The Cowbear's Christmas Bride (Curvy Bear Ranch 4) Read Online Free PDF

his.
    She fought back a sea of tears. She didn’t want to lose it in the middle of the restaurant, and she certainly didn’t want to turn into a blubbering woman in front of the sexy cowboy.
    As she struggled to compose herself, the door chimed again. A grizzled man—probably in his early seventies—ambled in. His watery gaze scanned the room and passed her for a second before whipping back.
    “I’ll be dammed.” He shuffled toward her. “You look just like Victoria Fuller.”
    “Who?” she asked.
    “The town’s… uh, well, she’s been around the block a bit if you know what I mean.” He laughed until he started hacking. When he’d finally calmed down, he reached for a lock of her hair. He rolled it between his fingers and clucked his tongue. “Vicki had hair that glowed like fire in the summertime. Does yours do that?”
    “That’s enough,” Hank said as he pushed the old man’s hand away.
    “I’m sorry. It’s like seeing a ghost,” he said.
    “What do you mean?” Carol asked.
    “Hell, you could be her daughter.”
     

 
    Chapter 3
     
    Carol’s gut twisted as she stared up at the old man. She’d just had one door slammed in her quest for her mom, would this be a dead-end too? She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but the man’s outburst was the only clue she had at this point. If she looked just like the woman he used to know, then maybe…
    “Can you sit with us for a few minutes?” she asked.
    Hank scooted across the booth to make room for the man. After dropping into the booth, the man snapped his fingers to get the waitress’s attention.
    “Bring me the special with extra mayonnaise and some of that chocolate cake you got over there.” After the waitress left, he turned to Carol. “I’m Gunther Powell. If I’da seen you walk in here thirty years ago, I’da thought you were Vicki. You’re the spittin’ image of her.”
    “I’m actually looking for my mother,” Carol said.
    “What, you lost her?”
    “No, she lost me.”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d lost a bunch of kids over the years. Girl was a bit wild back in those days. Haven’t seen her in years,” Gunther said.
    “You don’t happen to know where she lives, do you?” Acid churned in her stomach as she waited for his answer.
    “Well, let’s see… last year I heard somethin’ about her living up on Gallatin Road right past Highway 287. There’s a bunch of houses just before that bend in the road.”
    “I know where that’s at,” Hank said.
    “Yeah, she’s up there somewhere. Not sure which house. Haven’t been to see her in years. Not since her tits got saggy,” Gunther grinned, revealing yellow teeth.
    “Was she your girlfriend?” Carol asked, ignoring his last comment. He wasn’t exactly a prize either.
    “Nah. We used to call her Hickey Vicki. That girl never stuck to one man. Had two or three going at a time. She was a beauty back in her day. Not so much anymore, from what I hear. That’d be a dammed thing if she was your mother,” he said.
    She pushed her half-eaten food away. The thought of swallowing another greasy mouthful made her as nauseous as Gunther did. Although she didn’t have any expectations about finding a nice woman who would welcome her with open arms, she’d at least hoped her mom would be somewhat normal. A part of her didn’t want this Vicki woman to be her mom, but she still had to investigate. If nothing else, if it was her mom, she could ask her if she knew anything about why she’d transformed into a bear.
    “How long is the drive to her house?” Carol asked.
    “About twenty minutes, give or take,” Hank said.
    “Do you think we could stop there on the way back to the ranch?” she asked.
    “Maybe we should try to get her phone number and call first. Now that we have her name, it shouldn’t be too hard,” Hank said.
    “I don’t know what I’d say to her on the phone. ‘Hi, you might be my mom.’ I’ve waited twenty-nine years to meet her