Free Her Heart for the Asking (Book 1 - TEXAS HEARTS) by Lisa Mondello Page A

of promises I made.  Most girls
I meet on the circuit know the life of a rodeo cowboy. 
Nothing lasts that long."
    Annoyance rose up inside her like bile at
the thought of Beau with another woman.  Of course, there'd
been other girls for Beau.  There had to have been.  He
was young and handsome and strong.  He was the perfect cowboy
that every woman dreamed of.  Even she'd dated other men
during the eight years that separated them.  Still, she turned
away from his probing gaze to hide the stab of jealousy chipping
away at her.
    "I told my tale, now 'fess up.  What
about you?"
    "What about me?" she asked, still averting
her gaze.
    "Any one man in your life to make you think
of white picket fences and puppy dogs and kids in the back
yard."
    "A few."
    She felt more than heard his reaction, as if
it were something tangible.  His body stiffened in the seat
and the air in the cab suddenly seemed suffocating.
    "A few, huh?  Special ones or just...
guys you knew?"
    Forcing her voice to sound nonchalant, she
replied, "There were a few guys that were special."
    Mandy turned her attention away from the
scenery to glance at Beau.  Why should she let him think she'd
spent the last years pining over him?  But in truth, a truth
she'd only recently realized, she had.
    Beau was brooding.  And it didn’t give
her any of the satisfaction she thought it would.  He had one
arm slung heavy over the steering wheel while the other way draped
across the open window.  There was a sudden droopiness in his
shoulders, as if she'd deflated his spirit in some way. 
Probably his ego, she thought wryly. 
    She shouldn't like that mentioning an old
boyfriend could turn him a little green, but it did.  As green
as she'd been.  She'd have to work on that.  She didn't
want to be feeling anything at all for Beau Gentry. 
    The brief silence that stretched on made
Mandy think talk of old flames had killed the conversation
completely.  It was just as well.  She'd only end up
admitting to him that although she'd had many dates, even long-term
boyfriends, since she'd been with Beau, they didn't stand a
chance.  None of them made her feel as special and cherished
as Beau had.
    "They didn't have staying power," she
finally admitted quietly. 
    Beau nodded, but didn't look at her.
    The asphalt disappeared beneath them and
turned to dirt as they made their way up the narrow mountain road
to the cabin.  The truck bounced and bobbed as the tires hit
the small ruts in the road left over from a heavy downpour earlier
in the season.
    After a few more minutes of strained
silence, Beau glanced at the clouds and said, "Looks like a storm
might be blowing in.  We should get these things unloaded at
the cabin before it starts."
    Mandy glanced up at the sky.  "The
truck has four-wheel drive though doesn't it?"
    "Yeah, but the ground so dry this time of
the year it's going to sop up any moisture it can.  If the
rain is bad enough, the creek will rise over its banks and wash out
the road.  Might turn into a mud bog before long."
    "How far is the cabin?"
    "Not too far.  Do you carry that cell
phone of yours with you?"
    She thought back to the last time she'd had
her cell phone.  It was at the airport when she'd first
arrived.  She recalled her frustration over not being able to
use it to call for another ride.  Normally her link to her job
and her life, it seemed strange that she’d barely picked it up
since.
    "Ah, no, I left it on the nightstand in my
room.  Why?"
    The worried look on Beau's face made her
stomach drop. 
    He just shrugged. 
    "My truck doesn't have a radio in it like
Mitch and George's do.  I didn't think much about it until we
hit the dirt road.  If it does wash out and we have to turn
back to the cabin overnight, it'd be nice to be able to contact the
ranch to let them know."
    Overnight?  With Beau?   No,
that definitely couldn't happen. 
    "We should probably turn back now then,"
Mandy said.
    "It'd be a waste of time.  We've