Be My Texas Valentine Read Online Free PDF

wide back porch. The need to protect her, to shelter her, surprised him as he set her out of the rain.
    “I don’t need your help.” She pushed away and he was almost glad to see anger overrule fear.
    “You’re hurt.”
    “I can manage.”
    He didn’t want to fight with her. Just holding her for a few minutes while he ran to the house felt great, but the lady glared at him as if the storm in her gypsy green eyes might be bigger than the one outside. “How about you take care of that hand? I’ll close the barn door and see to my mount. I’ll be out of your way as soon as the storm breaks.”
    She didn’t look as if she liked being ordered around, so he took the coward’s way out and ran. By the time he got back from the barn, he was dripping wet. He hesitated only a moment before opening the back door. If she planned to shoot him, he might as well get it over with.
    A fire was raging in an old potbellied stove. She stood, her hair still dripping, at the sink.
    He knew he was tracking in mud, but he’d apologize later. Right now he needed to have a look at her cut. When he held out his hand, she laid her palm in his and he felt her tremble.
    “It’ll be all right, Mrs. Allen.”
    She shook her head. “I know. It’s not the cut, it’s the storm. I don’t mind the lightning, but I’ve always hated the sound of thunder.”
    As he opened her hand, he smiled, thinking she sounded more like a little girl than a full-grown woman. “The cut’s long,” he said more to himself than her, “but not deep.”
    She was so still as another roll of thunder rattled the house, it almost frightened him. “You have a medicine box, Mrs. Allen?” he said, hoping to distract her.
    She pointed to a box already on the tiny kitchen table.
    He led her over to the table and sat down across from her, then opened the box without letting go of her hand. The kit was well supplied with everything he’d need. “If I wrap it correctly, and you don’t try to use it much for a few days, I think it’ll heal without needing to be stitched up.”
    “You a doctor?” She sounded more in control now.
    “No, my dad was a vet. I followed him around for years, then went one year to college before the war. You’re my first human.”
    She smiled and her whole face lit up for a moment. “How about I moo now and then to make you feel more comfortable?”
    “That might help.” He looked up, glad to see that her eyes were no longer angry or frightened. Being as gentle as he could, he cleaned the wound and applied salve to keep infection out, then wrapped the hand carefully so the bandage wouldn’t wear against her palm.
    After a long silence, she asked, “Were you a vet in the war?”
    “No.” He didn’t want to talk about the war. He didn’t want to think about what he’d done to stay alive. “They needed soldiers more than they needed vets.”
    “You shouldn’t be here,” she said as she pulled her hand away. “It’s not proper.”
    He closed up the medicine and put it back into the box. “I know. I’ll wait out the storm in the barn and be gone as soon as it lets up.”
    She thought for a moment and seemed to change her mind. “I guess you could wait in the kitchen, if you like. I’ll get you a towel, and if you stand by the stove, you’ll be dry in no time. It is the least I can do to repay you for the doctoring.”
    He moved to the stove. She brought him a towel and left. Brody wasn’t sure what he should do. She offered him the comfort of the kitchen, but she hadn’t told him to make himself at home. They both knew how it would look if someone found out that he was in her house, but no one was likely to drop by in the storm.
    When she returned, she’d changed into a dry gray dress. Over it she wore a pale gray apron and she’d pulled her hair back with a black piece of ribbon. It occurred to him that she might be trying to hide her beauty and he couldn’t help wondering why.
    “I forgot to thank you for helping me.