Free Boots and Leather: Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 2 by Myla Jackson Page A

forward.
    Luke’s gelding strained to catch up to the mare, settling into a steady gallop alongside. Luke purposely held his mount back to allow Libby to reach the top at the same time as he did.
    Libby bent over her mare, almost touching her neck, her eyes narrowed, lips set in a firm line of concentration. When they topped the hill, Libby pulled back on the reins, laughing, her burnished copper hair tangled, her face flushed, and her green eyes glistening in the bright Texas sun.
    Luke’s breath caught in his throat. Damn, the woman was even more beautiful in natural lighting than in the darker interior of the Ugly Stick Saloon. And she’d come out to play with them. His groin tightened and his hands squeezed the reins as he prayed he and his brother could somehow convince her to stay.

Chapter Six
    With a whoop, Libby spun her horse around and waited for the two men to join her.
    The rush of air in her face, the speed of her ascent up the hill and the view when she arrived took her breath away. The land slipped down and away from the hill with a three-hundred-sixty degree view of sky that went on forever, not a single building, person or vehicle within sight, except for the shell of what looked like a future home crowning the hilltop. It was a perfect location, away from it all. For a brief moment Libby wished it could be hers.
    A gentle breeze stirred tendrils of hair against her cheeks. She’d been many places on the back of her Harley and in her other life, traveling with her family, but never had she seen anywhere as isolated and peaceful. She felt as if she stood at the edge of the world, a launching point in which she could choose any direction.
    “What do you think of our project?” Luke asked.
    Libby had barely noticed when the other two horses had joined hers. Nor had she been aware the men had dismounted. Her chest swelled, her heart hammering against her ribs. “Beautiful.”
    “Yes, you are.” Luke stood beside her, reaching up his hands, capturing her around her waist.
    Stunned by the splendor around her, she didn’t resist when he swung her down out of the saddle and onto her feet. Nor did she squawk when he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Your eyes are shining. I take it you like our little corner of heaven.” As quickly as he’d kissed her, he set her away, putting distance between them.
    Libby marveled that she hadn’t had the urge to run. Having Luke hold her close and kiss her didn’t make her squirm and want to push away. In New York City, she’d been labeled the Debutante Ice Queen. So many men saw her as a challenge, sure that they could win her heart and tap into her father's riches, when all she wanted was to be left alone.
    Not so with Luke and Mark. They seemed to instinctively know when to hold her and when to let her go.
    With so much sunshine and sky around her, she felt as if she were perched on a cloud.
    Because the men seemed to be anxiously awaiting her verdict on their building, she turned her attention to the house.
    Built of timbers and glass, the one-story home appeared to have light streaming in, through and around it, with no apparent solid walls on the outside. A wooden deck surrounded all four sides and the structure was capped by a roof with skylights almost as frequent as the solar panels positioned to collect the abundant source of the sky’s energy.
    Libby moved toward the house. “Is this one of your construction projects?” She’d known they were both in construction, one the builder, the other the designer. From what Audrey had said, they did well as a team, making a living even in tough economic times because of their ingenious designs and quality.
    Mark hurried ahead of her, taking the steps two at a time up onto the deck, carrying a saddlebag and a rolled-up blanket. “We started it about four months ago, and should finish in another two.”
    She climbed the wide wooden steps to the deck that was absent of any wooden railing, adding to the effect of