Joshua and the Cowgirl Read Free

find other ways to change that.”
    Garrett’s cheeks flamed at the deliberate taunt. She knew how to handle the straightforward passes thrown by hopeful cowboys. She was less sure how to deal with sly, flirtatious comments meant to rattle her. Garrett knew instinctively, though, that she couldn’t allow Joshua to see that his seductive remark bothered her in the slightest. Poking her hands into her pockets, she looked him straight in the eye and declared with bold impudence, “I doubt you’re man enough.”
    Instead of the stunned outrage she’d expected, the insult merely drew one of his devastating killer smiles. “I guess we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Joshua challenged, running a finger along the line of her jaw. Deep inside her something responded to that deliberate touch, something that scared the daylights out of her.
    “When hell freezes over!” she retorted, swiping his hand away and trying to ignore the spine-tingling effect of his low chuckle of amusement.
    He glanced around meaningfully at the endless snow-covered vistas and smiled. A distressingly masculine expression of smug satisfaction spread slowly across his face, finally reaching his eyes. Those sexy, fascinating blue-green eyes, Garrett decided, were going to be her undoing. His gaze locked on hers and no matter how hard she willed it, she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away.
    “Looks to me like it already has,” he said, more laughter threading through his rich voice.
    “Hmm?” she said blankly.
    Joshua gestured at their surroundings. “Hell, sweetheart. Looks to me like it’s already frozen over.”

Chapter Two
    G arrett blistered the blue skies with every epithet she could think of to describe Joshua’s character and his heritage. She was still muttering under her breath when she charged into the barn at full throttle.
    “Whoa,” Red Grady said, catching her by the elbows and steadying her as she plowed into his solid, barrel chest. “Who lit a fire under you?”
    “That man,” she said, as if that would be explanation enough.
    “At last check we had about a dozen men on the premises. Care to be more specific?” the ranch foreman inquired, barely containing a grin.
    “Joshua Ames.”
    “Ah,” Red murmured knowingly. “He does have a way of getting under your skin. Why is that, do you suppose?”
    “Because he is an obnoxious, know-it-all jerk.” Garrett grabbed the saddle soap and went to work on her saddle. Red propped a booted foot on a sawhorse and watched her.
    “If you rub much harder, you’re going to wear out the leather,” he observed finally. “Want me to beat the man up for you?”
    Garrett’s gaze shot up to meet his laughing eyes. “You’d do it, too, wouldn’t you?” she said, more grateful than ever for Red’s enduring friendship.
    It had been nearly fourteen years since Red had found her waiting tables in that roadside diner halfway between Cheyenne and the ranch. He’d befriended her over eggs and grits and a stack of pancakes that still awed her. Garrett had been seven months pregnant, exhausted and lonely. An uncomplicated, caring man, Red had stood by her, listening to her fears and her dreams. A month before her daughter had been born, he’d brought her to meet Mrs. McDonald. The job interview had gone smoothly. She had known that Red had stuck his neck out for her and that, very likely, Mrs. McDonald had invented a job for her. He’d wanted to see her settled before the birth. She would never forget Red for that. Nor would she ever take advantage of him.
    “I can handle Joshua Ames,” she told him now, though she hadn’t the faintest idea how.
    He tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. “You know I’d do anything for you, though. That’s a given. You need, you ask, okay?”
    Garrett wrapped her hand around his larger, callused one and pressed it to her cheek. “Thanks, Red.”
    His cheeks turned a shade of red very nearly as bright as his curly,