Wild Mustang Man by Carol Grace Read Free Book Online

left him alone until this year, then she’d started dropping hints about various women in town who were single or divorced. Up to now he’d ignored her successfully. But tonight she had a look in her eye he hadn’t seen before. A look of quiet determination.
    When he finally got his horse settled down, he reluctantly made his way to the house where he bumped into Ms. Ad Agency Exec of the Year.
    “Oh, I was just leaving,” she said, her hand on the doorknob.
    “I thought you were staying for dinner.”
    “You did?” There was no mistaking the way her eyes lit up; she was pleasantly surprised he hadn’t shoved her out the door. Maybe he did need more adult company. “No,” she said, “I couldn’t intrude.”
    He wiped the dirt off his forehead with his handkerchief. “What’s the matter, don’t you like shepherd’s pie?”
    “I love shepherd’s pie. I mean I think I’d love it. I’ve never had it. It looks wonderful.”
    “You’re here. You might as well stay.”
    “If you’re sure....”
    “I’m going to wash up,” he said and walked down the hall to the bathroom.
    Bridget sat on the edge of the plain pine kitchen chair. Was it possible that she’d been invited to dinner at the very house she’d been summarily dismissed from only a few days ago? Of course he hadn’t invited her. His son had. But he hadn’t objected. At this point she was grateful for small favors.
    The conversation at the dinner table was minimal. But the food was great. His mother was a wonderful cook. She told him so.
    “It sure beats the food at the diner in town,” she said enthusiastically accepting a second helping.
    He gave her a sharp look as he served himself another large helping, and she realized what she’d said could be misconstrued as a hint she’d prefer to eat there with him.
    “Of course it’s a wonderful way to learn about the town. People are so friendly and talkative,” she added. He didn’t say anything. Maybe he thought she was comparing him unfavorably with the gregarious crowd at the cafe. “That’s where I heard about the wild horse sale. At breakfast this morning.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    Breakfast, such a long time ago. In the interim she’d signed up the perfect Wild Mustang Man, learned about wild mustangs, but not much about the man. Which was okay. It wasn’t necessary to get into his background. She’d met his son and his mother. She’d seen the inside of his bathroom and was now eating dinner across the table from him. What more did she want?
    “Can I be excused?” Max asked, hopping down from his chair.
    His father looked surprised at his sudden display of manners. “Yeah, sure. I guess so.”
    “I gotta try out my new slingshot. I promised Bridget I’d show her how to use it Then I gotta show her how to ride a bike.”
    She smiled as he ran out the back door. “I feel like I’ve missed a lot growing up in the city.”
    “Never had a slingshot?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
    “Or a bike or a horse.”
    “What did you do for fun?”
    “Um...I don’t know exactly. I’m sure I never had as much fun as Max.”
    “Or get injured as often as Max,” he said.
    “Oh, no, I never got injured. My mother wouldn’t have permitted it. Mothers can be terribly overprotective. Mine was.”
    “I worry about Max. Maybe I’m not protective enough.”
    “Seems to me he’s turning out fine. He’s a lot of fun.” She stood and looked out the kitchen window to watch him race across the grass, falling head over heels and picking himself up in pursuit of a pebble he’d lanced from his slingshot. “I envy you,” she said softly. He didn’t say anything, though he must have wondered what she meant. Hadn’t she told him today that she wasn’t interested in marriage and children, that they were incompatible with a career in advertising? She’d told herself that so often she almost believed it. The room was quiet, so quiet she could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock in the