The Christmas Cowboy. Judy Christenberry

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СКАЧАТЬ in the trunk, then opened the passenger-side door for her. The small courtesy warmed her, but she certainly wasn’t won over yet.

      When he pulled the car into traffic, she expected he’d talk about the ranch, but he was quiet, only the sounds of country music on the radio preventing total silence.

      Fine with her. She lay her head back and was almost asleep when she felt the car slowing. “Is something wrong?”

      “I’m hungry,” the cowboy replied.

      Looking around, she noticed they’d pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called The Prime Rib. She inhaled the scent of barbecued beef.

      “The ranch is two hours away. I need to eat.” With that he got out of the car.

      Andrea sat there, not sure if she should follow.

      Her door opened. “Are you getting out?”

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand that you…” Never mind, she told herself. She simply got out of the car and followed him into the restaurant.

      The place was much nicer than she would expect the oaf beside her to frequent.

      When they were seated and the server approached their table, he barked, “We’ll take a ‘mucho nacho’ and two iced teas to start.”

      “Are the nachos good?” Andrea asked when the waitress left, trying to make conversation, though she didn’t know why she was bothering.

      “I like them.”

      She tried again. “I’m surprised you ordered an iced tea. I figured you for a beer man.”

      He shot her a look. In the bright light she could see that his eyes were dark brown laced with topaz. Almost the same brown as his hair, now that he’d taken off his hat.

      “Jess said I couldn’t.”

      “Is he your boss?”

      “No. She’s my sister.”

      She nodded. “So you both work on the ranch?”

      “No, we both own the ranch,” he said indignantly. Then he added, “Along with my grandfather and my brother.”

      “And you are…?”

      “Hank Ledbetter.” He flushed. She could tell he’d suddenly realized he’d forgotten to introduce himself.

      The waitress arrived then with a towering plate of nachos and their drinks. Before Andrea could order for herself, Hank ordered for both of them. “Two sirloins, medium rare, with baked potato and salad.”

      True, Andrea thought, she was more than two thousand miles from home, but she’d never expected to find a totally different species of man in Colorado. She sat there, completely dumbfounded at his audacity.

      “Aren’t you going to try the nachos?” he asked when he noticed her sitting there stiffly.

      Much as she didn’t want to, she was hungry. “Are they hot?”

      “Not if you don’t eat those green things. They’re jalapeños. That’s what makes them hot.”

      She laughed to herself. “We do have jalapeños in New York, Mr. Ledbetter. In fact, we have all kinds of cuisine.”

      She tried some of the nachos and found them delicious.

      They ate in silence, Hank wolfing down three times as much as she did. When only one chip remained, he said, “You want that?”

      “No, thanks. You go ahead.”

      He didn’t hesitate. Scooping up the chip, he ate it in one bite.

      She marveled at his appetite. “Will you be able to eat your steak?” she asked.

      His brow knit as he looked at her. “Why wouldn’t I?”

      “I just thought that after you…Never mind. I guess that was a dumb question.”

      Their meals arrived then and she sighed when she saw the huge, thick steak.

      “I’ll never be able to eat all that,” she said, giving voice to her thoughts. “That’s more than I eat in two dinners back in New York.”

      The cowboy’s eyes raked over her face and neck, breasts and waist. “You could use some meat on your bones.”

      “Excuse me?” she sputtered.

      “Trust me. Once you’re in the saddle all day, you’ll eat everything that’s put in front of you.”

      The man wasn’t only rude, Andrea thought. He was downright crazy.

      HANK COULDN’T BELIEVE the woman was sleeping while they were driving through the most beautiful countryside in the world. They were coming down the mountain, the picturesque town of Steamboat Springs lying just below them.

      She’d fallen asleep about half an hour after leaving Denver. He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t snuck a look at her. It was obvious he hadn’t needed to worry about her chattering nonstop.

      At lunch, what little talking they’d done had made him think they spoke different languages. Sometimes she made sense, but other times he had no idea what she was talking about.

      But he’d made a promise to be polite. And he’d tried. It was certainly easier now that she was asleep.

      Taking liberties, he snatched glances at her as he drove. Her wavy hair curved around high cheekbones, and rosy lips were set in a pout. His eyes roamed lower, to her full breasts and slender waist, exposed now that she’d removed her coat in the warm car. Her manicured hands rested on her lap. And her legs…long and shapely, just the way he liked ‘em.

      No, he told himself. Do not go there.

      Andrea Jacobs might be beautiful, with curves in all the right places, but she was not the woman for him. Besides, he had lots of women in Steamboat Springs, ones he could understand. He didn’t need a city slicker with an attitude—no matter how gorgeous she was.

      “Where are we?”

      The voice startled him and he wrenched his attention from her legs back to the road.

      “Steamboat Springs,” he said in a husky voice. He cleared his throat, pretending boredom. “The ranch is about fifteen minutes outside of town.”

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I’d sleep that long.”

      “Not a problem.” He didn’t tell her that her nap had given him a chance to check out her lovely body.

      She sat up and looked out the window. “This seems like a nice town. Not as big as I thought it would be, though.”

      “It has everything we need.” His voice sounded perturbed, even to his own ears.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ