Reuniting with the Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

she slept—minutes or hours? It was still dark outside. She was used to the sound. In fact, she usually woke up only when they weren’t barking. But this frenzied chorus seemed to come from right under her window.
    She rolled over, squinted at the green digital numbers on her clock. Four twenty-three. Why were the dogs stirred up in the wee hours of the morning? And why did they sound so near? She threw the covers back, jumped up and hurried to the window.
    Three dogs surrounded the live oak in her yard. Barks, yips and growls filled the early-morning air. As her eyes adjusted to the moonlight, she spotted a cat clinging to a gnarled, twisted limb high in the tree. In the distance, the lights were on in the barn.
    What were they doing loose? Her heart lodged in her throat. She flipped her lamp on, tugged a warm-up suit over her pajamas and darted down the hall.
    â€œMom.” Ally knocked on her bedroom door. “The animals are loose.” Flashlight in hand, she bolted through the house and jerked the front door open. A light blinded her as she barreled into something solid.
    Someone solid.
    She screamed.

Chapter Three
    â€œI t’s me.” Cody’s strong arms steadied her. The soft flannel of his shirt warmed her against the chill of the night air as his familiar spicy scent surrounded her.
    Ally pulled away from him. “Are you all right? I didn’t hurt your knee, did I?”
    â€œNo.” He lowered the beam of his flashlight and she got a glimpse of his denim clad legs. “Why are the animals out?”
    â€œI have no idea.”
    â€œI’ll help you corral them.”
    â€œYou can’t.” She stepped around him. “It’s dark and you’ll step in a hole or something and hurt your knee. If you want to help, though, go to the barn. I’ll catch the dogs and bring them to you. Just put them in pens and I’ll sort out who goes where later. Once I get all the dogs, then I’ll be able to lure the cats back.”
    â€œI’m on it.” He limped toward the barn.
    She ran to the clinic. The door stood wide open. Odd. She grabbed several collars with leashes and a handful of treats, then scurried back out to the gathering under the tree.
    â€œHere, Spot.” The splotched mutt ignored her as he jumped, his front paws running up the tree with each lunge as he growled at the terrified cat. “I’ve got treats.” She dug a biscuit out of her pocket and held it just out of the dog’s reach. Spot’s nose twitched and he lost interest in the cat long enough for her to clasp a collar around his neck. “Gotcha.”
    She stood on his leash while she went through the same routine with the Border collie mix and the terrier mix. With all three dogs leashed, she tugged them with all her might toward the barn.
    A flashlight beam shone from the house. “What can I do?” Mom hollered.
    â€œCatch dogs. Then we’ll worry about the cats.”
    â€œI called Lance—I mean Dr. Bridges—to help.”
    A truck turned into her drive. Lance? No, he couldn’t have gotten here from Denton so quickly. Who could it be? Please not an emergency. Pressure mounted in her chest.
    The engine died and doors slammed. “Hey, it’s Raquel. Cody called us to help.”
    Ally could have cheered. “Y’all are awesome.” The Walkers were her closest neighbors other than Cody. Ally usually handled the health needs of their four-legged menagerie.
    â€œHow many are accounted for?” Slade, Raquel’s husband, hurried to take the three unruly dogs from Ally.
    â€œI’m not even sure.” Ally scanned the area with her flashlight. “These are the only ones I’ve caught. I didn’t want Cody hobbling around in the dark, so he’s in the barn waiting to put them away as I catch them.”
    â€œHunter, you help Mom catch dogs.” Slade roughed up the young boy’s already tousled