Cattleman's Choice Read Online Free PDF Page B

suits.”
    He tried one on, with similar results. He had just the physique to look good in a suit, and the Western cut showed it off to perfection. She let the salesman point him toward some sports coats and slacks, and then after he had paid for his purchases, she talked him into two pairs of new boots and a gray Stetson and a brown one to top it all off.
    Just before they left the store she remembered some items they hadn’t shopped for. She turned, but she lost her tongue immediately when she tried to say what was on her mind.
    His eyebrows arched. “Something wrong?”
    â€œSomething we forgot,” she said hesitantly.
    A corner of his mouth pulled up. “I don’t wear pajamas.”
    â€œHow about things to go under them?” she said finally, averting her eyes.
    â€œMy God, you’re shy,” he laughed, astonished.
    â€œSo what?” she returned, her whole stance belligerent. “I’ve never gone shopping with a man before. And do you have socks?”
    â€œI guess I’d better go back, hadn’t I?” He put the parcels in the car. Then he opened the passenger door and helped Mandelyn inside.
    â€œWill you be all right here until I get back?” he asked.
    â€œSure,” she said.
    â€œWon’t be a minute.”
    She watched him walk away, and smiled. Transforming him was getting to be fun, even if it did have its difficult moments.
    Her eyes went over the interior of the car. It was spotless, and she guessed that he’d had the boys give it a cleaning for him, because it had never looked so clean. Her hand reached out to touch the silver arrowhead he had suspended from the rear-view mirror and she frowned slightly as she realized what it was attached to. It was a blue velvet ribbon, one she remembered having lost. She’d worn it around her hair in a ponytail one day years ago when Carson had come to see Uncle Dan. She remembered Carson tugging the ponytail, but she hadn’t looked back, and later she’d missed the ribbon. It was odd, that a man as unsentimental as Carson would keep such a thing. Perhaps he liked the color, she thought, and turned her eyes back toward the store. It was hot, and there was no shade nearby. She fanned herself with her hand.
    Minutes later, he came back, tossed his parcels into the trunk and climbed in beside her.
    â€œI’m sorry, honey,” he said suddenly, studying her flushed, perspiring skin. “I didn’t expect to be so long. There was a crowd.”
    She smiled. “I’m okay.”
    He studied her eyes for a long moment, and his face seemed to go rigid. “Oh, God, you’re something,” he said under his breath.
    The passion in his soft words stirred something deep inside her. She stared back at him and couldn’t drag her eyes away. It was a moment out of time. Her eyes dropped involuntarily to his hard mouth.
    â€œDon’t,” he laughed roughly, turning back to twist the ignition key savagely. “Keep those curious glances to yourself, unless you want me to kiss you again.”
    He’d shocked her, and her face showed it. She wondered if he wanted her. Then she remembered Patty and went cold. Her eyes gazed out the window. If he had any emotion in him at all, it would naturally be for Patty. Wasn’t the object of this whole crusade to make him into a man Patty would want? She crossed her long legs with a sigh and stared out over the city.
    â€œHungry?” he asked after a minute.
    â€œI could eat a salad,” she agreed.
    â€œRabbit food,” he shot back. “You can get that any day.”
    Her eyebrows arched. “That sounds like you’re taking me someplace special,” she said, glancing at him with a grin. “Are you?”
    â€œDo you like crepes?” he asked.
    Her eyes lit up. “Oh, yes!”
    He smiled faintly. “A cattleman I know told me about a place. We’ll give it a try.”
    It turned out