01 Winters Thaw Read Online Free Page B

aunt and uncle. “There are. I’m sure you’ll meet most of them tomorrow morning. All of my uncles except Sawyer work on the ranch. My aunt Cindi is the bookkeeper. My mom and Vivi take care of the main house and keeping the ranch hands fed.”
    “Must be nice to have such a big family around all the time.”
    “It is. I love living here. What about your family?”
    “Just me and my parents. I had an older brother, but he was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was eighteen.”
    Sienna reached out before she could think better of it. She lightly touched his arm. “I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”
    Daniel glanced down at her hand. Rather than shrug it off, he covered it with his. His face appeared relaxed, but his eyes had darkened with the memory. “It was. Took me a long time to come to terms with it. Such a huge waste. He was a great brother—smart and funny. Eventually I found a way to move on.”
    “How?” she asked.
    “I think about him every day. I remember that life’s short. There aren’t any guaranteed tomorrows, so it’s a smart idea to take advantage of today.”
    His response annoyed her, and her fingers dropped from his arm. “That’s rather shortsighted, wouldn’t you say?”
    “What?”
    Sienna wasn’t sure what had triggered the damn temper she was helpless to keep contained lately, but she found herself unleashing far too much anger on this stranger. “I guess you never given a thought to the consequences of your actions and how they might affect others. God, your poor mother must’ve died a million deaths when you told her you were joining the rodeo. She’d already lost one son and then you head off to do something reckless and dangerous too.”
    “My mother understood my love of the rodeo and wanted me to be happy. She supported my career choice.”
    Sienna shook her head. “I bet what she said and what she felt were two different things. It’s pretty callous of you to think only of yourself without caring about what you’re doing to the people who love you.”
    Daniel frowned. “I love my mother and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. If you knew me better—hell, if you knew me at all—you’d understand that.”
    She sucked in a deep breath. What the hell was wrong with her? She was chastising a stranger for his choices in life. She was losing her mind these days. “I apologize. I didn’t mean—”
    “Who’s hurting you , Sienna?”
    She couldn’t speak the real answer. She hadn’t even admitted it to herself, so she grasped a lie instead. It was easier. “No one. I’ll see you at the house for dinner.”
    She stepped out of his trailer before he could question her further, but Daniel didn’t take the hint.
    “Hey, See,” he called from the doorway.
    She turned to face him, debating whether or not she should chastise him for using her family’s nickname for her. It was too personal. Too close.
    “You got a boyfriend?” he asked.
    She nodded.
    “Does he drive motorcycles? Ride with the circuit?”
    She smirked, understanding full well where he was going with his questions. “No, he doesn’t. He’s away at college, studying business.”
    He graced her with that charming, deadly grin she’d seen earlier. “Serious boyfriend?”
    She tilted her head. “Very serious. We’re going to get married and buy a house in Compton Pass. He’ll inherit his parents’ hardware store while I work as a nurse and—God willing—we’re going to have a couple kids.”
    He glanced at her left hand. She felt compelled to stuff it in her pocket so she wouldn’t have to acknowledge his shrewd look that told her there was no ring on her finger yet. “So you got it all figured out, do you?”
    She nodded, wishing he wouldn’t give her that wicked look that made her think wholly inappropriate thoughts.
    “Kind of reminds me of another saying.”
    “My, aren’t you the king of quotations.”
    He didn’t bother to acknowledge her snide comment. “A wise man once