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

quite as easy as he'd expected. It would probably be a great core training exercise for cowboys getting ready to rope some steers.
    It was all about balance.
    With that encouraging thought, he hopped into the kitchen and to the pantry. Not too difficult with the right mind-set.
    Swinging open the pantry door, he grabbed the radio off the top shelf.
    Now the real challenge—hopping back to the sofa with a radio tucked under his arm.
    By the time he returned to his seat and propped his feet up, his breathing came in puffs and pants.
    The good news was that during his exertions he hadn't once thought of kissing Lori. The bad news was that now he was seated again, he couldn't get that kiss or her out of his head.

 
     
     
    Chapter 16

     
    Lori wanted to believe in herself. Really wanted it.
    Even though Monty Joe had boosted her confidence in her abilities, events were not progressing as she'd hoped.
    Cold shivered down her spine as she stood at the open barn door, waving the can of goat grain. "Here, goatie goat. Here."
    Nothing.
    "Billy, I've got some delicious goat grain for you."
    Silence.
    No matter how long she called out, no matter how much she waved the can, the goat didn't magically appear.
    Her shoulders slumped.
    Between Monty Joe's kiss, intended to shut her up—well, he said it was to calm her, but she suspected it was more about regaining his peace and solitude—and losing the goat, her day couldn't get much worse.
    That was the problem with cowboys. They liked their quiet. They liked their solitude. And they liked hanging out under lonesome ol' moons.
    She, however, was the opposite. She loved being part of a big family, with all the noise and ruckus that came with it. Sure, sometimes you couldn't hear yourself think, but a girl could always find little nooks or crannies to hide away. The bigger benefit was some member of her family would always help her chew things over, think things through—like how to deal with a hot cowboy's kiss. And specifically she missed being able to tell Kelli about Monty Joe's kiss, and how she'd liked it. A lot.
    Which made his comment about calming her down irritate her even worse. If she hadn't enjoyed his kiss quite so much, then maybe she could dismiss it.
    But she had, and she couldn't.
    She fought the wave of humiliation flowing through her at the memory of kissing him back. Enthusiastically kissing him back.
    Her shoulders slumped even further.
    And Kelli wasn't available as a sounding board.
    Defeated before she'd really begun, Lori reentered the barn and closed the door to keep the horses from freezing to death, too.
    Which was likely Billy's fate.
    The poor little guy hadn't had much fun lately. Not with the storm. Not with how he hadn't been able to play with his favorite human because he had been injured. Not with the way Billy didn't even seem to like the name said favorite human had given him.
    If only she and Billy had more time together. Lori was certain she'd have found the right name for the darling, butt-butting, sweetheart of a goat.
    Was she giving up too soon?
    That's what her sister would have said. That she was giving up too soon.
    And Kelli might have meant it in more ways than one.
    The idea haunted Lori as she meandered through the barn checking on the horses. She straightened a blanket, added a toss of hay, and administered a friendly pat when needed. Surprisingly, the horses seemed to have held up okay. They responded with a nudge and an occasional whinny, as though grateful to have been so well taken care of despite the weather.
    Hmm. Maybe she didn't do a completely bad job after all.
    Which brought her back to her previous thought. Was she giving up too soon?
    And was that like her?
    "Buck up, Lori," she chastised herself. "You're a Palmer girl. Start acting like one."
    Lori straightened her shirt.
    Look how great she'd already become at taking care of horses. If she could learn so much so quickly, surely she had the grit to find a wayward