Cooking For Cowboy (Stampede Sizzlers) Read Online Free PDF Page A

actually, but don’t repeat that. I’ll deny saying it.”
    “Go ahead.”
    “What are you doing? Making coffee?”
    “Herbal tea, chamomile. It helps me sleep.” Sierra dug a box of teabags and a coffee mug emblazoned with a variety of catchy sayings out of the cupboard.
    “Did you sleep at all?” he asked.
    Sierra shook her head. There was no way she’d admit the main reason for her insomnia was digging another beer out of her refrigerator. And then she realized she might as well be naked, wearing nothing but the extremely short, almost see-through pink nightgown that barely reached the top of her thighs.
    “Crap,” she uttered the expletive while streaking down the hallway.
    Chad shouted after her, “Are you okay? Are you sick? What can I do?”
     

 
     
    Chapter 3
     
    Chad halted in Sierra’s bedroom doorway. “Do I need to call for an ambulance?” he asked, slightly breathless from the fright and the adrenaline rush she’d given him.
    “I appreciate your concern, but I’m not sick. Just practically naked.” She grabbed her long cotton robe off the foot of the bed.
    “I thought you were going to throw up. I figured you had a concussion or something.” Chad leaned against the door jamb. “Now I see the reason why you raced out of the kitchen like that. Believe me. I noticed what you were wearing when you frightened the hell out of me awhile ago.”
    “If you noticed, why didn’t you say something?” she demanded.
    “I knew it would embarrass you, and I figured you’d been through enough tonight.” He shrugged with his answer. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “I’ve told you a dozen times…I’m fine.” Sierra stuffed her arms into the robe’s sleeves and tied the sash around her waist.
    Chad gazed around her bedroom. Her unmade queen-sized bed occupied the center of the room. The rumpled covers suggested she’d been tossing and turning before she ventured out to the kitchen. He’d like to rumple the covers a little more while making love with Sierra, her long legs wrapped around his waist, his… Don’t go there, he warned himself. Not going to happen. Not tonight, at least.
    “Okay. I’m going to finish my beer.” Chad headed out the door.
    “All righty then. I’ll brew my tea.” Sierra followed him down the hallway.
    Neither of them uttered a word while Sierra poured boiling water into her mug and then sat across from Chad at the kitchen table. He tipped back his beer and drank deeply, attempting to get the picture of Sierra in the skimpy nightie out of his mind. Sitting across from her, he recalled what was hidden beneath that damn robe she was wearing. His body responded immediately. Thankfully, he’d slipped into the chair and hadn’t just stood at the kitchen counter.
    “Do you think the tea will help you sleep?” he asked, meeting her eyes.
    “Yeah, maybe.” She averted her gaze, sipped her tea.
    “You need to rest,” he said, almost tacking ‘sweetheart’ on the end, but catching himself in time.
    Where had that come from? He’d never called a woman sweetheart in his entire life. That was an endearment he intended to reserve for his wife, if he ever found a woman that lived up to his expectations. Not that he was unreasonably particular, but he wouldn’t settle for anyone less than the perfect woman for him. A woman he loved more than life itself. Sounded pretty cliché, but he knew it was true. Some of his former girlfriends had mentioned looking for Mr. Right. Well, he wanted his Ms. Right.
    Sierra shifted in her chair.
    Chad considered the possibility she was as nervous and at a loss for words as he felt. “Okay, let’s play three questions,” he blurted.
    “What?” The word exploded from her mouth.
    “I ask you three questions that you have to answer, and then I have to answer three of yours.”
    “Why would we do that?” She shook her head.
    “I’d like to get to know you, and it will break the ice a bit. So, first question…”
    “Whoa. I