Taming Angelina: The Temptation Saga: Book Four by Helen Hardt Page B

She stormed off.
    He shook his head. Now what? She didn’t actually want to continue their liaison, did she? They were dynamite together, no doubt, but she’d made it crystal clear that she considered him beneath her socially. Wait until she found out he’d grown up in a trailer park and his father still lived there.
    How beautiful she’d been when she came for him. Whispered his name as he held her afterward. He stiffened. How she affected him physically. Even emotionally on some level. He sighed. If only things were different, maybe they’d have a chance.
    But he could never marry, and a girl like Angie deserved marriage and a family. Even a spoiled brat deserved more than he could offer.
    He checked his watch. Almost quitting time. Thank God. He needed a drink.
----
    “ C atie !” Angie waltzed right into her sister’s house. “Where are you?”
    “In here,” her sister called from the kitchen.
    Angie walked to the back of the house and found her sister at the table. “Hi, Cheryl,” she said to the cook.
    “Hi, Miss Angie,” Cheryl said without turning around.
    “Smells great.”
    “Lasagna in the oven,” Catie said. “One of Chad’s favorites.”
    “Where is Chad? I need to talk to him.”
    “He’ll be in soon. You want to stay for dinner?”
    Angie nodded and sat down. “Thanks. I’d love to if you don’t mind. I’ve been following Harper around on the ranch all day and I’m starved.”
    “You don’t look like you’ve been ranching all day.”
    “I went home and showered. Harp yelled at me for knocking off early, but I told him to fuck off.”
    Catie laughed. “You told Harper to fuck off? That’s great, Ang. Bet that went over like a ton of bricks.”
    “Yeah, he wasn’t too pleased, but I don’t rightly care. I’m exhausted.”
    “What are you doing over here then?”
    “Came over to talk to Rafe.”
    “Yeah? How are the lessons going?”
    “Great. So far I’ve learned how to sit in a chair.”
    Catie laughed again. “So he’s teaching you to ride without reins? Good for him. That’s what’s best for the horse.”
    “It’s not how you learned.”
    “No, not at first, but I eventually learned to use very little rein. I still keep the reins handy, just in case, but I don’t rely on them at all.”
    Angie rolled her eyes. “Well, goodie for you.”
    “If you came over here to be a bitch, you can leave,” Catie said.
    Angie sighed. “I’m sorry. I came to speak to Chad, actually. It’s just been a rough day.”
    “Yes, I know. Rough day of ranch work. Stuff Harp and I have been doing for years.”
    “I know, I know. God, am I really that awful?”
    “You’re spoiled, no doubt.”
    “That’s what Amber said too.”
    “Amber’s right.”
    “What happened to me? Why not you? Why not Harp?”
    “Harp’s a boy, and Daddy got him started with work at a young age, I guess. As for me, I came along so much later and I loved horses and the ranch so much, it just naturally fit my personality.”
    “I suppose.”
    “Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. You’re just a different kind of girl than I was, Ang. It’s okay.”
    “It’s Daddy’s fault, really. Why didn’t he insist I learn all this stuff earlier? Did you know he’s threatened to cut me out of the will if I don’t learn about ranching?”
    Catie’s eyes widened. “Really? No, I didn’t know. But Angie, you can’t seriously blame Dad for you not learning this stuff.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because it’s not his fault. You’ve been hanging around here since you got out of college. That was ten years ago, for God’s sake.”
    “I’ve done stuff.”
    “Preparing me to be rodeo queen doesn’t count.”
    “I’ve prepared a contestant every year, I’ll have you know. Some of them even paid me.”
    “Dad pays for your living expenses and everything, doesn’t he?”
    She warmed. Surely her cheeks were turning crimson.
    “You haven’t worked either. You went to school, and then