Read Holding Haley (The West Contemporary Romance Series) for Free Online Page B

“I’m trying to buy a place.”
    “ So, you are sticking around?”
    He nodded. “I’m hoping to.”
    She looked off towards the corral as Chase rode towards them with Bobby following behind.
    “ Stop by my place tonight and I’ll tell you all about it. I’m in the closest house to the road,” he said just before Chase arrived. She didn’t have time to answer before he was hopping on Lou’s back and riding off to help the other men gather up the calves.
    She couldn’t stop watching him. The way he sat on the horse. How he held himself. He looked every bit the part of the cowboy, from the worn, tan Stetson he had on his head down to the dust on his battered boots.
    He’d changed so much physically in the years he’d been gone. She sighed as she looked across the field at him, thinking how it used to be, how it would be now. Then she cursed as the calf she’d been trying to herd escaped her for the third time in less than ten minutes.
    “ Are you even trying to get that little guy?” Alex asked, coming up behind her.
    “ What?” Haley looked over at her sister, an image of her and Wes popping into her mind.
    “ The calf there. Roger has been running you in circles for almost ten minutes.” Her sister nodded to the little brown calf that looked like he was having a fun time letting her chase him around.
    She chuckled. “Roger, huh? I suppose you’ll want to keep that one, too.”
    Alex sighed and leaned on the saddle horn, looking around. “If it was up to me, I’d keep them all.”
    Haley smiled. She too had her favorites. She had a knack for picking out the blue ribbon calf from the herd. Looking down at Roger, she thought he could easily fit that description by the end of the season.
    “Fine, we’ll keep Roger.” She turned Bobby and started walking her horse next to Alex’s.
    “ Great.” Alex smiled. “Now, are you going to tell me what you plan on doing about Wes?”
    Haley frowned. “No.”
    “Oh, come on.” Alex reached over and stopped Bobby from walking with a tap. “You’ve always had your nose in Lauren’s and my business, now it’s our turn.”
    Haley smiled. “Yeah, but you two didn’t know what you had right in front of your faces.” She looked over at Wes. “I know for a fact that what that man has, I no longer want. I can’t afford to go there again.”
    “Haley.” Alex waited until she turned and looked at her again. “We all make mistakes; we all can make choices that take us down the wrong path. Don’t let something someone did years ago ruin what’s meant to be.”
    Alex reached over and patted Haley’s leg, then turned her horse towards the herd and got back to work.
    Over the next hour, she thought about what Alex had said. Was she willing to chance it again with Wes?
    She’d never told her sisters about the scare she and Wes had years ago. Maybe his reaction had been a male standard. Maybe she should forgive him for taking off like that. Could she trust him not to do it again? He said he was staying around— everyone in town was talking about it—but so far he didn’t have a job, a car, or even a permanent place to live.
    By the time the sun was going down and everyone was calling it a night, she had come to a decision. She would wait and see if he was serious about sticking around. But she needed to protect herself.
    After grabbing a cold shower and a ham sandwich, she headed out to the barn to check up on her animals.
    As she walked out the back door, she smiled at the picture her sister and family made. Lauren, Chase, and their son Richard, whom everyone called Ricky, were on the back deck, swinging in the over-sized swing Chase had built for their last anniversary.
    “ Going to check up on the animals?” Chase called out to her.
    She nodded and waved. When she turned the corner by the barn, she bumped into a sold mass of muscle. Looking up, she groaned when she saw Wes smiling back at her.
    “Evening,” he said, slowly.
    “ What are you doing