Christmas at Blue Moon Ranch Read Online Free PDF Page B

experience, somebody who knew what the hell was supposed to
happen next.
    What actually
happened next was that somewhere, in a far corner of the cavernous building,
someone sneezed.
    “Hello?” Daniel
welcomed the prospect of a trespasser to take his mind off the mess he’d gotten
himself into. “Who’s there?”
    When no one
answered, he walked down the aisle, peering into the stalls as he went. “Come
on…I heard you. Do I have to say gesundheit before you make an appearance? Consider
it said.”
    He stopped by a
narrow wooden ladder leading to the loft above the main floor and waited,
without result. Then, a minute later, came another sneeze. And another. And yet
a fourth.
    “Bless you.”
Daniel leaned his shoulder against a stall door to take the weight off his
aching leg. “I’m not leaving, so you can stay hidden and sneeze your brains out
or join me in the fresh air.”
    A revealing
scuffle came from overhead. He looked up and found a face looking down at him
over the edge of the loft.
    “You can’t
really sneeze your brains out.” Under a pint-sized Resistol cowboy hat, the boy
was about ten, with dark eyes, nut-brown skin and shiny black hair.
    “Are you sure?”
Daniel couldn’t mistake the kid’s resemblance to Willa. This must be the
youngest boy. Toby, right?
    “Yeah. It just
feels that way.” The face disappeared, to be replaced by a pair of boots
reaching for the top rung of the ladder. In the next second, the kid landed
with a thud on the barn floor. He turned around to confront Daniel, his hands
propped on his hips and his eyebrows drawn together. In his hat, his well-worn
blue-checked shirt and his weathered jeans, he looked like a miniature cowpoke.
“You must be the new guy.”
    “I must be. My
name’s Daniel Trent.”
    The boy gave a
single nod, like an aristocrat acknowledging a peasant. “I’m Toby Mercado. This
is my ranch.”
    Daniel decided
not to dispute the issue at that moment. “It’s a nice place, from what I’ve
seen so far.” He looked around them and shrugged. “Although this doesn’t look
exactly encouraging.”
    Toby nodded. “We
haven’t used this barn for a long time, not since our foreman got his own land
and decided to live there. You’ll have to bring in your own equipment.”
    “What kind of
equipment?”
    The dark eyes
went round. “Man, you need tractors and seeders and spreaders and rakes and
chains and trailers. You need tools for building and mending fences, just for
starters. How many head do you have coming?”
    That would refer
to cattle, Daniel assumed. “How many do you think I should have?”
    Toby gave him a
look of pure disdain. “Don’t you know anything?”
    “Sure. But I’m
new to the ranch business. I’ve got a lot to learn.”
    The boy shook
his head in disgust. “You’re telling me.”
    “Speaking of
learning…” Daniel glanced at his watch. “It’s noon on a Tuesday afternoon. Shouldn’t
you be in school?”
    Scuffing the
dirt floor with one toe, Toby avoided his eyes. “Nah.”
    “There’s no
school today?”
    Hands in his
jeans pockets, Toby shrugged, still staring at the ground.
    “I guess that
means you’re playing hooky.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Skipping
school. Cutting class.”
    “Oh.” Another
shrug, and then another sneeze. “School’s useless.”
    “Why is that?”
    “’Cause when I
grow up I’m gonna run this ranch, just like my dad did. I don’t need school for
that. I can learn what I have to know staying home, working with my mom and the
hands.”
    “Did your dad go
to school?”
    Toby looked up
at him with a surprised expression. “I don’t know.” And sneezed again.
    Daniel nodded.
“You should ask your mom about that. I’ll take you home so you can talk to
her.” He turned toward the barn door, but the boy hung back.
    “She’s gonna be
mad.”
    “Probably. I
imagine she likes to know where you are during the day.”
    Toby hung his
head and sniffed. “I’m in big