Free The Cowboy and the Calendar Girl by Nancy Martin

can be adult about this, can’t we?”
    “I haven’t leered at a half-dressed woman in at least a decade.”
    “For some reason, I doubt that.”
    “Well, I haven’t leered in several months, at least.”
    “That sounds more realistic.” She reached for the buttons on her shirt. “Here goes, anyway. I’m sure my clothes will dry faster if I take them off.”
    “Right.” Despite his good intentions, Hank was quite unable to tear his eyes from the sight she made standing there with the sunlight rendering the wet shirt nearly invisible.
    His mind whirled and blocked out all other thoughts when Carly’s shirt came off. Her bra was pale pink satin and looked as expensive as it did sexy. The garment perfectly shaped her breasts and covered them with delicate lace that made Hank’s mouth go dry.
    Clearly, she had taken time to select her underclothes with care, and Hank’s imagination began conjuring up scenes of Carly shopping for lingerie. Did she try on everything, he wondered, in dressing rooms with lots of mirrors?
    When she sat down and took off her boots and socks, he discreetly turned his back and congratulated himself on being a gentleman after all.
    “I can’t very well take off my jeans,” Carly said from behind him. “I’m not that brave.”
    “Don’t let me stop you.”
    “I’m just a little damp.”
    Hank risked a peek and noticed that her jeans were every bit as soaked as the rest of her clothing. But he refrained from pointing out the obvious. He handed her the pup. “I’ll check Laverne’s saddlebag. There’s bound to be something you can wrap up in.”
    “That would be great. Thanks.”
    He almost fell over the log on his way to look into the saddlebag. Laverne turned her head and glowered witheringly at him, however, which shamed Hank into pullmg himself together. There was no sense acting like a hormone-incensed schoolboy. Within moments, he had rummaged through some of the gear Becky had packed and found two red plaid blankets. He carried them back for Carly to use.
    She had put the pup down on the ground, and it was determinedly pouncing on one of Carly’s wet socks. Carly had picked up the other end of the sock and they played tug-of-war. She looked up at his return. “Any luck?”
    “More than I expected. There are two blankets and a tent, too, if you’d like total privacy.”
    “Do you know how to put a tent together?”
    “Of course.” Unfolding the first blanket for her, he said, “Your wish is my command.”
    “To be honest, I’d rather have some lunch. I’m really starving. I packed a picnic, you know. I hope it wasn’t on the other horse.”
    “I’ll check Laverne’s other bag.”
    He located the picnic, which consisted of wrapped sandwiches, four bottles of beer and a thermos of something hot. It only took a couple of minutes to unsaddle Laverne and leave her tied close enough to a thatch of grass to keep her happy for an hour or two.
    Meanwhile Carly had stretched the first blanket out on the ground, and she reclined on it, loosely wrapping the second one around her shoulders. It was determined to slip off as she continued playing with the pup. With the sunlight spilling over the red blanket, her body looked slim and white. Hank hesitated, standing over her.
    “Come on, sit down,” she said, moving aside to make room for him beside her in the glow of the fire. “Down here out of the breeze, it’s really quite warm. Don’t you think so?”
    The blanket was relatively comfortable, Hank decided, and sitting next to Carly was exactly the way he’d prefer to spend the afternoon. He unwrapped their lunch and tried to keep his gaze from devouring her instead of the food. He was suddenly quite hungry.
    “I hope you don’t mind my choice for lunch,” Carly said. “I made sandwiches from what I could find in the kitchen. There were olives in the fridge. Do you suppose Becky was saving them for a special occasion? I love olives. And there’s hot coffee,