The Trouble With Cowboys Read Online Free PDF

screen door clacked behind Ryder, who tilted his head. “You’re a cowboy.”
    “That’s right, I am. Are you a cowboy?”
    Ryder snickered. “I’m only four, silly.”
    “That’s all right. I was roping cattle and wrestling calves to the ground when I was your age.”
    Ryder frowned thoughtfully, and Dylan caught a glimpse of Annie in that look. “I can’t do none of that.”
    Dylan shrugged. “All it takes is a piece of rope and a little practice. I could teach you.”
    The boy’s eyes lit up. “You could?”
    “Why, sure, it’s not that hard. Got a lariat in my truck if you want to learn.”
    “Okay!”
    Ryder followed him to his truck, asking questions the whole way. Dylan showed him how to tie a Honda knot.
    Ryder’s brows pushed together. “I can’t even tie my shoes.”
    Dylan ruffled his hair, chuckling. “Well, we’ll just skip that part then.”
    He led the kid to the nearby fence and showed him how to hold the rope and swing it. He gave it a toss, and it settled around the fence post.
    “Wow, I wanna try!”
    Dylan collected the rope. “It’s gonna take some practice, now. You gotta be real patient.” He placed the lariat in Ryder’s hand and helped him swing and throw the loop.
    The lariat dropped to the ground at the base of the post, sending up a puff of dirt.
    “That’s awful close,” Dylan said. “Keep it up and you’ll be a real cowboy in no time.” He set his hat on Ryder’s head. “Looks good on you.”
    The boy looked up at him and smiled with adoring eyes, and Dylan remembered the kid didn’t have a father.
    “Try again, now.”
    A few minutes later he heard a rumble and looked up the drive to see Annie’s truck approaching.
    Ryder’s loop fell at the base of the post as Annie shut the truck off. She got out and walked toward them. Her jaw was set, her back stiff.
    Ryder dropped the rope and threw himself into her legs. “Aunt Annie!”
    Her face softened as she embraced him. “Hey, Bed Head. How was your day?”
    She was striking, with that black silky hair swinging around her shoulders and that skin, pretty as porcelain. He bit his tongue before he went and said so.
    “Mr. Taylor is teaching me to be a real cowboy!”
    Her lips stretched in a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. “Is that so?”
    “If you keep practicing,” Dylan said, “you’ll be roping cattle in no time.”
    Ryder let go of Annie. “I don’t have a rope.”
    “Take this one. I have plenty.” Dylan picked up the lariat and wound it up.
    “You really shouldn’t,” Annie said.
    “No problem.” He handed the rope to Ryder, who jumped up and down.
    “Thanks, Mr. Taylor.”
    “Anytime.”
    “Ryder,” Sierra called from the doorway. “Time for your bath.”
    “Aww, I don’t wanna.”
    “Being a cowboy is dirty work, right?” Dylan said. “Every day ends with a nice, hot shower . . . er, bath.”
    “Come on, Ryder!” Sierra called.
    The boy made a face, but he handed back Dylan’s hat and scuttled off with his rope.
    Dylan turned a smile on Annie. “Cute kid.”
    She crossed her arms, none too inviting. “Thanks.”
    Maybe she didn’t like unannounced visitors. “Sorry to drop by. Wanted to thank you for passing on Roy’s number. He worked with Braveheart last week.”
    “Glad to hear it.”
    “ ’Fraid it didn’t go too well.”
    “That’s too bad.”
    He felt like he was talking to a tree stump. If he could just get her to sit down and loosen up. “Listen, you have a minute? Maybe we could take a load off.”
    Annie’s eyes darted to the house and she swallowed. “I—suppose we could sit on the porch.”
    When they reached the house, Annie disappeared inside, then returned with a plastic chair she set against the brick façade. She sat down and tucked her hands under her thighs. “What’s up?” Her eyes darted away from him toward the darkening mountain range.
    Dylan looked around her property. It was small by Montana standards, but the grass was neatly