracie frowned at Nicky. “I thought I saw your truck parked down the street. Have you been shopping?”
    Nicky shook her head. “We’ve been looking at…” She looked between her sister and Alex, then at a big envelope in her hands. “Alex, what do you know about commercial property investment in Bozeman?”
    Emily made a strangled noise in the back of her throat.  
    Nicky ignored her sister and waited patiently for his answer.
    If he’d been a betting man, he wouldn’t have put money on Nicky asking him about the property market. He was surprised she was even speaking to him. Especially if Emily had told her why they’d broken up.
    He cleared his throat and tried to ignore the blush screaming across Emily’s face. “My brother and I bought a property not far from here about a year ago.” It had cost