Free A Breath of Heaven: El Camino Real by Sable Hunter

distance as much as possible. Even though they looked out for
her, her siblings tended to meddle in her business.
    “Shiloh. Abby, I’ve never seen him so sad.
I’m worried. And he won’t tell me what’s wrong either. Will you talk to him,
please?”
    Wonder why? He was probably feeling as
boxed in as Abby. “I don’t know if he’ll confide in me, but I’ll try. Shiloh’s
my favorite brother.”
    Her mother laughed. “You say that about
every one of the boys.”
    Abby had to smile. “Yes, I do.” Except
Cade, he was so much more. “Trevor and Trace sent me a text message. They’ll be
driving in from Austin in time for the party and Justice may be here by now. He
hasn’t been home since the PRCA National Convention. When he left Vegas, he
went out to California to meet with a breeder.”
    “I can’t wait to see all my boys,
including Cade. Is what I hear true?”
    Until now, he’d been standing against the
wall, one foot propped up behind him, arms folded, staring at her. She’d been
doing her best to ignore him, but he was magnetic. Her body wanted to move in
his direction of its own volition. Damn him. “Cade? What about Cade?” Had
someone seen them kissing?
    “Did your hard work for his nomination
come through?”
    Oh! The nomination. “I haven’t heard, Mom.
Keep your fingers crossed and don’t say another word. He’s standing right
here.”
    “Oh, he is?” Her mother made those three
words sound like fingernails on a chalk board.
    “Yes, he’s just about to leave.” She
glared at him as he smirked and winked.
    “Hmmm, I always told your daddy the two of
you didn’t hate each other nearly as much as you pretended to.”
    “Mother.” She tried to speak volumes of
warning with her tone.
    “When are you going to give me
grandchildren, Abilene Grace?”
    “Oh! It would serve you right if I just
went out and got myself knocked up by some random man at Home Depot.” She
huffed with exasperation.
    The snort from across the room echoed the
snort from over the receiver. They knew her too well. “Don’t tempt me, Abby.
I’m considering trying to find you a mail-order groom from the Ukraine.”
    “Sorry, Mom. I’ve got to go.” She’d had
all she could handle.
    “Will I see you tonight?” Her mother asked
in a hopeful tone.
    “Yes, I’m coming to Jase and Jaw’s, I
mean, Pam’s party. I wouldn’t miss it.”
    “Be nice, Abilene.” Her mother warned.
    “ARG!” She hung up the phone with a little
more force than she intended.
    She didn’t catch a break either, because
Cade spoke right up. “Two questions. First, what were you saying about me? But
more importantly, do you need a baby-daddy, Abilene?”
    He pushed off from the wall and she
couldn’t be still. “None of your business and ‘no’. If I want a child, I’ll
adopt one.”
    He smiled, his handsome face melting her
heart and heating her core.
    “Doing it the old-fashioned way is a
helluva lot more fun. Didn’t seeing that big ole’ stallion mounting that filly
get to you, Honey? When I wasn’t worrying about you getting killed, my cock
sure perked up and took notice.”
    “Don’t be vulgar.” She huffed, her whole
body tingling at the thought.
    “Oh, I can promise you, you’d like my
dirty side.” Cade’s mutter was low with promise.
    How did he get between her and both exits?
Cade blocked her way out from behind the counter. God, the man covered the
ground he walked on. “I…” Damn, she forgot what she was gonna say.
    “Cat got your tongue?”
    He moved closer, not touching, but she
felt him in every pore of her being. “No.”
    “I know where I want to put my tongue,” he
spoke with a low, nipple throbbing growl. “Between those pretty little thighs.
Would you like that?”
    Abby trembled, literally trembled. How was
she going to survive this? He didn’t realize he was killing her. Again, her
answer was, “No.” Actually, she didn’t know whether she’d like it or not. She
dreamed about