My Southern Bride (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 4) by Kathy Carmichael

Author:Kathy Carmichael [Carmichael, Kathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2014-05-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The radio blared good news, and Monty Joe shot it a scowl. By morning the snow should start melting, and the area's normal temperatures and weather would return.

He should be elated.

But nothing in his life had been normal since the moment he'd picked Lori up from the airport.

Nothing.

Not even his response to his routine being disrupted. That usually had him as cranky as a mama rattlesnake.

Instead, he'd been grinning and laughing whenever Lori returned from her chores.

His new attitude didn't sit well with him at all.

And now this.

By morning he'd get his wish to return Lori to the airport and get her out of his life.

So why wasn't he grinning ear to ear?

Why didn't his heart leap with joy?

It had to be loneliness.

He wasn't an introspective sort of man, but with all this time on his hands, that's exactly what he'd been doing—introspecting.

When Will had suggested it was time for Monty Joe to look for a wife, his reaction hadn't been exactly friendly.

Yet the more time he had to gnaw over the idea, like a herding dog with a tasty bone, the more he came to agree with Will.

Maybe settling down and creating a family of his own someday soon wasn't a bad idea.

Monty Joe wasn't the least bit interested in sowing more oats. He'd done all that, and then some, during his rodeo glory days.

Having Lori underfoot all this time—and not hating it—illustrated how far down the trail he'd gone. Apparently any female company could cheer him up.

And if it was this good with Lori, then he could only imagine how great his life would be once he found the right woman.

He nodded. Yup. That definitely explained why the weather forecast sent his mood into the root cellar.

Or why his face lit up at the sound of the back door opening.

Lori.

He quickly snapped off the radio and hid it under the pillow cushion.

While it was fine that he knew about the upcoming clear skies, he wasn't yet ready to let Lori in on that fact.

"I found him," she called out.

A loud bleat sounded out.

"Billy," he said.

"That's where you're wrong." Lori danced into the room, excitement lighting her face and making her eyes flash with happiness.

"I'm wrong?"

"Billy isn't his name," she said, radiating self-satisfaction. "I told you he needed a more dignified name."

"Okay. I'll play along." She really was fun to be around, making even something so normal as finding his goat a cause for celebration. "What's his name?"

"Newton."

"Huh?"

"Sir Isaac Newton to be more exact."

"My goat is a scientist?"

"Well, with the way he's able to escape his pen, he's certainly one smart goat." She grinned. "Call him Billy."

"You are Billy," Monty Joe said, deliberately baiting Lori by getting it wrong.

"No, silly. Call him."

"Billy."

The animal didn't respond, but then, Monty Joe hadn't exactly expected him to.

"Now watch this." Lori swung out her arm. "Newton!"

Immediately the goat bleated and ran to her side.

"See?"

"He answers to Newton?"

Billy bleated again, this time moving next to Monty Joe.

"Amazing." He reached a hand out and scratched around Billy's—no, Newton's stubby little antlers.

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