Christmas With the Mustang Man by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online

later.”
    â€œI don’t mind,” she insisted. “It’s the least I can do for you so graciously putting me up tonight.”
    While the coffee brewed, Dallas scraped the dishes and stacked them to one side of the porcelain sink. Just to her right, Boone pulled a lid from a plastic container and placed several cookies on a paper plate.
    For some reason, standing near him like this, doing domestic chores together, felt even more intimate than when he was showing her the bedroom. Although she tried to ignore it, her heart was going at a fast clip and she feared her cheeks were flushed with color.
    â€œIf you’d like, we can take this in the family room,” he suggested. “You can use the phone in there.”
    Clearing her throat, she was quick to agree. “Sounds good to me.”
    After he placed the coffee and the cookies on a plastic tray, she followed him out of the kitchen and down to the family room. As she took in the simply furnished area, she noticed a huge fireplace took up the major part of one wall. A warm welcoming fire would have gone a long way in brightening the room, but presently the hearth was cold and dark.
    As if he could read her thoughts, he said, “I’ve cleared away most of the underbrush on the ranch and there’s not much left to burn. To have a fire every evening, I’d have to drive up to Ely and buy firewood, so I’ve been rationing until my next trip.”
    â€œAnd I’m sure it’s expensive,” she stated.
    â€œVery.”
    He gestured to a long green sofa and matching armchair. “Have a seat anywhere you’d like. The phone is there at the end of the sofa.”
    â€œThanks.” She sank down on the sofa, then reached for the phone and directory resting beneath it.
    After a quick explanation to the hotel clerk, Dallas placed the receiver back on its hook, then helped herself to the coffee and cookies that Boone had left on the table in front of her.
    â€œIf you need to call your family—or anyone—to let them know you arrived safely, please do.”
    Dallas looked over to see he’d settled comfortably back in the chair and crossed his ankles out in front of him. The jeans covering his long, muscled legs were faded nearly white, the hems slightly frayed. His snub-toed cowboy boots had once been brown roughout leather, but were now smooth and dark from countless hours of wear. Dallas doubted he’d ever seen the inside of a departmentstore or mall and if he had, he’d gone there reluctantly. Still, he was the perfect image for a jeans commercial. An idea he’d no doubt laugh at, she thought.
    â€œI called my family when I first arrived at Pioche. So they know I’ve made the trip safely. Right now I don’t want to worry Liam needlessly about the truck. At least, not until I can give him an exact problem.”
    Boone said, “I hope he wasn’t planning on using the truck anytime soon.”
    Dallas darted him a sharp glance. He made it sound like getting her vehicle running again was going to take days instead of hours. Oh, God, that couldn’t happen. She couldn’t spend days with this man. It would wreck her!
    Trying not to think the worst, she replied, “Most of the tracks on the West Coast won’t be having any major races to speak of until after the New Year. So my brother won’t be doing much traveling. That’s one of the reasons why I planned the trip for this month. Plus with Christmas coming up, many of my kids won’t be visiting the stables. They’re involved with family holiday things right now.”
    From the moment she’d arrived on the ranch, Dallas had noticed there were no holiday decorations to be seen in or out of the Barnett house. Maybe they practiced some sort of religion that didn’t celebrate Christmas, she thought, as she munched on an oatmeal-and-raisin cookie. But she seriously doubted that was the reason for the