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

lack of festiveness. She was more inclined to think that Boone had forgotten how to celebrate anything.
    â€œAre your stables closed while you’re away?” he asked.
    â€œNo. My sister-in-law, Lass, is my assistant and she’s keeping the place running for the few children who do show up.”
    Earlier today, when Dallas had called home, hermother had given her breaking family news that amounted to a double whammy. At breakfast this morning Lass and Brady had revealed they were expecting a second child and before they’d hardly gotten the words out of their mouths, Bridget and Johnny had announced their first child was on its way. In a few months two babies would be arriving in the Donovan family at the same time. Dallas was thrilled for her brother and her sister, yet somehow the news had left her feeling a bit melancholy. She was already thirty-two. Would there ever come a day, she wondered, when she would become a mother? It didn’t seem likely. Not when the idea of giving her heart to another man made her want to turn tail and run.
    Not wanting to dwell on that miserable thought, she turned her gaze back on Boone to see he was studying her with those dark, brooding eyes. Did he ever think about having a baby with another woman? The notion bothered her in more ways than she wanted to admit.
    Swallowing to ease the tightness in her throat, she asked, “Do you have hired help on your ranch? Or do you do it all yourself?”
    â€œI have a man who comes in three or four days a week to help with the ranch work. Depending on what’s going on.”
    On the opposite side of the room, directly across from the couch, there was a small television. Presently the screen was black, a status that didn’t surprise Dallas. In fact, she couldn’t imagine this rugged cowboy sitting down to watch a drama or sitcom. Maybe the news. But nothing for the sole purpose of entertainment.
    She was still speculating as to what he’d consider entertainment when the telephone beside her suddenly rang.The unexpected sound caused her to flinch and her head jerked toward the jangling instrument.
    Making no move to answer it, he said, “Hayley will pick it up. It’s usually for her, anyway. You know how it is with kids.”
    There was that subject again. Kids, children, babies. Normally she didn’t dwell on her single status. But something about Boone and his daughter, coupled with the news of Lass’s and Bridget’s pregnancies, had gotten to her, making her want to weep and scream at the same time.
    Biting back a sigh, she gave him a wan smile. “I imagine you—”
    Her comment was cut short as Hayley suddenly yelled from somewhere in the hallway. “Dad! It’s for you! Can you pick up the phone?”
    â€œWho’s calling?”
    The girl came trotting into the room, carrying a portable phone with her hand clamped tightly over the receiver. She started toward Boone, then stopped short when she spotted Dallas on the couch.
    Her face a mixture of perplexed pleasure, she said, “Oh! Dallas! I thought you’d left.”
    Dallas smiled at her. “I thought I was leaving, too. But my truck decided to call it quits.”
    â€œHayley, the phone. Who is it?”
    Boone’s question jerked the girl’s attention back to her father. “It’s Billy Hopper. Something about welding on the hay loader.”
    â€œExcuse me, Dallas,” he said, then quickly rose to his feet, took the phone from Hayley and exited the room.
    Once her father was out of sight, Hayley walked over to the sofa and sank onto the edge of the cushion next to Dallas.
    â€œWhat are you gonna do now?” she asked curiously. “Is Dad gonna drive you to Pioche tonight?”
    Dallas shook her head. “No. I’m going to stay here for the night. I hope you don’t mind,” she added. “Your father assured me that you sometimes have guests on the