The Rancher's Christmas Princess Read Online Free PDF

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the words. She pressed her lips together over the silence.
    Preston was watching her, looking concerned as he waited for
her to explain what the matter was.
    She got up and went over to the big window that looked out on
the wide front porch. Outside, the sky was clear now. A light dusting of snow
sparkled under the quarter moon. “The clouds are all gone. The sky is so
beautiful, so thick with stars....”
    “That’s how it is in Montana. We’re closer to heaven here.” He
said it so softly. And he was on his feet again. She heard him come toward her,
his tread quiet but nonetheless charged with great energy, with purpose. He
stopped close at her back. She felt his presence there acutely. A sense of that
steadiness he possessed, of the density and power in his strong male body.
    She turned to him, her breath snagging in her throat at the
look in his eyes. So tender. So...intent.
    How to tell him? How to say it? How to lead up gracefully to
the moment when she handed over that final letter to him? It had been tucked
within the letter Anne had written to Belle, in an envelope with his name on it.
She hadn’t opened the envelope. That wouldn’t have been right. But she hoped
whatever Anne had written to him, it might help him understand. She had it with
her now, in the pocket of her skirt. All she had to do was bring it out, hand it
over....
    But then, really, maybe it was too soon. Maybe she should wait
a little, give herself more time to...
    To what? Any excuses she might have had not to tell him had
dried up and blown away like dead leaves in the wind. She liked him. He seemed a
fine man. His ranch looked to her like a good-size operation. The house was
perfectly livable. And anyway, there would be plenty of money from Anne’s
estate. Even if Preston’s personal finances were shaky—which they did not appear
to be—Ben would never want for anything. His mother had left him everything she
owned.
    She opened her mouth to tell all.
    And he said, “Tell you what. Let’s go outside. I’ll show you
the stables and we can look at the stars without a window in the way.”
    Belle realized she’d been holding her breath and let it out
slowly. “I would love to see the stables.”
    They put their coats and gloves back on and he took her
outside. The icy snow crunched under the heels of their boots as they crossed
the yard, past the barn to the stables, which were large and clean and
well-maintained. He explained his breeding program and the supplemental lights
that made the stable bright enough to read the small print of a newspaper even
at that time of night. The point was to trick the mares’ reproductive cycles
into thinking it was spring come January. That way, the foals were born early
the following year. And because all foals’ official birthday of any given year
was January 1, a foal born early had significant advantage over foals born later
in the year when it came to competitive activities like racing.
    His horses were healthy and beautiful. She admired his way with
them, could see that he treated them well, noted the way they chuffed and
nuzzled him, responding eagerly to the sound of his voice. She saw how they
sought the touch of his hand.
    “You’re like my sister Alice,” she said as they were leaving.
They stood under the bright lights suspended from the ceiling beams, the smell
of hay and horses all around them. “Her horses love her.”
    “I read about your sister.”
    “On the internet, you mean?”
    He nodded. His eyebrows were burnished gold in the light from
above. “I read that she raises Akhal-Tekes.”
    “Yes, she does.”
    “The most ancient breed on earth, a breed prized by Alexander
the Great and Genghis Khan.”
    She was impressed. “You know the legend of the Tekes?”
    “I know horses. The Nez Perce Indians are currently breeding
them with Appaloosas, did you know that?” She did know, but she kept quiet,
hoping he might continue. And he did. “It’s an effort to