Heart So Sweet: Book 3 in the Great Plains Romance Series Read Online Free Page B

probably head into town to get a pizza or some other takeout, unless they could find one of the locals to take pity on them. Andrew was a master at getting people to feed him. Susannah knew if he ever used his skills for anything more than food, he’d be downright dangerous. Their daddy always said he could talk a hide off a cow if he wanted to.
    “No problem.” Jenny whipped around to continue racing off to the house. “Oh, by the way, they brought your horse back.”
    Susannah stood up and glanced at the stables. “My horse? Wait, who did?”
    But Jenny was already skipping up the farmhouse steps.
    Susannah shrugged before heading into the bungalow. She was giving herself a pass from her brothers tonight, who were too engrossed in their own arguments to come nag her about changing her mind. She wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Once inside, she peeled the sweaty shirt from her back and stripped off her jeans, letting the clothes drop. She’d clean up later. For now, she just wanted to wash away this entire day.
    As she lathered up with soap, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from returning to Tate. Clearly he had been back in the area for some time. He’d been elected sheriff after all, although she couldn’t remember seeing his name on any ballots. Surely she would have remembered that. But truth be told, she didn’t always get around to voting. There always seemed to be some new fire to put out, whether it was lost cattle or repairs to fencing or cleaning up her brothers’ messes. She scrubbed the shampoo into her hair, working it into a furious lather. Once again she’d wasted the whole day cleaning up after her brothers, and she had no doubts that the mess still needed some work. She still needed to do those stupid reports for Tate.
    Susannah forced herself to take several calming breaths as she let the water wash away the shampoo. She tried to clear her mind and just relax, but one nagging memory kept forcing its way back in: Tate’s kiss. She couldn’t stop herself from recalling how it had been gentle at first, almost playful, as if teasing her for overreacting when she’d finally gotten out of the backseat. But it had become so intense so quickly that even now Susannah felt her knees wobble when she thought about it. She turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and dried off with a thick cotton towel. She tried to think about anything other than how his kiss made her feel so alive for the first time ever, made her willing to bare herself to him, give him her innermost secrets. But it was as if her body was betraying her, as the only thing she could think of was Tate and how it would feel to have him kiss her again—and this time, not only on her lips.
    She huffed in frustration and grabbed her robe from the back of the bathroom door. She tied it loosely before storming out of the bathroom. Tate didn’t want her. He’d let a silly teasing kiss go too far. He had dismissed it as unprofessional and pushed her away from him, unable to bear even being close to her. She’d never know what it would feel like to have him trail kisses down her neck. “Stop it!”
    “Stop what?”
    Susannah pulled up short. Tate Trudell stood in her living room, next to the wall of photos she’d created for Jenny.
    “What are you doing here?”
    He smiled, glancing around the living room, studying the furniture, the hardwood floors, the dust bunnies.
    Looking anywhere but at her.
    Her anger was rising and she couldn’t stop it. Then again, why should she?
    “I asked you a question,” she snapped.
    Tate’s head whipped around, his blue eyes staring at her, almost through her. Susannah gasped as her knees buckled, and she leaned against the back of the chair, hoping he hadn’t noticed. When she glanced back at him, she knew he had. She could see the amusement in his eyes once again.
    She cleared her throat. “Sheriff Trudell–”
    “I brought your horse back, Miss Clark.” He moved a step