Learning To Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series:Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

through Gracie’s mind.
                  Miranda felt the bus begin to slow, telling her the driver had been right. The dull feeling she’d had inside her about this trip was gone now, replaced, for the first time since reading the ad, by waves of nervousness. What was this town going to be like? More importantly, what was this guy going to be like? All of his emails said he’d wanted to date for a short time and that he was ready to marry the right woman. Miranda had been impressed with his conversations, with the adoring way he wrote and asked about things going on in her own life. But she knew from experience that sweet talking was easy to come by and that it was a favorite tool for some guys to get what they wanted.
                  She couldn’t be sure if she was arguing with herself, or trying to convince herself. Miranda had berated herself more than once for sneaking away like she did, but it wasn’t because she wasn’t entitled to leave. She wasn’t exactly on the run from the law but the less Mike knew about her whereabouts, the better. It was sufficient to say she hadn’t left things on a good note, if the Louisville slugger she’d beaten him with was any indication.
                  My own choice of a stranger is better than any choice I’ve made so far, she reminded herself, repeating the mantra that had kept her steeled and her head held high during this long trip west. She squared her shoulders and looked across the sea of tired, grumpy passengers taking up residence in the Greyhound, her eyes never wavering from the door that would take her off this bus and into a new life, and into the arms of a husband of her own choosing.
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
                  “Are you sure you read the email right, Miranda?” Gracie asked, for what had to have been the fourth time. “And the date’s correct?”
                  “Yes, Gracie,” Miranda replied once again, forcing herself to remember to speak nicely. Here they were, in the infamous West for only a matter of hours, and already her sister was getting on her nerves, peppering her with questions when she was already nervous. “I’ve spoken with the guy in the bus station, remember? He told me this was the correct day and we were on the correct bus. Whoever was supposed to pick us up from the station is just late.” She continued to fan herself delicately, wishing more than anything that she could take off her thick overcoat to get some relief from the unbelievable heat, but what kind of first impression would that make? She had chosen this outfit specifically because not only did it look pretty, but it also looked responsible and powerful. It was an outfit that said, “I’ve taken all the crap I plan to take from people, so don’t even start.” So she sat to wait.
                  And wait. More than once, Miranda entertained the idea of going into one of the two buildings closest to the fairly good-sized station, as one was clearly a shop of some kind and the other looked to be some sort of restaurant. But looking at the patrons leaving the shop loaded down with fifty pound sacks of feed, she wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t be in the way. That left the restaurant.
                  “Let’s go, Gracie. We can get something to eat and at least get out of this heat and into the shade.” Miranda walked ahead of Gracie, after asking the guy behind the counter in the bus station if he would guard their suitcases, leaving her teenaged sister to scamper after her. It only took a moment to realize their mistake.
                  As the two ladies pushed open the half-door and stepped into the darkened tavern, Miranda immediately threw one delicately gloved hand over Gracie’s eyes, pinning the girl’s head to her own chest to prevent her from seeing the display taking place inside. Not only were half the men wearing barely more than undershirts