The Cowboy and the New Year's Baby by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

two, but she wouldn’t hang around much longer than that. These people could plot and scheme andmatchmake to their heart’s content, but she was immune.
    More important, in no time at all she and Laura would be far away. Hardy Jones wouldn’t even be an issue once she’d found a new place to settle down. She’d been thinking New Mexico or Arizona, but Alaska was beginning to seem attractive. Or Maine. Any place that would put a few thousand miles between her and the growing number of people who seemed to think they knew just what she needed to make her life complete.
     
    Hardy was constantly amazed at just how hot and sweaty a man could get when the temperature was barely above freezing. He and Harlan Patrick had been riding hard for most of the day, checking on the cattle to see how they’d done during the storm, making sure there was feed available, since most of the grazing land was still covered with a blanket of snow. All he wanted was a hot shower, a decent meal and sleep.
    Instead, as he walked through the bunkhouse door, he was greeted by Harlan Adams.
    “Hey, there, son, you’re just the man I’ve been looking for.”
    In all the years he’d worked at White Pines, the owner had never sought him out before. Hardy regarded him warily. “Oh? Why is that?”
    “Just wanted to add my congratulations to everybody else’s. You did a fine thing the other night, helping out a stranger. Couldn’t have been easy circumstances, but you kept your head and pulled through for her.”
    “Thank you, sir. I appreciate it, but the truth is, I just did what anyone would have done. I’m hardly anybody’s idea of a hero.”
    “I doubt you’d get the new mama to agree to that.”
    “Oh, she’s just grateful, that’s all.” He noticed that the old man showed no inclination to be on his way. “Is there something else?”
    “Well, you could do me a favor, if you have the time.”
    “Now?” Hardy asked, trying not to let his dismay show.
    “Not right this second, but tonight. Like I said, only if you have the time. I know what a busy social life you have.”
    Hardy searched for a hint of censure in his tone, but couldn’t find any. “The truth is I thought I’d skip going into town tonight. It’s been a long day.”
    Harlan Adams beamed, clearly ignoring Hardy’s hint that he was exhausted. “Terrific. Then you have some time on your hands.”
    “I suppose. What can I do for you?”
    “I’d like you to take a ride over to my son’s and have a look at one of the horses.” His expression turned regretful. “I declare, Jordan might have grown up on this ranch, but what he knows about animals wouldn’t fill a thimble.”
    “Wouldn’t Slade be better for the job? He’s the expert with horses.”
    The old man was undeterred by his logic. “He’stied up tonight or I’d have asked him. Since you’re free, would you mind? Kelly’s been real worried about a little filly she’s got over there.”
    Hardy sensed a trap, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what it might be. “Let me clean up, have supper, and I’ll ride on over.”
    “Take a shower, if you want, but forget supper. Kelly will have something for you over there. She’s quite a cook. Better than Sweeney any day of the week. She said it’s the least she can do to thank you for taking the trouble to stop by.”
    Nothing about this added up. There were a dozen or more men around White Pines who were every bit as qualified to look at that horse as Hardy was, some more so. To top it off, Kelly and Jordan’s daughter, Dani, was a vet. Granted, she dealt primarily with small animals, but she surely could have examined the horse if her mother was so worked up about it. Add in the offer of dinner and Hardy was all but convinced there was something odd going on. He just couldn’t figure out what.
    Well, it hardly mattered now. He was committed. He’d find out soon enough.
    “If you speak to Kelly, tell her I’ll be by in forty-five