Yuletide Cowboy Read Online Free PDF Page B

her.
    â€œThank you,” she gasped, trying to get her breath back as she stared into Tiny’s pale face. His excited are-you-ready-to-play eyes danced as he gaped at her. She relaxed, relieved to be awake…it wasn’t unusual for her to have nightmares. Though they had slowly become less frequent and they were always about her ex-husband…Dreaming about Chance Turner was disturbing on an entirely different level. Thank goodness for Tiny.
    â€œWhat are you doing in the house?” she asked, making certain not to scold. The boys sometimes tried to sneak the giant animal into the house, or when they went out side they forgot to close the door and Tiny would sneak into the house by himself. On those occasionsthere was never any telling what he was going to get into. And if you scolded him he tended to leave puddles—and that wasn’t a good thing.
    The sound of erratic hammering filled the air outside her window. She glanced at the bedside clock—seven o’clock. Tiny danced on top of her, tail wagging, breath huffing, eyes twinkling, he barked excitedly and looked toward the window.
    â€œOkay, okay. I get it.” Gently pushing the oversize pup off her, she padded to the window and pulled aside the curtain.
    Before going to help decorate for the auction—and getting attacked by her friends—she had worked a full day at the candy store. Her boys had spent the day at Amanda Turner’s place. Amanda couldn’t have children of her own and since marrying Chance’s cousin, Wyatt, she often enjoyed having Gavin and Jack over to play when Lynn needed a babysitter. She and Wyatt were in the process of trying to adopt, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that any baby would be blessed to have her and Wyatt as parents.
    Just after Lynn had told everyone that she was not bid ding on a bachelor, Amanda and her two sisters-in-law, Susan and Melody, had arrived with the kids.
    Melody had asked about the lights and the boys had immediately told everyone about how they’d caused Chance to fall and dump the lights all over himself. Everyone got a good laugh and she’d seen the spark of excitement burn brighter in the three matchmaking buddies’ mischievous eyes. That was all it had taken for them to be off and running with stories about Chance when he was growing up—Chance Turner had been ahandful. Of course, her boys had jumped right into the fray, giggling at stories of the things Chance and his cousins had gotten into.
    She had also been informed by Melody that the Christmas lights he’d brought up to the church were for her, and that they were to be used to decorate her new house. Lynn had been touched by the gift and told Melody so. All their questions about Chance and what she thought of him had taken her by surprise and left her suspicious. Mule Hollow was known for its matchmaking, after all.
    She and the boys had been late getting home and they’d all been tired. The last thing she expected to see when she looked out the window this morning was Gavin and Jack outside attacking the large oak tree in the backyard with hammers.
    â€œWhat are they doing?” she asked, looking down at Tiny.
    The dog placed his paws on the windowsill and whined as he studied them. His tail wagged impatiently, signaling that he wanted to be out there with his boys. “Come on, let’s go.” That was all it took. The dog shot out of her bedroom like a flash. Lynn grabbed her housecoat off the bed as she passed. It was chilly in the house and she stopped to turn the thermostat up a notch or two. She put on her leather slides beside the back door, which was cracked open but not enough for the dog to escape. Lynn guessed that he’d snuck inside when the boys left it ajar and then the draft must have sucked it shut, trapping him.
    Tiny wiggled with anticipation and the instant she pulled the door open he shot outside and was gone. Lynnagreed with