How to Lasso a Cowboy Read Free Page A

and turned her face up to greet the sun. She had a rare temporary break, with no customers in the shop. She spent most of her days here, dispensing lattes and fresh-baked biscotti, and though she loved her job, she also loved the occasional opportunity to enjoy the fruits of her labor. “Thanks,” she told Lulu. “I stole them from Harlan Jones’s front porch.”
    â€œStole them?”
    â€œYep. That man is too stubborn for his own good.”
    â€œAnd sexy,” Lulu said with a sigh. She pushed her dark brown hair off her brow, and then took a sip of one of the two iced coffees she’d brought out earlier. “Not to mention that Southern drawl. He’s yummy all around.”
    Sophie laughed. “Yummy? I wouldn’t describe Harlan Jones with that word or anything close to it.”
    â€œThen you are blind, girlfriend, because that man is the sexiest thing to come to this town in a long time.” Lulu pressed a hand to her chest. “And since I’m the one who rented that house to him, you should be thanking me for improving the neighborhood view.”
    Mildred Meyers came striding down the sidewalk, saving Sophie from replying about Harlan Jones’s sexiness quotient. Probably a good thing, because Sophie had no time for a man in her life. She’d learned her lesson about trying to mix a relationship and a business that consumed most of her hours, a lesson that had ended her engagement and left her wondering how anyone managed to combine entrepreneurship with a personal life. On top of that, the messy and very public ending of her relationship with Jim had been the talk of the town for months.
    Reminder to self: Never run out on your own wedding on a slow news day . The reporters had bugged herfor weeks, disrupting her life and her business. Thank goodness the furor had finally died down. Sophie was inordinately relieved when Gertrude Maxwell took up a Winchester shotgun and chased her cheating husband out of the house, thus becoming the new topic du jour.
    Either way, Sophie loved her cozy little coffee shop. It wasn’t just her business, it was her refuge, even if building the business into something strong and viable was a continual, energy draining effort. She worked hard, but at a job she loved. When she reached the end of her week and realized she hadn’t so much as flirted with a man, never mind go out on a date, she told herself there’d be time later for a relationship.
    Yeah, like maybe when she was in a retirement home.
    â€œI’ve had the most amazing brainstorm!” Mildred exclaimed as she approached them.
    Sophie smiled. Combining Mildred with the word “brainstorm” could very well be a dangerous proposition. Mildred had once been a teacher—had even served as Sophie’s third grade teacher—and had always been an active member of Edgerton Shores. She was an effusive, quirky woman with a penchant for bright clothing in garish combinations. Today she had on a pair of neon-lime Capri pants and a coral blouse that seemed to rival the sun in color strength. A chunky turquoise-and-gold necklace completed the ensemble, and was echoed in her jeweled sandals. “Where’s your partner in crime?” Sophie asked.
    â€œYour grandmother was feeling a bit under the weather, so she stayed home today.”
    Concern flooded Sophie as she and Mildred headed into Cuppa Java and Sophie started making Mildred her usual order. “I should leave and go see her. Make sure she’s okay.”
    â€œYou’ll do no such thing. Your grandmother told me specifically that you were ‘not to worry or run over to her house for no good reason.’” Mildred fluttered her fingers in air quotes. “She is just fine, and ‘you have enough on your hands,’ quote, unquote.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œOf course I am. Besides, I left my can of pepper spray there. She’s covered for any