Long, Tall Texans--Harden Read online

  “Of course not,” she agreed, hiding the pain.

  “I’m not in the market for a picket fence, no matter how attractive the accessories.”

  It took her a minute, but she got it. She laughed. “Okay.”

  “You’re quick.”

  “Not so much.” She sighed. “It was fun.”

  “It was fun. Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  “Tell Rod I’m still on for the poker game, if he is. He’ll understand,” he added as he turned to leave.

  “I’ll tell him.”

  He forced himself to walk to the SUV, open the door, get in and crank it. He didn’t look at her. If he had, he knew he wouldn’t be able to leave.

  ****

  Colie watched him drive away. He didn’t wave. He didn’t look back. She felt a sense of terrible loss. But he was right. They had no future. Their outlooks were far too different. Still, he needed somebody. He was so alone, so tormented.

  She opened the door and went inside. Her father was just coming out of his study. His quick glance showed him that it had been a conventional date, and that nothing had happened. He tried to hide his sense of relief.

  “Have fun?” he asked.

  “Oh, yes,” she said, grinning. “It was a great movie. We had dinner at the fish place. I love their fries.”

  “They’re good,” he said, nodding. He cocked his head. “Going out again?”

  She shook her head. “He’s very nice, but he hates picket fences,” she said.

  He moved closer. She was putting on a show, and he knew it. She was in pain. “Daughter,” he said gently, “there’s a reason for everything, a plan behind whatever happens to us. You have to let life happen. You can’t force it to be what you’d like it to be.”

  She smiled and hugged him. “And we can’t get involved with people who aren’t like us. I know all that. It’s what he said, too.” She closed her eyes. “It still hurts.”

  “Of course it does. But pain passes. Everything does, in time.”

  “Yes. In time,” she agreed.

  ****

  But it didn’t pass. Every time Rod mentioned J.C., Colie felt it like a stab in her heart. She knew that J.C. was totally wrong for her. It didn’t help. She wanted him. Loved him. Hungered for him.

  She went to work, came home, cooked and cleaned, read books, went to bed. She got up the next day and did the very same things. But she felt as empty inside as a tennis ball.

  ****

  She didn’t know it, but J.C. was having the same problem. Every day, he went to work and was haunted by the soft twinkle in a pair of loving green eyes. He was used to women who wanted him. But one who loved him…that was new. It was frightening.

  Could he take her and walk away afterwards? Could he not take her and live? He agonized over it.

  His boss, Ren Colter, noticed his preoccupation while they were inspecting a downed fence on the edge of the property.

  “That tree needs to come down,” Ren remarked.

  “I’ll tell Willis,” J.C. replied. Willis was the foreman.

  “What’s eating you?” Ren asked suddenly, and from the standpoint of the friend he’d been for years. “You’re not yourself.”

  “Just a few sleepless nights, that’s all,” J.C. lied.

  “Umhmmm. And it wouldn’t have something to do with Colie Thompson…?”

  J.C.’s pale gray eyes flashed. “Listen, just because I took her to a movie…!”

  “Oh, can it,” Ren said shortly. “You’ve been mooning around here for a week, like a ghost trying to find a place to haunt. I hear she’s doing the same thing.”

  “She is?” J.C. asked.

  The other man’s expression was like a statement. Ren chuckled. “You have to take the path to see where it leads. Ask yourself, are you happier now?”

  “No.”

  “Then why don’t you do something about it?”

  J.C. ground his teeth together. “Her father’s a minister and I don’t want to get married.”

  “You don’t have to propose just because you take her out on dates,” was the reasonable reply. “Do you?”

  J.C. sighed. “It will complicate things.”

  “Life is too short to avoid complications.”

  J.C. studied him. After a minute he laughed shortly. “I guess it is, at that.”

  ****

  Colie was just getting into her old beat-up pickup truck in the parking lot of the law firm where she worked when a big black SUV pulled into the spot beside her.

  She turned and J.C. was getting out of it.

  He stopped just in front of her. He looked angry, conflicted, worried. He drew in a breath. “The hell with it,” he said curtly.

  “What?” she began.

  He pulled her into his arms and bent his head. “We’ll take it one day at a time,” he whispered as his mouth burrowed softly, slowly into hers.

  She would have questioned him, but a shock of pleasure ran the length of her body and left her trembling. She reached up and held him, hung on for dear life, while he made a five-course meal of her soft, eager mouth.

  Don’t miss

  WYOMING WINTER

  by New York Times bestselling author

  Diana Palmer,

  coming soon wherever

  HQN Books and ebooks are sold.

  www.Harlequin.com

  Copyright ©2017 by Diana Palmer

  There’s something about those Wyoming men…

  New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer returns to the Cowboy State with a brand-new tale of desire and deception in

  Wyoming Winter

  Cultivating his vast Wyoming ranch is all security expert J. C. Calhoun wants. His land is the only thing the betrayed rancher can trust in after discovering his fiancée was pregnant by another man. But all J.C. holds dear becomes compromised when a lost little girl leads him to Colie Jackson, the woman who destroyed his life.

  Colie stops at nothing to protect the people she loves. Years ago she left J.C. for his own good. Now, for the sake of her daughter, she must depend on a hard-hearted man who won’t forgive her. As a band of ruthless criminals tracks their every move through the frozen Wyoming winter, Colie and J.C. will be forced to confront the lies that separated them—and the startling truth that will bind them forever…

  Order your copy now!

  In their quest for true love on the range, are these ranchers bold enough to open their hearts to the women under their protection? Don’t miss any of the stories in the captivating Wyoming Men series!

  Wyoming Brave

  Wyoming Rugged

  Wyoming Strong

  Wyoming Bold

  Wyoming Fierce

  Wyoming Tough

  Add these cowboys to your shelf today!

  “…You just can’t do better than a Diana Palmer story to make your heart lighter and smile brighter.”

  ―Fresh Fiction

  *

  For sensual tales filled with romance and charm, don’t miss any of the titles in Diana Palmer’s breathtaking Long, Tall Texans series!

  Undaunted

  Defender

  Untamed

  Invincible

  Protector

  Courageous

  Merciless

  Dangerous

  Heartless

  Fearless

  Available now!

  “Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly!”

  —Publishers Weekly

  *

  Did you know that Harlequin My Rewards members earn FREE books and more?

  Join

  www.HarlequinMyRewards.com

  today to start earning your FREE books!

  *

  Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Other ways to keep in touch:

  Harlequin.com/Newsletters

  Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Twitter.com/Harlequin
Books

  HarlequinBlog.com

  ISBN-13: 9781488080753

  Long, Tall Texans: Harden

  First published as Harden by Silhouette Romance in 1991

  Copyright © 1991 by Diana Palmer

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com