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

stopped pitchforking horse droppings and took a moment to stretch her back. She took a deep breath, momentarily forgetting the stench, and instantly regretted it. She rolled up a shoulder and tried to wipe her face and nose with the somewhat-clean fabric of her shirt.
    Something tugged on the back of her shirt.
    Huh?
    She looked over her shoulder. Billy!
    And he was eating her shirttail.
    She spun, but her shirt resisted, and after another twist of her body, she felt it give as Billy managed to tear a piece loose. "Don't eat my shirt!"
    "Mehhhh," Billy complained, then chewed his bit of fabric.
    "I really liked this shirt."
    Billy didn't reply, but apparently he liked it, too, since he continued chewing.
    She headed to the goat pen and, again, the gate was ajar.
    Billy shot her that wicked grin once more.
    "Is someone in this barn besides the two of us?" How else could the goat have escaped his pen again? "Hello?"
    No answer.
    The barn didn't have that feel of being occupied, but it wasn't a bad idea to check to make sure no one else was around. Maybe someone had come in to get out of the snow.
    She spent the next few minutes looking in every obvious place where someone could hide, including the second-floor hayloft. No one.
    She climbed down the rough wooden steps. "It's apparently just us two pranksters."
    Billy followed her as she returned to the stalls.
    "You're apparently a brainiac goat who can let himself out of his pen whenever he wants."
    "Mehhhh."
    "You may be smart, but you're not much of a conversationalist."

 
     
     
    Chapter 10

     
    By the time she'd finished Monty Joe's chores checklist, including scattering fresh straw in the stalls, Lori had worked up quite an appetite.
    She and Billy headed back to the house together. Even with all the cold, she hadn't bothered to put her jacket back on. She was overheated and stiff from her exertions.
    She opened the back door, stomped the worst of the snow and ice off her shoes, hung up her jacket and headed into the kitchen. She called out to Monty Joe, "We're back."
    "We?" he asked.
    "Billy came with me. He kept opening his pen and it didn't seem safe." She entered the den.
    Monty Joe shot her a glance, then looked as if he was holding back laughter. "What happened to your shirt?"
    Lori threw a hand up to her hair, and palmed bits of straw. "Oh, I must look awful."
    "I like how you look."
    Even though Monty Joe said the words, as any Texas gentleman should do, she didn't believe a word of it. "I'm going to cook us some breakfast and then I'll give you a status update on the barn."
    "Sounds good. I'm starving."
    "I'm more starving than you are."
    "There's eggs in the refrigerator."
    First things first. She needed coffee.
    She found a percolator on the kitchen counter and a tin of coffee in the pantry, and went to work. Her nose twitched at the heavenly scent of brewing coffee.
    She might not be much of a cook, but one thing she did know how to make was scrambled eggs. It didn't take long to put together a mixture of eggs, a dash of milk, some margarine and a big blob of grated cheese. She added some salt and pepper, then put the concoction in the microwave. And now that she knew how to operate it, it functioned perfectly.
    She found bread in the pantry. She slid several slices onto a baking sheet, added dabs of margarine, and put the pan under the oven broiler to toast.
    It didn't take long before everything was ready.
    She dished up Monty Joe's plate, added dollops of margarine and jelly to a saucer, poured a cup of coffee and glass of orange juice, then put them all on a tray she found in the pantry.
    The heavenly scent of the cheesy eggs sent a signal to her stomach while she scooped the rest of the scrambled eggs onto her own plate and topped it with a slice of toast.
    Turning her attention back to Monty Joe's tray, she asked, "How do you like your coffee?"
    "Black," he called back.
    That made it easy. She picked up his tray from the counter and carried it into the