Crazy for Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

ribs.
    “Landed on the side o’ his head,” Sam continued. “Punctured that eardrum.” He leaned into Brandon’s ear—his good one, presumably—and whispered, “I told ya, us men-folk have t’ stick t’gether.”
    Brandon’s cheeks were warm, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t his allergies acting up. He didn’t like the way this conversation was going. Lying was not his usual style. Especially to women.
    Oh, he may have concocted a little white one now and then. Like the day Katie brought some homemade cookies into the restaurant and he’d told her they tasted great, even managing to choke down three. And there was that time when he’d assured his sister that she most definitely did not look fat in her new dress. A little lie, on occasion, was a good thing.
    But not lately. He’d been party to two, huge bald-faced fibs in as many weeks—first to the casting director about riding and now, with Sam’s help, he’d perpetuated his cowboy persona to the lovely vet.
    “I’ve never noticed you here before, Mr. Saveloy. Are you looking for employment at the stables?”
    “Uh...” Brandon stalled for time while he contemplated the best way to set the story straight. Casually, he put his hand against the horse. He leaned in, crossing one ankle over the other. It was a relaxed, cowboy-like stance, he thought.
    Until he found himself sprawled on the dirt at Emily’s feet.
    * * *
    Emily gasped and bent over Houston’s prostrate form. “Are you all right?”
    What had possessed him to lean against Smokey like that? He was a well-trained animal, of course he stepped to one side. Without the horse to support him, Houston had tumbled sideways to the ground with a thud.
    The cowboy raised himself onto one knee and looked up at her. A layer of dirt coated his face, leaving two white spots around his eyes.
    “I’m fine. It was just a little—”
    “Prairie dog,” Sam said, concluding Houston’s sentence. “Houston was protectin' ol' Smokey from one. Those critters are terr’ble, Doctor Em. They nibble on the horses’ ankles.”
    “Really? I hadn’t heard.” Carnivorous prairie dogs? Emily was starting to wonder if she’d stepped into The Twilight Zone. There was definitely something weird going on. At the risk of being pulled into the abyss, she offered a hand-up to Houston. As soon as his skin touched hers, little tingles ran all the way up her arm and down her body.
    “Oh!” Emily pulled away and Houston toppled back to the ground, butt first. “Oops. Sorry.”
    “Not a problem,” Houston assured her as he scrambled to his feet.
    Emily rubbed her palms together to shake off the dirt. She could still feel the warmth of Houston’s hand on her flesh. The earth must have been electrically charged.
    “There’s the little varmint,” Sam cried out, stomping at the ground. A mushroom-shaped cloud of dust rose up like a mini nuclear explosion.
    She scanned the area, hoping to save the animal from Sam’s clunky boot, but darned if she could see the creature anywhere. She heard Houston take a deep breath. And another. She turned in time to see him hide his face in the crook of his arm. All the air he had gathered into his lungs came out in a sneeze that nearly shook the fence rails.
    “Bless you. Are you all right?” No sooner had she spoken than another sneeze gripped him. “Do you need a tissue?”
    “Doe thanks,” Houston mumbled, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket as he sniffled. “ Id’s jusd da dusd. ”
    Dusd? The man sounded as if he was speaking a foreign language. “I’m sorry?”
    “ Dusd. ” Houston patted the dirt from his clothes to illustrate, which immediately set off another sneeze.
    “Oh, dust .” It wasn’t a book on translation that Emily needed in order to understand Mr. Saveloy—it was a box of decongestants. Still, she was getting the hang of it. Just as she was settling into her role as interpreter, Sam started to pull Houston away.
    “Anyways, Doctor Em, we