My Southern Bride (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 4) by Kathy Carmichael Read Free Book Online

of water, then return to the living room. "Here you go."
    "Thanks." He swallowed the aspirin, then handed the water glass back as if surprised to see her still standing there. "Shouldn't you be getting dressed?"
    "Dressed?" She glanced down and realized she was still in her pajamas. She resisted the urge to try to cover herself up, not that the pajamas were in the least bit revealing. But still.
    "You have animals to care for, and I have notes to make so you'll know what to do once you get to the barn."
    "Oh. Okay."
    He barely nodded, intent as he was writing notes.
    Great. Just great. Not only was she sleep deprived and sore from helping Monty Joe, but there was no telling when she'd be able to leave. She couldn't even call her sister or Carolyn to let them know.
    A mix of worry and guilt ate at Lori.
    She headed upstairs to get dressed, telling herself Kelli must be aware of Lori's situation and wouldn't be worried since Lori was at the Nelson Ranch. And hopefully Carolyn would have found that spreadsheet and started taking care of things for Lori the no-show.
    Considering the way Monty Joe had been feverishly scribbling a to-do list for Lori, Kelli ought to be worried—about what Lori might do to him.

 
     
     
    Chapter 8

     
    Monty Joe had looked forward to goading Lori with his list of chores, and quite a list it was, but when she came back into the room, the thought totally dissipated.
    She'd pulled her blond hair back into some kind of messy bun that haloed her head. She appeared angelic and sweet, wearing a light-blue shirt and too-tight jeans, with those darn high-heeled boots again. Angelic and hot.
    And all wrong for working in the barn.
    He fought the urge to tell her how pretty she looked. He fought the urge to ask her to sit down beside him on the sofa. He fought the urge to grab her and finally know what it would be like to kiss her.
    Lori had been on best behavior, but her more feisty side had shown through. He expected her baser side to rear its ugly head fully at any time. Leopards don't change their spots.
    He just hoped she'd continue faking it until his animals had been tended to.
    She came closer and held out her hand. "Looks like you finished your list."
    "Here you go." He wanted to chuckle when she saw the length of it, but he bit his lip to keep from grinning. He needed her cooperation, and even if she only did the first items on the list, it would be a huge help.
    "I'm glad this is so detailed. I mean, how would an inexperienced woman like me begin to know how to go about properly mucking out a stall?" She batted her lashes at him, but her expression was anything but friendly.
    "I didn't mean to imply anything, I just wasn't sure..."
    "I get it." She fisted her hands on her hips. "You think I'm a total newbie."
    "I'm sure you're not. I don't know how much you don't know." That didn't come out right. The last thing he wanted was to alienate her. "I mean, how much you know."
    Lori laughed. "It's okay. There are some items on your list I didn't know. Like where to find the feed."
    She sure was being a good sport, and that wasn't a reaction he'd come to expect from her.
    What had he expected?
    For her to act like a princess.
    For her to refuse to help out.
    For her to make demands on him, not the other way around.
    Maybe she wasn't as awful as he'd thought. Maybe his first impression of her had been wrong. Maybe she hadn't meant to come between her sister and Bobby Gray.
    What was he thinking?
    Of course she'd meant to come between them, and she'd very nearly pulled it off. Be that as it may, Kelli and Bobby Gray were both extremely fond of Lori, and until now, he hadn't understood why.
    For all of Lori's faults, she showed glimmers of being easy to get along with and, most worrying of all, good company.
    At the very least, having her around kept him entertained. And if she hadn't been here when he'd fallen, he'd be up a crick without a paddle about now.
    "I appreciate your willingness to help,