The Rancher's Second Chance by Victoria James

they’re wrong. I have learned how to live without Sarah, but that doesn’t mean I want to be married again,” he said, looking her squarely in the eyes.
    Melanie swallowed the whiskey she’d been holding in her mouth as he spoke. She was waiting for him to finish so that the burn in her throat when the whiskey went down would dim in comparison to his words.
    She cleared her throat. “I don’t,” she stumbled for the right words, “I mean obviously I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like for you. But sometimes people can live on memories. I think if she was your soul mate, the love of your life, it makes sense not to want to seek that out again,” she whispered, breaking the intense stare. She looked at the bottle with its diminishing supply and frowned. She felt privileged he was opening up to her like this. She knew it was probably the alcohol talking, but still, she knew how private he was.
    She was an idiot. She didn’t even believe in marriage, so why should his stalwart declaration that he never wanted to be married bother her? And like he’d ever even entertain the idea with her. He could barely tolerate her. She was the opposite of the woman that he had adored.
    “Thanks,” he said gruffly. “I’m sorry for unloading all that on you. I don’t usually do that. It must be all the whiskey,” he said. For a moment he looked vulnerable, young, the hard lines in his face diminishing. Cole was a dangerous mix of hard man on the outside and a heartbreakingly tender core. He was a man she could fall in love with. He was a man who knew how to respect the women in his life. He was strong enough to let the women around him be strong, too.
    Melanie held up the bottle of whiskey and forced a smile on her face. “This is emptying really fast. You’d better drink up before it’s all gone.”
    Cole’s mouth curled into a smile. “I hope to hell you know how to hold your liquor. I can’t clean up vomit,” he said, holding out his hand.
    She laughed and made the trade, her fingers brushing against his. The warmth of his skin seared hers, causing her stomach to drop. He took a long drink straight from the bottle and then handed it back to her. And as sad and pathetic as it was, the realization that she hoped to have even the tiniest taste of his mouth from the bottle propelled her to lick her lips. But there was nothing, not even a hint of Cole. She opened her eyes and found him watching her. She cleared her throat. He probably thought she was a drunk trying to lap up every drop of alcohol. Chatty Cole was a little disconcerting, a little intense. She knew Cori would never have revealed much about her family situation. She scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t involve revealing too much. She couldn’t. Not to Cole. Not to anyone, really.
    “So? What about you, what’s your story, Mel?”

Chapter Six
    What was wrong with him? Did alcohol make him talk like a woman? Or was it the woman he was talking with? What’s your story? He couldn’t believe he’d just asked this.
    “Not really much to tell.”
    “Well, what about men in your life. Husbands, boyfriends.”
    “No men. No ex-husband. I am not a huge fan of the entire institution of marriage,” she said with a shrug.
    He turned his head sharply. “Really? That surprises me. You sort of seem like the exact type of woman who’d go for the whole marriage-and-kids thing.”
    “It just seems like a way to shackle people, to force them into a position where they are vulnerable. It either fails and ends in divorce or leaves one of the two being subservient to the other. Usually the woman.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    She shook her head slowly, her eyes not leaving his. “Come on. Let’s be honest here. Take you for example, big, strapping rancher. Wakes up before dawn, puts in long hours, and makes good money. Don’t tell me you weren’t the one who wore the pants in your relationship. One person has to. And frankly, I’m