Forever Dreams (Montana Brides) by Leeanna Morgan

curled in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer until he felt the heat of her body against his chest. Her lips opened and her tongue flicked inside his mouth, sending all the blood in his body due south.  
    The need slamming through his body shocked him, left him trembling and so damn off-center that he couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t do anything but haul Gracie closer, groaning into her open mouth like a love struck fool.
    And that’s when he knew he was in trouble. He liked Gracie. More than liked her.  
    If that didn’t give him enough reason to run like hell he didn’t know what else would. He’d traveled down the same path before and look where that had gotten him. Married to a woman who’d happily traded him for a suit-clad executive in a concrete jungle. After saying goodbye to the only woman he’d ever loved he’d buried himself so deep in misery that it had taken years to shovel his way out. And it wouldn’t happen again.
    “Gracie,” he said, drawing back from her.
    Taking a gulp of air, Gracie stared at him with a dazed look on her face.
    He didn’t know where to look. He stuffed his hands in his jeans, moving as far back as he could without looking like he was on the run. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you.”  
    Gracie’s cheeks flamed brighter than the feathers on a red-tail hawk. She scrambled to her knees, flicking hay off her clothes and seriously avoiding eye contact with him. “Don’t think anything of it. It was just a kiss. I won’t hold it against you.”
    Her face got a whole lot hotter.
    He’d ruined everything. Lost his mind. But damn if she didn’t look cute with her tiara hanging sideways off her head. He reached out to catch it before it fell, but thought better of it. He grabbed her hand instead, hauling her the rest of the way out of the hay before he made an even bigger mistake.  
    “Come on, Gracie. It’s time to leave the loft to the mice.”

    Gracie turned on the kitchen faucet, rinsing a bowl covered in smears of chocolate frosting. The last few days had flown by. In between ignoring the hottest kiss she’d ever had, she’d made a few more trips into town. The last decorations for the barn dance had arrived and thanks to Erin’s list from the library, she’d tracked down another J. Green in Great Falls. Only it turned out he was too young to be her father.
    When she wasn’t in town or helping Adele in the kitchen, Trent had let her tag along with him. He’d introduced her to the other cowhands and taught her how to fix a fence. It was just a pity he’d spent more time laughing than helping mend the wobbly wires.  
    “Are you ready yet, Gracie?” Trent stood in the kitchen doorway, hands planted on his hips and sunglasses covering his eyes.  
    She didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out he was getting titchy. “If you hadn’t eaten half the chocolate out of the bowl I would have been ready ages ago.” Gracie put the cake she’d just finished frosting into a box. “Did you get the chicken wings out of the fridge?”
    “And the wine, and the salady things you made. Are you sure you don’t want to take the kitchen sink?”
    “It wouldn’t fit in your truck.” Gracie shooed him out of the way and raced upstairs, yanking a towel off her wet head. “Can I borrow your hairdryer?” she yelled over the banister.
    “Top drawer on the left in the bathroom.”
    Gracie found the hairdryer and plugged it in. Bending forward she let the hot air blow through her hair. She flicked her head up and looked in the mirror. Thank God for ties and baseball caps. The frizzy red halo staring back at her made her look like she’d been shoved into a power socket. Jamming the hairdryer back into the drawer, she ran into her bedroom. In two seconds flat she’d pulled her chocolate splattered t-shirt off and found a clean one to wear. Ponytail, baseball cap, lip-gloss, a flick of mascara and she was done.
    She took a deep breath and then