stocky guy or the lanky one?
Whoever he was, he was part of music that brought a smile to her face. When she finally turned it off, she sat at the table, staring at the phone. Who was Cody Sweet and why would she send this? Male or female? Probably female because of the reference to the book. Not many men read romances.
On impulse she clicked on Cody’s profile name. When the page loaded she sat back in her chair. Cody was definitely a female. A beautiful one. Analise cruised through the page but there were no other photos on it aside from horses and a couple of shots that look like they’d been taken in the bar.
Just what kind of friend was this Cody?
Analise accessed the message app again to respond.
Hi Cody,
First, thank you for taking the time to read my book. I hope you enjoyed it.
I was surprised to get your message. Yes, Riley and I are friends. Well, Facebook friends. We've never actually met. He's been a great help to me when I have questions about ranching, horses and that sort of thing
The music was great and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing it with me and for your message.
Best,
Ana Lise
She hesitated for a moment. Should she use her real name. Ana Lise was what she published under, but Riley knew her real name. She changed it to Analise and then hit send. Rather than just sitting there, waiting to see if there would be another message, she cleaned up and then showered and got ready for bed. She checked the phone and didn't see a message so put the phone on the charger, double checked to make sure the doors were locked and climbed into bed.
The problem was, she wasn't sleepy. Her mind kept jumping from her texts with Riley to the message from his friend Cody to the music she heard. Which man in the video was Riley? Was he tall or stocky?
Her hands moved up in the dark to cover her face. His friend Cody had recognized Riley in Analise's fictional character Colt? Had she been that obvious, and did Cody realize that Analise had fashioned a man with the physical appearance she found appealing and then assigned him all of the qualities she liked in Riley?
That thought tortured her for a good hour until she threw off her bedcovers, got up to get her Kindle and then went back to bed. She searched through her library and selected an old Western. It was one of her favorites and she’d watched it more times than she could count.
When the hero of the film came on screen she smiled. Nate Bridges. God, she'd had such a crush on that man. Tall and lean, he had warm brown hair that tended to curl just a bit at the ends when he wore it long. His eyes were hazel but could appear blue if he had on a blue shirt and his smile could light up not just a room but a continent.
Analise snuggled into a more comfortable position and let herself get lost in the movie. Before long her eyes started to get heavy and she drifted off into a dream where she was the damsel being rescued by the rough and rowdy desperado with a heart of gold.
Chapter Five
Riley stepped out onto the front porch with a steaming mug of coffee in his hand. After nearly two months of drought, last night a storm had rolled through that rocked the house. According to the local news, more than a couple of tornados had spawned from the storm.
There were no reports yet on damage or loss of life. Power had gone out and the generator supplied just enough juice to keep the refrigerator and freezer running and his phone charged. It wasn’t the first night he'd spent without lights or the company of the television and probably wouldn't be the last.
Cody had texted to check on him and let him know she was okay. He'd also heard from Analise. She was in Galveston and from the sounds of it, enjoying sightseeing. She also mentioned that she'd been taking time to work on the wooden chest she had bought before she left New Jersey. On days she didn’t feel like sightseeing, she'd work on it.
He smiled at the thought. She was dead set on
Dick Lochte, Christopher Darden