Falling For A Cowboy by Anne Carrole Read Free Book Online Page B

and squirmed in her arms . Heaven help her . S he wasn ’ t fit for any company much less the handsome cowboy on the other side of the door. She set Whitey down for a minute and began to finger comb her hair as she bit down on her lip to give it some color. Damn.
    “ Dusty, it ’ s me. Clay. ”
    “ I ’ ll be right with you , Clay. ” She side-stepped to the mirror near the door and prayed he wouldn ’ t peek in . Why hadn ’ t she kept her trim appointment at the Classy and Sassy Hair Salon yesterday? She looked like the bride of Frankenstein. A brush ? She pulled one from her large leather purse sitting on the nearby table . He always commented on her hair.
    H er cell phone chirp ed from the bottom of her bag. So meone had called. It wouldn ’ t have been Clay . S he hadn ’ t given him her number . She pinched her cheeks for color and fumbled for a lipstick while Whitey attempted to bring down the house with his barking.
    “ Are you going to answer the door? ” Clay yelled over the noise .
    She swiped on the lipstick and smoothed out her sweats . They were so big on her it looked like they ’ d swallowed her whole. It couldn ’ t be helped . Maybe he ’ d get so turned off by the sight of her, he ’ d give up . And why she cared , she wouldn ’ t examine.
    Picking up the dog again , she opened the door to the sultry heat of a West Texas summer day . S ix feet of gorgeous cowboy greeted her . Those blue eyes of his glimmered in the sunlight like the water of the Mediterranean Sea . He wasn ’ t wearing his hat . Thick and shiny, a lock of wavy brown hair fell over one brow giving him a bad-boy look. He ’ d braced a well-muscled arm against the side of the doorway stretching his white T-shirt over his chest to reveal every plane, curve , and crevice . His denims hugged thighs used to clinging to a horse and his bedroom eyes looked her over from head to toe . H er insides turned the consistency of oatmeal. Whitey quieted , as if he was too interested in the sight before him to worry about protecting anyone .
    “ Cute puppy , ” Clay said, nodding toward the dog . Recognizing he was the center of attention, Whitey started barking again , but this time the yips were half-hearted.
    Clay held out a hand for the dog to sniff . Whitey obliged and gave Clay ’ s hand a quick lick with his tiny pink tongue . Some protector.
    “ He ’ s not a puppy . Whitey ’ s almost ten . ”
    “ You mean that ’ s as big as he gets? ”
    “ Yep. ” Like me.
    Clay gave Whitey ’ s head a gentle pat and rubbed his ears to her dog ’ s evident delight . “ Friendly little thing. ”
    “ Sometimes. What are you doing here, Clay ? ” And how did you find me? She held Whitey closer to her chest and waited for his answer.
    He graced her with a lopsided smile. “ I ’ ve a favor to ask of you . Can I come in ? ”
    L etting a strange man into her house hardly seemed the smart thing to do, but her gut wasn ’ t sending her any negative signals. Besides she was curious what he was doing here . At her house. On a Friday night.
    “ Tara Lynn said she ’ d call ahead , ” Clay prompted.
    That explained her beeping cell phone . W hy hadn ’ t Tara Lynn just called the house ? Because she wanted Dusty to be surprised ? Sometimes Tara Lynn tested their friendship something awful.
    “ She must have tried my cell phone. Come on in. ” Dusty moved aside as Whitey wriggled to get down . Probably wanted to sniff Clay all over. Dusty couldn ’ t blame him . Scents of sandalwood and leather gre e ted her as she moved aside and set Whitey on the floor . Clay stepped in and t rue to form the dog began sniffing at the man ’ s black croc odile boots .
    She closed the door behind him and when she turned around, there was Whitey nestled snugly in Clay ’ s arms , licking his face. Traitor.
    “ I ’ m not that familiar with small dogs , but I can see why people like them. ” Clay nodded at the white ball of fluff.
    “ Yeah.