Only You Read Free Page B

all the work and money he’d put into the house, he could at least stay for a night or two. He could handle that.

Chapter Two
    Maggie carefully placed the chocolate cake on the backseat of her Porsche and collapsed into the car. She’d sat on the sofa for three days waiting for her ankle to mend and for JD to reappear. God knows why she’d waited for him. What had she thought? That he’d fallen under her spell? Love at first sight? She snorted. Sure. Happened all the time.
    She revved the engine and felt marginally better as the car slid smoothly down the driveway. She didn’t like sitting around waiting for things to happen. She needed action.
    Surprisingly protective of JD, Claire had cautioned Maggie not to bother him. Apparently, he had a lot on his mind these days. Well, so did she. She hadn’t come all this way to sit on her butt all day. Both her friends had full, busy days, and it was only in the evening that she got to visit with them. Claire was preoccupied with managing the ranch, although Maggie had yet to discover exactly what that meant. Whatever Claire was doing, she kept busy. Maggie’s lips curled. The only thing that needed managing was Ethan and his high-handed ways of handling her friend. Not that she’d ever say that to Claire. No doubt she had found ways to improve the efficiency of running the ranch. If anyone could, it would be Claire.
    Sammie had taken to the cowgirl’s life with an enthusiasm that surprised Maggie. She was up and at ’em before it was fully light in the morning, cleaning stalls and brushing down horses. Sammie, who had worked for a fashion mag for the last ten years. Maggie never would have guessed her friend would like mucking about in the . . . well, muck.
    Claire said the ranch made its money running beef cattle. JD bought and resold horses as a sideline, but according to Claire, most of the horses were ones other people didn’t want. The Moondance Ranch was getting a reputation as a place to sell the old mare who ain’t what she used to be. Taking in horses no one else wanted didn’t sound like a paying proposition, but then, not everything was about money. At least, she hoped it wasn’t. Sometimes, though, it felt like money was the only thing people cared about.
    She slowed and turned onto the dirt road that Dave had told her about. While he’d drawn a map to JD’s place in the dust beside the barn, she’d surreptitiously studied the older cowboy. He looked to be in as good a shape as JD, and although his face was weathered, she could tell he was a kind man. He would probably do as a second choice if JD wouldn’t cooperate with the baby project, except Dave had a standoffish air to him, and she had a feeling he’d head for the hills if she ever propositioned him. Not that she was inclined to. Not while JD was still a possible candidate.
    Dave had said that JD likely spent most evenings at his house, but he didn’t know for sure, because JD kept to himself, which had probably been meant as a gentle reprimand to leave JD alone. Everyone acted so protective of him. She’d love to know why. His house was only a couple of miles away, so no problem if he wasn’t home. She wanted to see the house he’d built, anyway. Claire and Sammie and Dave all said it was something special. JD looked so much like a cowboy, it was hard to imagine him as a renowned architect, wearing a suit and having an office in a high-rise somewhere.
    A few minutes later, she stopped the car below the house, even though she could see she was supposed to keep driving up to the side entrance. She got out and leaned against the car, her hand on her stomach. Gazing upward, she felt like someone had taken a big wooden spoon and stirred up her insides. Tears pooled in her eyes as laughter bubbled up her throat. It was the most beautiful house she’d ever seen, and it made her long for things she didn’t think would ever be part of her life.
    Made of rock and cedar, the house clung to the side