Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) by Olivia Jaymes Page A

he tucked a piece of paper into the pages and placed the book on the side table.
    “You thought I would be out shooting bears and playing rugby?”
    His voice was tinged with amusement and she had to smile. That was exactly what she’d thought.
    “Ava said you were an alpha, a man’s man so I guess I pictured you differently.” She hesitated, not sure how to put it into words. “More aggressive, I guess.”
    “More violent?” he queried. “A gun-toting cowboy cop with more brawn than brains?”
    Scrunching up her face, she nodded. “It sounds really bad when you say it out loud, but yes, I think that’s what I thought.”
    His warm chuckle made her want to move closer but she stayed pinned to her spot on the glider.
    “I can be aggressive, Kaylee. When I need to be that way. I like to think things through before I do them. But I do carry a gun, go hunting, and drink beer in bars on occasion. I don’t think any of those things make me an alpha male.”
    “They don’t,” she agreed. “You’re very self-confident, assured, and calm. You’re a born leader I would guess that people naturally follow.”
    “I’m also possessive and territorial. Just ask any of my deputies. It’s hard for me to delegate which is one of the reasons I haven’t taken any vacation time.”
    “What are the other reasons?”
    He shrugged and stared at the sky visible through the screen. “Mostly I love what I do. It isn’t what I planned when I was younger but it’s what I was meant to do, even if it was by accident.”
    She wanted to know more about him but Ava had warned her he was a closed book. “What did you want to be?”
    Kaylee didn’t really expect him to answer but he didn’t ignore her question.
    “I planned on being a veterinarian. They’re always needed on a ranch.”
    What the heck, she’d push her luck and ask him more.
    “You grew up on a ranch? Was it fun?”
    “Yes.”
    “Yes, you grew up on a ranch or yes it was fun?”
    Reed turned so he was facing her. “Kaylee, I don’t talk about myself much, especially the past. It’s over and nothing can be done to change it, so I leave it back there. It’s nothing personal.”
    She thought about his words for a moment. “Do you want to change it?”
    Reed shook his head and leaned back on the cushion. “Nice try but I’m not biting. If you want to talk about the past we can discuss yours. Mine is off-limits.”
    She didn’t have any secrets. Maybe if she opened up about her life he might open up—just a little—about his.
    “Ask me anything you want. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
    His eyebrow lifted and a smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “Good to know. Why don’t you tell me about this David? He seems like a good place to start.”
    Okay, maybe she had a few secrets. Or at least a couple of topics she didn’t like to revisit. But not being honest with him wasn’t going to give him the confidence to be honest with her. Time to pull up her big girl panties and face the past.
    “I already told you most of it. David was a big mistake in my life. I dated him my senior year in college and when he got a job at a newspaper in Portland I moved with him. Things went downhill from there.”
    She paused thinking Reed might remark but he stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.
    “I guess that once we were living together he decided that he needed to whip me into shape or something. He didn’t like that I’m a night person and that I slept late in the morning. He didn’t like that I didn’t want to socialize every night of the week and preferred to stay at home. He especially didn’t like that I was carrying what he considered to be excess weight. He was constantly harping at me about it. He once told me that I didn’t ‘present well’ to his friends.”
    She congratulated herself at keeping the bitterness out of her voice. It was a long time ago and she’d moved beyond it, understanding that it had to do more with David than it did