Stony Creek Cowboy [Stony Creek] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Free Page A

into the bedroom? It was then she noticed a small piece of shiny metal at the corner of the gutter by the first-floor roof. Finding a ladder left behind by the construction men, she maneuvered it to the edge of the roof. See, I have skills, she thought to herself. Only in Wyoming for a few hours and already I’m getting handier by the minute.
    Billie climbed the ladder to find that she was eight feet off the ground. Not afraid of heights, she tried to convince herself. As she reached up to inspect the shiny object, her foot gave way. She could hear her own screams pierce the quiet of the valley as she hung on for dear life.
    “Oh my god! Help! ” So much for her newfound skills.
     
    * * * *
     
    Riding along the fence line in the south pasture, Jackson read a cryptic text from Sam.
    You have got to get a load of your new neighbor. I think you guys are going to be good friends. Very good friends. He is just your type.
    “What the hell? I think he has had one too many shots to the head with a two-by-four. He has just earned the beat down he is going to get as soon as I see that idiot.”
    Jackson’s curiosity was now piqued, though. Maybe he would ride over and introduce himself. It got really lonely out there and at least the guy could know he had nice neighbors nearby. As he got within sight of the new house, he saw a woman. Not just a woman but a gorgeous woman maneuvering a ladder against the roof. “What the hell is she doing?”
    Who cared really? She had to be five foot eight and all curves. From this vantage point, he had a healthy view of her posterior and he was appreciating the sight. She wore a light, filmy skirt that fluttered gently in the wind. Why the hell would she be climbing a ladder dressed like that and who the hell was she? Thick auburn hair teased to mid-back and perfect hips teased his senses as she carefully climbed up. He edged Lachlan forward just as her foot slipped from the rung. Her scream carried on the wind and lunged him into action. She clung to the gutter with one hand as he got to her.
    Oh no, Billie thought as she lost her hold on the gutter and began to hurdle down into…arms? Where the heck did they come from? And who owned the hard chest that she was plastered up against that smelled so darned good? All the questions could be answered in the moment she caught her breath. However, the task of lifting her skirt off her savior’s face seemed like it ought to be first on the list.
    Billie’s heart was beating out of her chest, but now she was unsure of whether it was the fall itself or the handsome face staring amusingly down at her. Gorgeous green eyes smiled into her face and her breath caught again. Dear lord, he was delicious. He had tanned, strong features with a chiseled chin, and his mouth, wow, was there a medical description for the perfection of his lips? In the millisecond it took to observe her view, she began wondering what he could do with those lips. Kiss, I hope he can really kiss with a set like those.
    “Are you all right, ma’am? Did you hurt yourself?”
    She couldn’t bring herself to answer. Her mouth felt like it was watering. He had caught her in such a fashion that one hand was on her left butt cheek and the right, dear lord, was cupped around the side of her breast. Her hands were resting on strongly muscled biceps, and she couldn’t stop herself from gently squeezing her fingers, just to check if he were real. Perhaps she had hit her head and he was a hallucination? Her insides quivered as she processed that he was real, saved her life, and was holding her intimately. Somehow a potted plant to say thank you seemed inadequate, Billie thought, laughing silently to herself.
    “Ma’am? Should I call the doctor?”
    It was that comment that shook her out of her hormonal coma.
    “No, no. I am just fine. Thank you, thank you so much, Mister, um, Mister…”
    “Powell, Jackson Powell, ma’am, at your service.” He chuckled. It was at that moment he