Tales of Western Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

a working
cattle ranch. They offered hay rides, volleyball, a swimming pool,
bingo, fly fishing, river rafting, square dances, riding lessons,
and trail rides.
    It sounded perfect.

Chapter 2
     
    The Collins Dude Ranch was everything Bonnie
hoped it would be. She stared, wide-eyed, at the ranch house, the
barn, the horses in corrals, the cattle grazing along the river
with the mountains in the distance. If it wasn’t for the SUVs
parked in front of the house, she would have sworn she had stepped
back in time.
    Excitement fluttered in her stomach as she
checked in at the main house. Mrs. Collins gave her a schedule of
events, advised her that meals were served at seven am, noon, and
six pm, and gave her a key to one of the ten cabins located behind
the main house.
    Bonnie thanked Mrs. Collins, picked up her
suitcase and hurried toward the log cabin that would be her home
for the next two weeks.
    The cabin was rustic and adorable. The living
room was square, with a stone fireplace, a flowered sofa, and a
wagon-wheel coffee table. White lace curtains fluttered at the open
window. There was a double bed in the bedroom, an antique dresser,
and an old-fashioned rocking chair. The bathroom was tiny, the
kitchen not much bigger, but that didn’t matter, since she would be
taking her meals up at the house.
    She quickly unpacked her suitcase, then
changed into the brand new jeans, Western-style shirt, and boots
she had purchased before leaving home. Standing in front of the
mirror on the dresser, she settled her brand new cream-colored
Stetson hat on her head, grimaced at her reflection, and left the
cabin.
    Since it was Sunday, there were no events
planned other than a get-together after dinner so the guests could
meet the hosts and get acquainted with each other.
    Since she had a few hours to kill, Bonnie
decided to take a look around. A narrow trail looked promising and
she strolled in that direction. The scenery was amazing. Acres of
forest surrounded the ranch. Snow-covered mountains rose beyond the
forest. The trail ran along a narrow winding stream that was
crystal clear.
    “ So beautiful,” she murmured. Being
born and raised in the city, she wasn’t used to wide-open spaces,
air that was so clean, or a sky that was such a bright blue, it
almost hurt her eyes to look at it.
    Time lost all meaning as she wandered on.
Every turn in the trail revealed another sweeping vista. The trail
ascended gradually until she reached a plateau. She came to an
abrupt halt when she spied a deer. She had seen them in zoos and on
TV, of course, but to see one in the wild was a new experience.
    The deer stared at Bonnie.
    Bonnie stared back. How beautiful the
creature was, with its big ears and liquid-black eyes.
    She took a step forward, gasped in dismay
when her foot broke a twig and the deer bounded away.
    Bonnie was thinking it was time to turn back
when the sky overhead suddenly turned dark. She shivered as a brisk
wind sprang up. How had the weather changed so quickly? A flash of
lightning, a rumble of thunder, and the heavens opened.
    In seconds, she was soaked to the skin.
    Turning, she began to run back the way she
had come. She cried out as she tripped over a root. Arms flailing,
she fell, then let out a shriek as she rolled down the hill.
    When she reached the bottom, she lay in a
heap, shivering. When she caught her breath, she checked for broken
bones, then slowly gained her feet.
    And realized she had no idea which way to
go.
    Cold and lost, she stood there, wondering
what to do, and wishing she had stayed home where she belonged.
    “ Heaven, help me,” she murmured, and
jumped when something poked her from behind.
    She whirled around, her heart hammering with
fright, her mind filling with visions of bears and other wild
animals.
    Only it wasn’t a bear. It was a horse. A big
white horse with beautiful brown eyes and a black zigzag scar on
its rump.
    “ Too bad you don’t know the way to the
ranch,” Bonnie muttered, her