Jake (Men of Clifton Montana Book 1) Read Free Page A

sleepiness. Becca had hoped to make it to the ranch
tonight but between her heavy eyelids and the snow surrounding her, which was
now turning into little pellets of sleet, she feared staying on the single lane
road too much longer. Just as she was considering finding a motel, the GPS
reported that she had a left turn ahead and had reached her destination.
Sitting up straighter, Becca peered through the snow to make the turn. She
pulled into a driveway, following it up to a large white farmhouse.
    The headlights
spilled over a front porch that stretched along the entire front of the house.
It was huge. Alone, the big house sat in the middle of powdery white snow. The
windows, surrounded with black shutters, stared eerily at her as if watching
her arrival. Several chimneys jutted up from the roof. As she peered through
the windshield, she could see tire tracks leading to the side of the house. She
followed them around to a side porch where a light beckoned from inside.
    Pushing the car
door open, Becca got out and gasped as icy pellets hit her in the face. She
noticed the walk, although shoveled recently, was quickly collecting more fresh
snow. She shivered against the frigid cold.
    “I thought Maryland
was cold in the winter but this is freaking incredible,” she muttered as she
carried her suitcases up the steps.
    The attorney had
told her the house would be unlocked. Becca shook her head. Who in their right
mind would leave a place like this unlocked? Of course, it sat back in the damn
boonies. No one in his right mind would come out here looking to rob a place.
Before going inside, she gazed up at the security light by the barn. The snow now
floated through the glow in large fat flakes.
    Becca shivered again,
and stepped inside. The heat welcomed her. Someone had been there to ensure it
was warm. Closing the door behind her, she looked around. It was a beautiful
kitchen. More modern than what she expected. A mudroom sat off the back and a
small housekeeper’s quarters was located next to it. She took off her coat and
hung it over the top of a ladder back chair nestled against a long, worn table.
Becca checked out the small housekeeper’s room but since there was only a
shower, she decided to look upstairs.
    Becca walked
through a hallway and entered a large foyer. Glancing to her right, she saw
stairs leading to the second floor. Hearing the snap of flames on wood, she
peered into what must be the living room aglow with shimmering light. Tilting
her head, she wondered who had made a fire for her. She jumped when she suddenly
heard the back door open.
    Opening her purse,
she pulled out the can of mace she carried, and slowly walked back to the
kitchen. Becca came to a dead stop when she saw the man who’d entered her
kitchen. He’d halted his forward motion when he saw her with the defense spray
in her hands. He raised an eyebrow at her.
    “Who the hell are
you and what are you doing in my house?” Becca gasped, holding her chest.
    The man took his
time taking off his coat, then his cowboy hat. He shook the snow off his hat
and set it on the kitchen table.  
    Becca bit back a
groan. This man was simply gorgeous. He had broad shoulders, slim hips, a
straight narrow nose, and high cheekbones. His thick, straight black hair hung
to the collar of his flannel shirt. Her eyes skimmed down his tall frame, and
she could feel her cheeks burning. He certainly knew how to fill out a pair of
jeans. They were tight across his muscular thighs and cupped his sex in a snug
fashion. Stubble covered a square jaw. His mouth had a bowed upper lip and a
full bottom lip that she suddenly had the absurd desire to suck into her mouth.
This man was definitely trouble with a capital T, a bad boy and sexy as sin.
    Becca suppressed a
shiver. Did all the men in Montana look like this? Her mouth felt as dry as the
Mojave Desert.
    “Jake Stone, ma’am,”
he told her in a deep voice.
    When it registered
what he’d said, she felt her temperature