Rodeo Romance (Contemporary Western Romance Short) Read Free Page B

sat in silence enjoying the cool breeze blowing gently. The stars looked so close, as if she could actually reach out and touch one. She loved it. No noise, no commotion and no Doug. At the thought of Doug, Trisha glanced at Cindy who had her head tilted back gazing at the sky.
    “Thank you, Cindy.” Trisha tried to keep any emotion out of her voice and continued before Cindy could say anything. “You warned me about him, but I didn’t listen.”
    Cindy sighed, taking her eyes off the sky to look out over the lake. “He wasn’t good enough for you. Once a man tries to change you, telling you what to wear, where to go and who to hang with, it’s time to move along. You deserve someone who is going to treat you like a princess, make your toes curl with kisses that set you on fire.” Cindy finally looked her way. “Trisha, don’t live your life based on your relationship with the asshole. We’ve all been there. All women have been there. Find the one we think is the one only to find out he’s the wrong one. In your case, it got a little extreme, but that’s because he’s a lunatic. The important thing to remember is you walked. You left, when most women would have been too afraid to do that.”
    “I may pay for it in the long run, but no man…” Trisha stopped because she never told Cindy the breaking point for her.
    “No man what?” Cindy’s eyes narrowed. “Did that son of a bitch hit you?”
    Embarrassed, Trisha looked away. “Only once.” Her voice sounded bitter even to her own ears. “He threatened by raising his hand, but he only actually hit me once.”
    “I swear he’ll pay for that,” Cindy all but growled, her temper matching her red hair. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “Because I knew you’d go after him.” Trisha grinned sadly then frowned. “He’s a powerful man, Cindy. I have enough to worry about wondering what he’s going to do to me once I get back because I know the restraining order has been served by now.”
    “He’s just a piece-of-shit bully who owns a few businesses.” Cindy snorted. “I know people who would make him piss himself.”
    Trisha didn’t doubt that, but she didn’t want to pull anyone else into her mess. It was her mess and she was going to take care of it as soon as she got home, at least, that was her plan. “Anyway, thank you for everything.”
    “You’re my girl,” Cindy replied, her tone more serious than ever. “Don’t thank me. It’s what friends do.”
    Before Trisha could respond, another howl filled the air, this time sounding closer.
    “Hey, you two.” A voice came from behind them mixing with the howl.
    Both Cindy and Trisha jumped off the fence screaming frantically. Trisha turned to see Jeb screaming right along with them.
    “Oh, my God!” Cindy grabbed her chest. “You gave me a heart attack.”
    Jeb was also holding his chest which worried Trisha. “Jeb, are you okay?”
    “Lord Almighty.” He leaned against the fence, but nodded.
    Trisha couldn’t help it. Why it struck her so funny, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t hold the laughter back. Clutching her stomach, she bent over, laughing uncontrollably. Maybe she was finally losing it.
    “What happened?” a male shout echoed in the night as Jake ran down the slope toward them with Tim limping quickly behind him.
    “We heard screaming.” Tim stopped by Jeb, who was still holding his chest, leaning against the fence. “Jeb? Are you okay?”
    “Hell no, I ain’t okay,” Jeb wheezed out. “They scared the spit out of me.”
    When Trisha saw Jake and Tim, she managed to get her laughter under control, but Jeb’s statement sent her back over the edge with laughter.
    “Why did you scream?” Jeb looked first at Cindy then Trisha.
    “I’m sorry, Jeb.” Trisha tried to wipe the grin from her face. “We kept hearing something howl and then heard it again as soon as you spoke behind us.”
    “Yeah, and you scared more than spit out of me,” Cindy griped then