A Dry Creek Christmas by Janet Tronstad

Author:Janet Tronstad
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2004-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Millie thought she must be frozen to the back of Brad’s saddle. “I can’t move.”

Brad had ridden into the barn and swung out of the saddle easily enough himself. But Millie was stuck. Her legs felt like they were permanently glued to the saddle.

The air was warmer inside the barn and the horse was standing politely beside the feed trough waiting to be given some oats. Randy and William had ridden over to the bunkhouse so they could unload the tree from the sled, but Brad and Millie had gone straight to the barn to dismount.

Millie tried to move her toes, and she felt the muscles tighten in her boots. At least she didn’t have frostbite.

Brad took the reins of his horse and led the animal over to a small pile of hay. “You’re just sore from all that riding. I didn’t know we’d be gone that long.”

“I’m never going riding again,” Millie said, and then gave an exaggerated groan for emphasis.

Brad chuckled.

Oh, my word, Millie thought, I almost made a joke. And he laughed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d joked with a handsome man. Usually she only felt relaxed enough to joke with her women friends and men like Forrest who were shy themselves.

“It might help if you take the coat off,” Brad said. “That’ll help you move easier.”

Millie pulled her left arm out of the parka and then finished pulling it off her right arm. She handed the coat down to Brad, and he set it on a hay bale. Millie shivered. It was cold, but she could move easier.

“Here,” Brad said as he held his arms up to her. “Now let me swing you down, and you can sit on these bales.”

Millie pushed against the back of Brad’s saddle and tried to get her leg to properly swing itself over the horse. It didn’t work. Finally, she just tilted her whole self over and let the leg come if it wanted.

Brad held his arms out to catch Millie. She fell into his arms and grabbed him around the neck. Usually when a woman had her arms around his neck, Brad recalled she also had a certain inviting look in her eyes.

Brad could only see one of Millie’s eyes because he was actually facing her ear instead of her face, but he was pretty sure the look he hoped for wasn’t there. Her eyes showed panic.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” Brad whispered.

If it was possible, she looked even more alarmed.

“I can stand,” Millie said.

Brad noted she didn’t relax her grip on his neck, and her glasses were perched precariously on her nose.

“I think my leg just went to sleep, but it’ll be fine when I put some weight on it,” Millie added.

Since Millie wanted to stand, Brad shifted her, hoping to get her in a position where she could. He regretted it the minute he did it.

Instead of looking at her ear, Brad was now looking at those green eyes of hers. Both of them. Her glasses had fallen completely off, and he saw them resting on her shoulder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.