Free Laying Down The Law (#4, Cowboy Way) (The Cowboy Way) by Becky McGraw Page B

stress.  The one that dawned sent a wave of heat through her.  “I never knew you were into ag and the cowboy thing,” she said with a laugh, then thought about it and decided what the hell did she have to lose by admitting it?  “But I have to say, that hat does things for you, that does things to me.”
    He pushed his hat up on his forehead, tilted his head to give her a sexy sideways glance and a grin spread over his face. “That’s the only reason I decided on ranching—because I heard you were in Texas and figured you must like cowboys.  I wanted to be in pole position when you finally came home.”
    “Bullshit,” Melanie said with a country-girl snort that surprised her.
    “Yeah, I found plenty of that in my new career and it comes in handy when trying to charm beautiful women.”  He glanced at her, wiggled his eyebrows then threw his head back and his laughter tripped over every nerve in her body.
    Brock Cooper didn’t need bullshit to do that—he’d never had a problem charming women.  She knew that, because even a jaded sixteen-year-old nerdy bookworm had fallen hard for him without receiving the panty-melting smile.  He’d reserved those smiles and winks for members of the beautiful girls’ club, to which she definitely didn’t belong back then. 
    That should give her pause now that he was turning those charms on her just because she’d changed her outward appearance.  A man that shallow should be avoided, because beauty faded as Lucy Morris could attest.  In his defense, though, as masculine as he was back then, even though he lived in a man’s body, he wasn’t a man yet.
    Her eyes floated across the cab to the side of his beard-shadowed face.  Brock Cooper was definitely a man now, she thought and a shiver racked her.
    Come to the ranch with me and I’ll show you what they were about .
    Melanie knew as sure as the sun would come up tomorrow, she would never be able to resist this man.  Time and distance hadn’t changed the magnetic pull she felt toward him one darned bit.  First love bit hard, left a permanent mark on a girl, and this man would always have his teeth in her.  And she wanted to feel their sting on every inch of her body.  Feeling suddenly flushed, Melanie rolled down the window more and leaned her face outside. 
    Oh, God what underwear did she have on?  She gulped in the fresh air, but it didn’t cool her insides or do a thing to calm her nervousness.  Brady won’t be there to interrupt us.
    Melanie sat back in the seat and closed her eyes, gritted her teeth.
    “You okay?” Brock asked, as he swung the truck into his driveway.
    Her breaths came short and shallow and her head spun, as she opened her eyes to look at him.  They landed instead on a bag of gooey-looking candy melted in a Ziplock bag on the dashboard. 
    “ You like gummy bears?” she asked with a hysterical laugh.
    Brock glanced at her, then back at the candy and his jaw tightened.  “No, but Brady eats the hell out of them.  I told Lucy to limit him because they’re not good for his teeth, but he always has a bag with him.”
    Red dye. Sugar. Gelatin.  
    With no label, Melanie would have to research the ingredients in gummy bears, she thought, reaching for the bag.  She also needed to get a list of what Brady normally ate because a food allergy was not out of the realm of possibilities. 
    Brock’s eyes burned the side of her face. 
    Juvenile Diabetes?
    Melanie wondered if Brady had ever been tested.  Did it run in Lucy or Brock’s family?  If he hadn’t been involved in Brady’s doctor’s visits in all likelihood, he didn’t have a clue.
    There were so many possibilities for diagnoses here, it was mind-boggling.  She could be researching for years and still not have anything conclusive.  That thought cut through the sensual fog clouding her brain.  They didn’t have years, if Brady’s condition was progressing as fast as Brock said it was.  Melanie had under six weeks