Then Came You: A Prequel to The McPhee Clan Read Online Free PDF Page A

fall. "I have room and board provided for years to come. No worries there."
    "That sounds like a bonus."
    "Oh, it is. I work with great people."
    "Yep, great. That's me."
    "Not you," she corrected, mischievously. "But some great people."
    "Good to know where I stand." His wagon rose out of the storm, hulking and shadowed. He gripped her arm, helped her up. "At least I'm not in the Lawrence category."
    "Don't be too sure about that." The wind gusted ever harder, drowning out his chuckle, driving the straight-line snow with the wind speed of a twister. She clearly struggled to stay upright as she swiped snow from the wagon seat. "All you'd need is a handlebar mustache and you'd be twins."
    "Now that's where you'd be wrong." Light, humorous, he helped with the snow swiping. A few brushes and the wagon seat was as clear as it was going to get. "I'll go fetch your groceries and the horse. Can you stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"
    "I can try." She plopped down onto the wagon seat, covered with snow, her face scoured pink from the cold. She'd let her muffler slip down.
    He reached over to tug it up, tenderness kicking in his chest. The curve of her face was so dear, so delicate and sweet. Her big emerald green eyes shone brightly as if with their own light, hinting at her inner beauty. It would be nice if she was his to care for, he thought, arranging the worn muffler higher on her shoulders, around her throat, to better shield her face. He'd cherish her. He'd make sure she was happy, or die trying.
    Not that she realized he felt that way. The caring he felt was not reflected in her stunning green eyes, was not returned to him, so he backed away.
    "Don't garner any more suitors while my back is turned, okay?" he joked, if only to hide the ache of gentleness that surged through his chest.
    "I'll try," she teased back. "But no promises."
    When he walked away from her amused smile, the warmth of it stayed with him even in the worsening storm. Well, his affections for her kept deepening, even though this was a one-sided thing. He plowed through the accumulating snow, sloshed through the sticky mud and spotted the shadow of a horse through the tumbling downfall.
    "Hey there, Phil." He greeted the horse he knew well, for all of the cowboys lately took turns tending the ranch horses and cleaning stalls. Times were lean at the Rocking M, and several hired hands had already walked off the job for lack of pay. He patted the gelding's nose. "Bet you thought we'd forgotten about you, huh?"
    Phil nickered, pressing gratefully against the palm of Gil's hand. The poor animal was coated with snow, looking a little forlorn, hitched to the mired-down wagon.
    "No way would I forget about you." He assured the animal, gave him a final nose stroke and got down to the business of unbuckling and leading Phil out of his traces. The storm didn't make it easy.
    His thoughts turned back to Maebry, and the protective fury—okay, call it jealousy—he'd felt when he'd found her alone with Latimer. Lawrence had no call trying to court her. Lawrence was new to town, he'd bought a patch of land next to the Rocking M, not even four months ago. Anger roared through him as Gil slogged down the road.
    Two months and seven days. That's how long he'd been in love with Maebry. His jaw clenched tight, his molars grinding together as he stopped beside Casey. When he squinted up into the storm, she was nothing but a silhouette—a curve of her hood, the bow of her head against the storm, the elegant line of her sleeve as she braced herself on the seat.
    As he bent to buckle Phil in next to Casey, he remembered the first day he saw her. It had been a dreary March day, a mantle of thick, charcoal clouds shrouded the sky, the rolling hills and fields of the ranch were frozen but snowless. He'd dismounted outside a two-story log house, teeth chattering from the ride, frozen to the marrow of his bones. He'd been gathering Casey's reins when movement caught his eye. There, in