(Calahan Cowboys 08) The Cowboy Soldier's Sons Read Online Free PDF Page B

Fiona continued, “Jonas is busy. He’s a father, you know, and we’ve stuck the mayor’s hat on him, too, in Diablo.” She proceeded with the knitting, moving the needles more confidently now that she’d had some tutoring. “Once it starts snowing around here, it can snow for days. Jonas wants everything ready.”
    “All right. I’ll talk it over with Gage.” Shaman would do whatever he needed to do to keep the boss man happy. “Have you already been by to see Tempest?”
    Fiona nodded. “Cat says you’re thinking about marrying her.”
    Shaman blinked. “Uh, that’s news to me.” He wondered if Cat had said the same to Tempest. If she had, he figured he’d never see Tempest again.
    “Well, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. That’s what we say around here,” Fiona said cheerfully. “Thanks for saving the scarf. If I get good at this, I’ll make you one for Christmas. Come on, Cat, honey. We’ve got to drive back to Rancho Diablo. I still have to whip up dinner.”
    His niece slogged out of the creek joyfully. “This is the most beautiful place on earth,” she said, “besides Rancho Diablo. I guess you float in the creek all the time, Uncle Shaman.”
    He hadn’t, not once. “Maybe I should.”
    She nodded at him solemnly. “You should.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m glad you came by to see me, honey.” He kissed her on the head. “Don’t forget your water cannon. I’m going to go grab you a towel.”
    “It’s okay. I brought extra clothes. Nana Fiona knew I wanted to take a swim.”
    “Bring a swimsuit next time, okay?” he said, walking them back to Fiona’s truck.
    “Not as much fun that way. ’Bye, Uncle Shaman!”
    He waved as the ladies drove off. The sun was hanging low in the sky, a fireball harbinger of fall, and Shaman felt a tickle of unease. It was the dinner hour, long past the time when Tempest usually showed up, and the drive was empty of gorgeous blonde. And she’d been chatting with Cat, his darling niece, who dropped hints about babies and marriage like they were gumdrops in a fairy tale.
    Maybe it was time he broke his self-appointed exile and did picnic basket duty.
    * * *
    S HINNY SMILED AT S HAMAN when he made his first stop at the ice cream shop. “Howdy, cowboy!” the older man said. “We don’t see you in town much. Almost never. What brings you out from Dark Diablo?”
    “I’m looking for Tempest. Have you seen her?” He had no idea where she lived. In fact, he knew nothing—or very little—about her, beyond the fact that she was crazy-sexy and cooked like a dream. He didn’t even have her cell phone number.
    Shinny flung a hand over his shoulder, pointing to the back of the shop, Shaman guessed. “She’s probably in the B and B.”
    “B and B?” He didn’t want to admit how little he knew about Tempest, but Shinny appeared to be happy to fill in the blanks.
    “What we sometimes call the guesthouse. It’s really her home, when she’s in town, which isn’t often. You can go around back and see if she’s in. She’d said she was going to be practicing, but I don’t think she’d mind a break.”
    “Thanks, Shinny,” Shaman told the shop owner. He went out the front door and headed around back, seeing Tempest’s car in front of the small adobe house. He knocked on the rustic wooden door, waiting, feeling like a guy on his first date.
    It would be a first date, he realized—if he could get her to go out with him.
    She opened the door, clearly surprised to see him. His heart hammered as it hadn’t in months, not since he’d known he was coming back to the States, and had landed at the military base almost a civilian.
    “Shaman!”
    He nodded. “In the flesh.”
    “What are you doing here?” She didn’t smile, but he didn’t think she was totally annoyed that he’d surprised her, either. Clearly, she had been practicing whatever it was she practiced, because she was slightly glowing. Black leggings and a white top clung