Free Loving Cara by Kristen Proby Page A

I pulled myself out of bed to tend to the ranch. None of the guys got any sleep last night, and we have a hell of a mess on our hands today. I’ve sent half the guys out on ATVs to check the fences, opting to stay close to home, and Cara, today. Seth is gathering scattered branches and other debris and throwing it all in a pile that we’ll roast marshmallows over later.
    All of the animals are safe and accounted for, thankfully.
    I left Cara sleeping in my bed this morning, and I hope she’s still knocked out. She needs the rest. I scowl at my watch when I discover that I’ve been gone longer than I thought.
    When I push inside the house, I see Cara sitting on the couch, still in my T-shirt and shorts, staring wide-eyed at the TV.
    Fuck, she’s watching the news.
    “. . . can see, the tree fell across the entire left side of the house. The fire chief tells us that if it had fallen just two feet to the left, the homeowner would have been killed.”
    “Cara, don’t watch this shit.” I hastily turn off the TV and lift her into my lap, settling back on the couch.
    “I’m too heavy,” she whispers, and plays with the buttons on my shirt.
    “No, you’re not. How are you this morning?”
    She shrugs and sighs. “I need to go into town and look at my house.”
    “It’s being taken care of.”
    “Josh, it’s my house. I need to go look at it.”
    I don’t like it. I want to protect her, and I definitely don’t want her going anywhere near that house.
    “It’s not safe.”
    “What are you doing here?” Seth asks from the doorway, his face full of surprise.
    Cara tries to pull herself out of my lap, and because Seth is here, I let her go.
    For now.
    “The storm did some damage to Cara’s house last night, so she came here. She’s going to be staying with me for a while.”
    Seth’s solemn gaze turns to Cara and he walks over to her, watching her carefully. “Did you get hurt?”
    “Just scared more than anything.”
    “What happened?” he asks, sounding much older than his twelve years.
    “A tree fell on my roof.”
    Seth blanches and his face goes pale. He suddenly throws his arms around Cara and hugs her tight.
    She blinks back tears as she pushes her fingers through his dark hair soothingly. “I’m okay, sweetie. The house will be fixed.”
    “I don’t give a shit about your house! You could have gotten really hurt.”
    I love this kid.
    Cara gives Seth a quick squeeze and brushes a tear from her cheek. “Can I borrow some sweats, Josh? I need to get some clothes from my place today.”
    “You’re not going back there alone,” Seth insists, scowling. “I’ll go with you.”
    “You can come,” she agrees, and looks up at me expectantly. “Sweats?”
    “Seth, go help Louie for a few minutes. I’ll come get you when we’re ready to go to town.”
    Seth nods and runs out to help in the pasture.
    “I have sweats you can wear.” I pull her back into my arms, tilt her head back, and gaze into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “I will be,” she whispers. “You help.”
    “Good.” I nod and lead her to the bedroom to find her some sweats.
    “Should I move into the spare room?”
    “Fuck no. You’re with me, sweetheart.” I stare over at her, daring her to argue, but she smiles slowly and pulls my sweats over her hips, over the shorts. They’re at least five sizes too big, and I want nothing more than to strip her out of them.
    “We’d better go.”

CHAPTER
    Six
    CARA
    The house looks no better in the light of day, but the storm has cleared, leaving warm sunshine and a cool, light breeze.
    Aside from the house being crushed by a hundred-year-old maple tree, and debris thrown all over the neighborhood, you’d never know the storm ever happened.
    And with the sunshine, and a breath of fresh air, I’ve found my resolve.
    “I need to go in and get some clothes.” I look up at Josh, standing next to me, his hands propped on his hips, and he stares down at me as if