Read Online Winter's Embrace by Kathleen Ball - Free Book Online

wouldn’t he just go back into the barn, and leave her
alone? If weakening her resolve with his sexy stare was his plan, then he was
winning.
    Rachael jumped up and down next to her, admiring their
snowman. Winter had to admit that she was proud of her first snowman. He had a
carrot for a nose and a bright green scarf wrapped around his neck. Winter
lifted Rachael up so she could put an old, red, knit hat on the snowman.
    “I think we did a great job!” Winter hugged her.
    Rachael hugged her back quickly, and then started to
skip around the snowman singing Frosty
the Snowman.
    Her heart grew lighter, happier, until she felt his
stare again. Turning, she stared back, but her stare wasn’t filled with hunger,
it was filled with hostility, at least she hoped it was. Rachael screamed and Winter looked away from Stone. Snoopy had the carrot in his
mouth, running in circles and Rachael was trying to catch him.
    A red truck slowly drove up the drive and Rachael
instantly forgot about the carrot, grew excited, and started clapping. Even
Snoopy came bounding over to greet the visitor.
    A handsome, dark haired cowboy got out of the truck,
and immediately knelt down to catch a running Rachael. He picked the little
girl up, twirled her around, and kissed her cheek. Snoopy plowed right into him
and Winter expected them to topple over, but the
cowboy stood strong. “How is my Ray Ray ?”
    “I have a new mommy!” Rachael insisted on being put
down and grabbed the man’s hand, dragging him toward the snowman.
    “This is Caleb, my bestest friend,” Rachael said with pride.
    “I’m Winter . Nice to meet you.” His quizzical gaze made her blush. “No, I
only work here.”
    “Great to meet you! Maybe we could go out two-stepping sometime.”
    He looked younger than her, but his smile was the
cutest—all boyish and full of life. His dark hair fell down the front of his
forehead and his dark eyes were rimmed in amber.
    “Hey, Caleb.” Stone came out and shook Caleb’s hand. “What’s this about you trying to steal
my girl?”
    They greeted each other, but Winter saw the unspoken communication between them. Stone told him to back off, and
Caleb agreed. Did they think she was blind and didn’t see the looks exchanged?
Stone edged next to her and snaked his arm around her waist. “The O’Malleys are our closest neighbors.
He and his brother Colt own the ranch to the west. They rescue horses along
with a few other ranchers like Jonas Barnes and Holden O’Leary. Holden is a
vet.”
    “Oh, wow, such a worthy cause. Did you say older
brother?”
    “Yep, Colt is a bit older than me.”
    “Is he single?”
    Caleb looked at Stone, his lips twitching. “Yes,
ma’am, he is.”
    “Nice to know.” Winter stepped away from Stone. “Well I need to warm up. It was nice to meet
you, Caleb. You tell your brother to come around and meet me. Rachael, ready to go in?”
    “Nope, gonna stay with
Caleb.”
    “It’s all right, ma’am, Ray Ray is one of the reasons I stopped by. I wanted to see my best girl.”
    Winter walked to the house with a big grin on her face
and as soon as she was safely inside, she began to laugh. So Stone was jealous,
good to know. She thought about his possessiveness, and stopped laughing.
Confound that man he had her turning and twisting in the wind.
    It was cold out there and coffee was what she needed
to warm herself. Caleb certainly was a nice guy. As she refilled her mug, the
door opened, and when she didn’t hear little footsteps, she didn’t bother to
turn around. Stone might want to talk, but she wasn’t ready.
    “Howdy, ma’am.”
    Not recognizing the deep voice, she stiffened before
turning around. “Excuse me?”
    “I startled you didn’t I? I’m sorry. Crabby and I, we
umm, we usually grab coffee throughout the day. It’s no problem if you don’t
want us in here. I didn’t think to ask Stone and…”
    His weight shifted from one foot to the other and he
turned redder with each word. A