Claiming the Rancher's Heart. Cindy Kirk
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Название: Claiming the Rancher's Heart
Автор: Cindy Kirk
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
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She thought Josh was clearly the handsomest man in the room. She inhaled deeply and her heart fluttered. He smelled good, too. The spicy scent of his cologne set her pulse racing.
“He’s happy to have her back in Sweet River,” Josh added.
“My parents and siblings would be happy if I were back in Ann Arbor, too,” Stacie said with a wry smile. “It’s hard to run my life from a distance.”
Josh pulled a basket that sat in the middle of the table closer and grabbed a couple of peanuts. He handed one to Stacie. “I don’t think you mentioned your family at all the other evening.”
“Be glad,” Stacie intoned in a ghoulish whisper. “Be very, very glad.”
Josh didn’t laugh or change the subject as she expected. Instead, with his gaze firmly fixed on her, he cracked the shell in his hand. “I take it you don’t get along.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Stacie fought to keep her tone light. She never wanted to be one of those people who whined about their life or their awful childhood. It could be so much worse. After all, high aspirations for your child could hardly be considered abuse. “They’re all very successful. I’m the token low achiever.”
Josh’s gaze searched hers. “Believing your family doesn’t respect and value the person you’ve become has to hurt.”
“Their opinion doesn’t bother me.” A lump rose in her throat at his sympathetic tone, but she shoved it back down. “Most of the time, anyway.”
Looking for an excuse to avoid his perceptive gaze, Stacie grabbed more peanuts. She shelled one and popped it into her mouth. By the time she met his gaze, her emotions were firmly under control. “Fact is, they’re probably right.”
His eyes never left hers. “You don’t believe that.”
Stacie hesitated, not wanting to lie, yet seeing no reason to bare her soul, either. “Sometimes I do. Other times, I tell myself it’s just that I don’t define success the same way they do.”
“That’s the way it was for me in college.” Josh’s eyes took on a faraway look. “Most of the guys I knew were all about making money. All I wanted to do was come back here and be a rancher.”
“That’s what I want, too.” She paused and then laughed at the startled look on his face, realizing what she’d said. “No. No. I didn’t—and don’t—want to be a rancher. I simply want to be happy doing my life’s work. But unlike you, I haven’t found the avenue to my bliss.”
Surprisingly, Josh didn’t laugh. Instead, his expression grew even more serious. “If you could do anything, what would you do?”
He appeared sincerely interested and his tone invited confidences. Unfortunately over the years she’d learned the dangers of sharing her dreams. She’d discovered most men would happily run her life if she let them. Still, Josh didn’t seem the kind to tell her what to do.
As if sensing her turmoil, Josh smiled encouragingly. “C’mon, tell me. I can keep a secret.”
Maybe she’d gotten overheated on the dance floor and it had addled her brain. Maybe it was the knowledge that Josh was a man who understood money wasn’t everything. Or maybe the beers she’d enjoyed this evening had loosened her tongue.
“I’d own a catering company and create fun dishes.” She’d given up talking about her dream when it looked like it would never be a reality. “There’s nothing I love more than parties and cooking and being creative. To be able to do that every day…it would be incredible.”
A longing so intense it took her breath away rose up inside her. She thought she’d buried that dream, but intense emotion told her embers still smoldered.
“Based on the dinner you made the other night, I can see you being very successful.” His supportive words and the sincerity in his tone warmed her heart. “Though I imagine you’d have to live in a large city to have enough clients to make a go of it.”
“I did a business plan several years ago.” Stacie flushed, embarrassed by the admission, yet not sure why. While she’d majored in business only because her father had insisted, she had to admit that some of what she’d learned occasionally came in handy. “The results surprised me.”
Josh raised a brow. “What did you discover?”
“That it wouldn’t have to be in New York or Los Angeles,” Stacie said. “Or even in a city the size of Denver. A town with a population as little as two hundred thousand would work.”
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