Free A Cowboy Christmas Miracle (Burnt Boot, Texas Book 4) by Carolyn Brown Page A

about was Declan. All she could see were sparks dancing behind her closed eyes. And all she wanted was for the kiss to never end.
    She opened her mouth enough to allow entrance, and their tongues did a mating dance that sent shivers down her spine. The sensible side of her brain kept shouting something about him being a Brennan, but the part that controls sensation and sexual desire hushed it up right quick.
    When he ended the kiss and pulled back, she was speechless for the first time in her life. Her knees had gone weak. Her brain was total mush. Her body wanted to haul him off to the nearest motel, or the back of her truck, and finish what they’d started.
    “Your cousin Eli walked in with a girl and I didn’t know what to do,” he said.
    She glanced around the furry edge of the parka hood of her coat, and sure enough, about midway down the theater’s aisle, Eli was sitting there with a woman.
    “I’d best leave,” she said.
    “I’ll give you time to clear the parking lot and then I’ll go,” he said. “You want the drink?”
    “No, I’m good.”
    “I’ll rent the storage unit and meet you there on Thursday night.”
    “Leave me a note about where to go.”
    He nodded. “Will do.”
    She made it to the truck before she flipped the hood back on her jacket. Then she slid down in the driver’s seat and took several deep breaths. It’s a wonder the earth was still rotating around the sun after a kiss between a Gallagher and a Brennan.
    “And I liked it. I did more than like it. I wanted more. A first kiss has never affected me like that before. It has to be the danger involved. I’m not a teenager. I’m almost thirty years old, and I know my way around the bedroom,” she mumbled.
    She adjusted the rearview mirror and turned on the light above it, so she could see if her lips looked as hot as they felt. Other than two spots of high color in her cheeks, the woman staring back at her was Betsy Gallagher—red hair, green eyes, and a slightly oval face.
    She turned the key in the ignition and had started the engine when her phone rang. Hoping that the Burnt Boot gossip vine didn’t extend all the way to Gainesville, she answered it cautiously.
    “Hello, Granny.”
    “Where are you?”
    “I came to town to see a movie, but the one I chose was a dud so I’m on my way home,” she said. “Do you need something?”
    “Angela is on her way to the hospital and I wanted to be there when the baby comes. I thought you could drive me.”
    “Call Tanner to take you, and I’ll go on to the hospital. If he doesn’t want to stay, you can ride home with me,” Betsy said.
    “That sounds good. I’ll see you there.”
    * * *
    Declan could feel his heart thumping around in his chest as if it wanted to fly out right there in the theater and do a dance down the aisle. He’d kissed Betsy Gallagher and it had been wonderful. It could have been because he was working undercover, or maybe it was the danger of her cousin showing up when he had, but he’d never kissed another woman who’d made him forget where and who he was.
    He ate a couple of handfuls of popcorn and washed it down with the soda pop, but he could still taste Betsy’s kiss, still feel her arms as they snaked up around his neck and clutched his hair as she pulled him in closer. She’d liked the kiss as much as he did, even though later she might swear that she went home and gargled with Jack Daniels to get the taste of it out of her mouth.
    If he was labeled a womanizer, then Betsy was his match. Her temper was only exceeded by her ability to pick up men. He was on his way out of the theater when he got a text message from Leah asking him to come to the hospital.
    Fear replaced all thoughts of Betsy as he nervously hit the button to call Leah. She didn’t answer until the third ring. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he heard her voice and his breath escaped in a whoosh.
    “Are you okay? Why are you at the hospital?” he