RESCUED BY THE RANCHER by Soraya Lane Page B

of changed.”
    “Has he? I haven’t noticed.” Charley laughed. “Bet you’re regretting
not staying in touch with him now, huh?”
    Maddison ignored
her. She had no intention of rising to the bait. But as the car slowed, her
stomach started to flip. If she’d been alone, Maddison might have been tempted to restart her childhood habit and bite her nails
again.
    “We should say hello,” Charley insisted.
    Before she could respond, their vehicle slid to a halt and Charley
was jumping out of the driver’s seat.
    “Hey,” her sister called to Jack.
    Maddison took a
breath. Then another deep one. She had nothing to feel
weird about – nothing at all. Jack had been her best friend, her partner in
crime, and they’d grown apart. So why was
her heart hammering so hard at the idea of seeing him again?
    She couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer.
    “ Maddison ?” She’d hardly stepped from the car before Jack was in front of her.
He swung down from his horse, face shaded by his hat as he landed with a thud
to the ground.
    She refused to look at her sister, watching Jack as he took off his
Stetson and crossed the short distance between them. “Hey Jack,” she managed.
    Damn, he’d changed. Jack had always been nice looking, but there’d never been anything
romantic between them, even if she had lain awake at night as a teenager
wondering if he’d liked her like that . Wondered if something would happen between them one day if
she didn’t leave. But
now? Jack was seriously
handsome, in a rugged, real-man kind of way. He was tall as hell, his jeans
hugged his long legs, and a checked shirt fitted snug to his broad frame.
    “Missy Maddison , all the
way from the big city, huh?”
    She didn’t have a moment to answer before he enveloped her in a hug. A real hug. The kind that told her he’d genuinely
missed her. That he was actually pleased to see her. Not the kind of fluttery
pat on the back that was usually followed by a series of air-kisses that she’d
become used to of late.
    “It’s good to finally see you again.”
    “It’s great to see you too, Jack,” Maddison told him, reluctantly stepping back as he let her go, away from the warmth of
his embrace and the citrus scent of his cologne. She looked up into deep brown
eyes that were so familiar yet so unfamiliar to her at the same time. And lined . There
were lines there now, deep creases that she didn’t remember. “Are you doing
okay?”
    He shrugged, twirling his hat between his fingers. “I can’t say I
miss my old man, if that’s what you mean.”
    Maddison nodded.
She knew first hand why he’d hated his dad so much, and she couldn’t blame him. “Pleased to see the end of the old bastard, huh?”
    Jack laughed and so did her sister, and Maddison found herself smiling with them. You could take the girl out of the country,
but not the country out of the girl .  
    “So how long are you back for?” Jack asked.
    Charley slung an arm around her shoulders before she could answer. “Indefinitely. We’re going to keep her here as long as we
can.”
    She smiled and took the chance to study Jack some more. The man was
seriously good looking, built like an athlete and with a smile that could make
a girl’s knees knock. Like
hers were threatening to do right now.
    “ Maddie ?”
    She hadn’t been called that
name in a long time. “Honestly Jack, I don’t know.”
It was the truth, she didn’t. “But it’ll be long enough for us to catch up
properly. I promise.”
    He smiled – the same kind of smile she remembered so well. “Good.”
    Maddison tilted
her face to look up at him as he placed his hat back on his head and swung up
into the saddle. “Are you sure everything’s okay?” she asked.
    She felt her sister pause beside her, no doubt as concerned for Jack
as she was. He just shrugged.
    “One day soon I’ll tell you all about it.”
    And then he gave them a wave and turned his horse, nudging her into
a trot as he headed back up