Read One Night with a Cowboy (Paint River Ranch) (Entangled Indulgence) for Free Online Page A

right now? No, this hook-up with Tucker had been perfect. The constant tension in her shoulders was gone, and all her muscles loose and happy, her soul lighter than it had been in a while. There was no sense in messing with a good thing.
    “Carla’s is only three blocks from here,” Sophie waved the direction. Her body was thumping with a satisfaction that she’d missed so much. The sex had certainly been overdue, but there was a residual she wasn’t used to—the sensation of connection, of fitting just right. Considering she hadn’t had an explosive roll in the hay quite like that before, Sophie wasn’t surprised her endorphins were pumping her with all sorts of tingly warm fuzzies.
    “Is that a no?” The stiffness in Tucker’s tone drew her out of her head. He waited for a response with the look of a man who was used to being answered—and getting what he wanted. But he wouldn’t, not this time. Not with her, because she was so far removed from being relationship material, even if it was only for the time she was in Montana. She couldn’t take on another complication.
    “I can’t, Tucker. I’m sorry.” The sound of his breath filled the silence for two beats…three, before he let his hand slip away from her back, giving her a chill and an almost desperate, sinking feeling in her gut. The absence of his touch stung a little, but that was okay. Because they were ending this now, walking away from each other and heading back to their separate lives. When they made it to Carla’s and Sophie stopped at the front porch, the cool, almost arrogant expression on Tucker’s face made it clear it was time to burn this bridge. Good, he was on board with the one-time-only idea.
    She pulled a key from her purse and unlocked the door, trying to think of the right thing to say. Before she could speak, Tucker tipped his hat.
    “Have a nice night, Sophie.” He spun, trotted down to the curb, and disappeared into the darkness.

Chapter Five
    Two days has passed since the carnival and Sophie still had a sweet little ache between her legs and a tender hickey on the inside of her thigh. Tucker had marked her for crying out loud. And she’d loved it. Too bad that hot cowboy would forever remain nothing more than a delicious memory. Sophie smiled dreamily, eyes closed, and settled into the memory of hard muscles crushing her breasts and hay poking her ass. She’d replayed their time together over and over, waiting for some measure of guilt to show up, but it didn’t. Sophie wasn’t sure if she was more surprised over her wanton behavior with Tucker or the fact that she didn’t feel bad about it.
    For a girl who always walked the straight and narrow, she’d sure given up on being Little Miss Perfect. Maybe it was her subconscious’ way of telling her to relax. Enjoy life instead of just struggling through it. Because it had been a struggle lately and, as she settled into the plush chair in the waiting area at the Pine Haven nursing home, Sophie had the heavy sense that the struggle wasn’t going to get better anytime soon.
    Closing her eyes, she relaxed into the chair. She waited for the nurses to finish her mother, Violet’s, bath. They were getting results from the latest round of medical tests today, about the effects from her traumatic brain injury. Carla had gone to the guest kitchen for coffee, thankfully, giving Sophie a few minutes of solitude. Being under Carla’s roof was an experience in extreme patience. Not only was she demanding and loud, she nit-picked her husband, Mark, to death. The poor man kept a great face during daylight hours, but the two unleashed under the cover of darkness, fighting in hushed, bitter tones. If she heard it, there was no doubt Ethan did, too. Sophie was happy to be leaving Carla’s tomorrow for a short retreat. Her only regret was not being able to bring her nephew. Poor kid.
    She sunk a little lower in the chair with an unladylike spread of her jean-clad knees and crossed her