by Cassie Burdett
Casey was coming home, but it was with great trepidation that she approached the ranch that she had left so abruptly three years ago. It had been heartbreaking to be forced to leave the home she loved, all because of her mom's hysterics. She had been taken away at the age of eighteen, along with her younger brother Danny, aged twelve. Her mom couldn't bear another day of life at the ranch with her dad and she had given no choice to her two children. Casey would have chosen to stay with her dad if it hadn't been for Josh, who she was only too pleased to get away from on that last fateful day.
She recalled the painful events as they were etched in her mind and had tormented her for the past three years. What was it about a burly cowboy that set a young girl's heart a flutter? Casey only had eyes for one particular cowboy, Joshua Morgan, her best friend, who had been like a big brother for the last eight years. And there lay the problem: she didn't want him to be her big brother any more; she was madly, deeply and intoxicatingly in love with him. And he only saw her as a little sister, he didn't know she existed outside that role. Well, she had a plan, she was going to make him notice her, think of her differently, and she was going to do it today!
Casey's dad had taken him in when Josh's dad had died. Josh was just fifteen when his world had fallen apart. He, his mom and younger sister couldn't possibly have stayed at their neighbouring ranch. Steve had offered him a home with his family and the chance to work on the ranch. That was eight years ago, and Casey had more or less taken the place of his young sister Rachel, who now lived in the city with his mom.
Following her plan, Casey found Josh alone in the stable.
"What do you think you're doing, Casey? You shouldn't be parading your charms around like this; you're worth more than that!" Josh berated her, eyes blazing.
He was referring to the provocative way she was dressed. Her shirt was unbuttoned just a little too far for modesty, her blossoming breasts providing a cleavage that was invitingly displayed. Her skinny jeans hugged every curve of her delectable hips and shapely legs.
Her eyes had widened in shock, this was not what she had planned, to make him angry.
"Josh, I just want to look nice," she whispered, not feeling as confident about her plan to entice him now.
He shook his head in exasperation. "Well, "nice" isn't what you'll get dressed and acting like that," he told her sternly.
Casey stared at him, open mouthed, wondering how her plan could have gone so wrong. He wasn't supposed to react like this. She stepped closer to him, with one last hope of enticing him, slipped her arms around him and lifted her face inviting a kiss.
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