Riding the Line Read Free Page B

fiendish plan to get me alone and steal my soul or my horse or something?’
    She looked down her nose at him, her disdain obvious.
    He sighed. ‘Eat something. I got Twinkies.’
    Robyn sniffed. ‘Twinkies are bad for you.’
    ‘Hell, I know that.’
    She fought to ignore the twinkle in Dakota Scott’s eyes as he tried to tempt her to eat. How did he have the nerve to pretend to be nice after suggesting she was a prostitute?
    ‘Don’t you know that Twinkies are going to be the only thing that survives a nuclear war, along with the cockroaches?’
    She stared at him resentfully. There he went again, trying to be funny when he’d not only ignored her attempt to come on to him, but made out he was some kind of whiter than white boy scout goody-goody. He never paid for sex, so frickin’ what? Did he think he was so attractive that every woman he met had the hots for him?
    Trouble was he might be right. When she’d seen his muscled torso in the bathroom she’d had no choice but to reach out and touch his glorious chest. She set her jaw. She had to keep him interested enough to let her tag along with him when he left.
    She fixed a smile on her face and crawled across the bed to sit on the corner closest to him.
    He stopped unwrapping his Twinkie and studied her. ‘You going to eat something now? The sulk is over?’
    ‘I wasn’t sulking.’ She lifted her chin. ‘I have a temperature and a headache. It’s no wonder I’m feeling a little off-balance.’
    His expression softened and he reached over to squeeze her hand. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. Hell of a situation to find yourself in.’
    Tears crowded her throat. Damn him for being nice again. She wanted him to be a conceited jerk who deserved to be taken down, not a thoughtful considerate guy. He handed her a paper napkin.
    ‘Here, have some chips and a Twinkie. You’ll feel much better once you’ve got some sugar and salt inside you.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll get the coffee.’
    She watched him pour out the coffee, his movements smooth and graceful for such a tall guy. The thought of fucking him was even OK. Sex was still the only thing she had to give him. She’d just have to try a more direct track.
    ‘So you’re a cowboy, right?’
    ‘Yeah, you found me out.’ He glanced at the door. ‘What was it that gave me away? The boots, the spurs or the hat?’
    She smiled despite herself. ‘How about the hay sticking out from your ears?’
    He winked. ‘Nice one. But, yeah, that’s what I do, along with some other things.’
    ‘Where’s your horse?’
    ‘Tommy’s on my brother’s ranch having a week off along with the other guys. I usually have at least two horses with me when I travel, sometimes three. I was just glad the horse part of the trailer was empty when I came to a dead stop just outside town today.’
    Robyn ate a chip, ate another one and then a third. God, they were good and her favorite flavor.
    ‘How about you? What do you do?’
    She swallowed so hastily, she coughed on the crumbs. ‘Oh, a bit of this and that, mainly for my family business.’
    ‘Which is what?’
    ‘Based in Los Angeles.’
    He frowned. ‘I can’t say I like that city. It’s so huge and it takes for ever to get anywhere on the freeway. My brothers live further up the coast in San Francisco and Oregon.’
    ‘And where do you call home?’
    ‘It depends. Up until recently I would have said Arizona, that’s where my mother and stepdad live, but now I’m looking to set down my own roots and have my own home.’ He drank his coffee, gestured at Robyn to drink hers. ‘It depends what happens in the next six months as to where I end up.’
    She stared at him. How nice to have such quiet confidence and self-assurance. She had no idea where she’d be tomorrow, let alone in a year. Panic and anger clashed uneasily in her stomach. She clutched her plastic cup so hard, coffee spurted out of the top.
    ‘So are you heading back to Los Angeles?’
    Robyn just