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

visibility was shot.
    Although a freak snowstorm in Texas was not unheard of, the fact it was sticking around was extremely unusual. But then, the droughts that had plagued South Texas and destroyed crops weren't normal, either.
    What a pain, though, that nature chose to wreak havoc at this time. When she was stuck alone with Monty Joe at the Nelson Ranch.
    She found some small apples in the refrigerator, and she sliced a few. She might need them to tempt the horses out of the pasture and back into the barn.
    By the back door, she wrapped herself in the scarf and jacket, then pulled on the gloves and stepped outside.
    She'd show Monty Joe. This time she wouldn't mess anything up.

 
     
     
    Chapter 13

     
    It hadn't taken more than a few apple slices to entice the horses back into the barn and their stalls. They didn't like the cold weather any better than she did, and they seemed content with their fresh straw and a little grain.
    Billy the goat had dogged her every step. Unlike the horses and their stalls, he apparently didn't like his pen. But before she left, she needed to get him back into it.
    However, he wasn't beside her anymore, giving her gentle head-butts of encouragement.
    "Where have you gone, Billy?"
    She sped through the barn, looking high and low for the goat, but couldn't find him.
    The barn door was open, though.
    She gulped.
    He wouldn't go out in the cold, would he?
    Stepping outside into the snow, she looked in every direction, but saw no sign of him. Considering his fur was light, she supposed that wasn't surprising.
    The animal would freeze to death if he didn't get back inside where it was warm.
    "Billy," she called.
    He didn't respond. She turned and firmly closed the barn doors. Surely she'd find the goat as she made her way back to the house.
    With each step she took without finding him, she worried all the more.
    * * *
    Monty Joe bounced a tennis ball against the wall and back. Channel surfing hadn't turned up anything on TV to hold his interest, so he'd landed on the local weather channel. The forecaster sounded hopeful the skies would clear tomorrow.
    That was good. Maybe phone service would come back on. Will Miller could send over a man to take care of the horses until Monty Joe's ankle mended enough to take care of them himself.
    He could deposit Lori at the airport.
    And life could go back to normal.
    His brow creased. Why didn't that sound as good as it had only a day ago?
    Just as he began to ponder the sinking pit in his stomach, the house plunged into darkness. The power had failed.
    Maybe the breakers had tripped.
    Maybe the power lines were down, which was more likely.
    Either way, he couldn't do much about it. Stumbling around in the nearly dark house with a bum leg wouldn't remedy a thing.
    Long minutes of brooding passed.
    Frustrated by his lack of choices, he leaned back on the sofa and tried to think about what they could do if the power didn't come back on soon.
    He had a generator, but it weighed about three hundred pounds, and he didn't think Lori was strong enough to pull it out of the shed, much less knowledgeable enough to set it up.
    There were candles in the emergency kit he kept on hand, but he preferred not to have open flames in the house—not with Lori on the loose. There were electric lanterns out in the shed, which would do for providing light.
    Keeping the house warm was another issue. Lori could bring in some of the firewood stacked at the side of the shed.
    Would she know how to set up a fire?
    If not, he could give her directions from the sofa, or in a pinch, she could help him take the few steps to the fireplace.
    Then it occurred to him that maybe he hadn't been thrilled about life returning to normal because Lori wouldn't be here to order around, or take him down a peg or two.
    Maybe that was why he felt so listless right now.
    It might merely be the situation he found himself in, unable to move about, and the situation they found themselves in, alone during