Be My Texas Valentine Read Online Free PDF Page A

without saying a word. The hem of her skirt brushed against his leg. Brody didn’t move. He wasn’t sure he would have if he’d heard a shot.
    He knew this might be his only chance to say anything to her, but he couldn’t think of a way to start. Finally, he cleared his throat, fully aware that something might come flying and hit him on the head at any minute. “I pass by your place a few times a week. I could stop by and see if you need anything the next time I make the trip to and from the Double R.”
    “No, thank you for your kind offer.” She said the right words, but they sounded hard somehow as if he’d made her mad by asking.
    She moved away as her father entered talking. “Josh Minor’s porch blew down last night in the storm. He wants me to get over there and help him shore it up before the whole side of the house collapses. I told him three years ago he should have had me put it up, but he gave that cousin of his the job.”
    “Why doesn’t the cousin come fix it now?” Valerie asked. “You’re not over your cold, and it looks like it could start raining at any moment.”
    “The cousin’s too drunk to stand, and stop fretting over me, dear. I’ll be f ine.” He turned to Brody. “Tell Mrs. Molly Clair I’ll get her machine out to her the first sunny day.”
    While the man she called Papa pulled on his coat, Valerie did the same. “I might as well get back, too. If it starts raining, the road will be muddy.” A loud clap of thunder rattled the house as if warning her.
    Brody followed them out the back door and across to a little barn as drops began to fall. Without a word he helped Papa load enough lumber to do the job, then turned and lifted Valerie into her little buggy made to get milk and eggs to town. It was well built and would keep out most of the rain on her ride home, but he took the time to check the harnesses and found one of the lines twisted. When he handed her the reins, her fingers were freezing, but she didn’t look like she wanted to be lectured about wearing gloves. He touched two fingers to his hat in farewell as she hurried away.
    After he closed the barn door, Brody circled round the house and collected his mount. From the look of the clouds, he’d be soaked to the bone by the time he got home.
    When he saw Valerie’s buggy ahead of him on the road, he followed, telling himself they were going the same direction. He could have moved faster and been home in half the time, but he wanted to keep her in sight. If she didn’t like it, she could just ignore him, as she’d done most of the time he’d been in her father’s kitchen.
    By the time they reached open country, her mare acted up every time lightning flashed. Brody caught up to the widow the third time she pulled the buggy to a stop.
    “Will you let me help you?” he yelled over the thunder.
    She nodded. He didn’t miss the fear in her eyes.
    Without another word, he tied his horse to the back of the buggy and climbed in beside her.
    When she handed him the reins, her palm was bleeding. He frowned at her and took control of the horse. With a strong hand he kept the poorly trained animal in tow while being very much aware of how close the widow sat next to him in the buggy. She was shaking, but he had no idea if it was from fear or the sudden north wind.
    Twenty minutes later they were at her place. From the road the house looked plain, almost abandoned, huddled into a rise of rocks, but up close he could tell it was well built and organized. A square house with a wraparound porch and a low roof stood solid against the storm.
    He drove the buggy straight into open barn doors and helped her down before taking care of the horse. She just stood, cradling her hand and watching the rain. He thought she might be crying, but somehow she didn’t seem like the sort to cry over a cut. She was afraid, he realized.
    When he finished, he closed one barn door and latched it against the storm, then lifted her up and ran for the