A Cold Creek Noel (The Cowboys of Cold Creek) Read Online Free Page A

sorry I kept you late.”
    “Wasn’t your fault.”
    “Blame my curious dog,” Caidy said with an apologetic smile
that didn’t mask the concern in her eyes.
    Joni shrugged. “Accidents happen, especially on a ranch.”
    Ben felt another twist of guilt. She was right. Even the most
careful pet owner couldn’t prevent everything.
    “Thanks, Ben. You both have a good night,” Joni said.
    “I’ll walk you out,” he said.
    She rolled her eyes—this was an argument they had been having
since he arrived. His clinic in San Jose hadn’t been in the best part of the
city and he would always make sure the women who worked for him made it safely
to their cars in the parking lot.
    It was probably an old-fashioned habit, but when he had been in
vet school, a fellow student and friend had been assaulted on the way to her car
after a late-night class and had ended up dropping out of school.
    The cold air outside the clinic blew a little bit of energy
into him. The snow of earlier had slowed to just a few flurries. The few houses
around his clinic blinked their cheerful holiday lights and he regretted again
that he hadn’t strung a few strands in the window of the clinic.
    Joni’s SUV was covered in snow and he helped her brush it
off.
    “Thank you, Dr. Caldwell,” Joni said with a smile. “You’re the
only employer I’ve ever had who scrapes my windows.”
    “I don’t know what I’d do without you right now,” he said
truthfully. “I just don’t want you getting into an accident on the way
home.”
    “Thanks. Have a good night. Call me if you need me to spell you
during the night.”
    He nodded and waved her off, then returned to the office
invigorated from the cold air. He pulled open the door and caught the
incongruous notes of a soft melody.
    Caidy was humming, he realized. He paused to listen and it took
just a moment for him to recognize the tune as “Greensleeves.” He was afraid to
move, not wanting to intrude on the moment. The notes seemed to seep through
him, sweet and pure and somehow peaceful amid the harsh lights and complicated
equipment of the clinic.
    Judging by her humming, he would guess Caidy Bowman had a
lovely voice.
    He didn’t think he had made a sound, but she somehow sensed him
anyway. She looked up and a delicate pink flush washed over her cheeks. “Sorry.
You must think I’m ridiculous, humming to a dog. He started to get agitated
and...it seemed to calm him.”
    No surprise there. The melody had done the same to him. “Looks like he’s sleeping again. I can take
things from here if you need to go.”
    She looked uncertain. “I could stay. My brother and niece can
handle chores tonight for the rest of my animals.”
    “We’ve got this covered. Don’t worry. He’ll be well taken care
of, Ms. Bowman.”
    “Just Caidy. Please. No one calls me Ms. anything.”
    “Caidy, then.”
    “Is someone coming to relieve you?”
    “I’m not fully staffed yet and Joni has her party tonight and
then her husband and kids to get back to. No big deal. I have a cot in my
office. I should be fine. When we have overnight emergency cases, I make do
there.”
    He had again succeeded in surprising her, he saw.
    “What about your children?” she asked.
    “They’ll be fine with Mrs. Michaels. It’s only for a
night.”
    “I... Thank you.”
    “You’ll have a hefty bill for overnight care,” he warned.
    “I expected it. I worked here a decade ago and know how much
things used to cost—and I’ve seen those charges go up in the years since.” She
paused. “I hate to leave him.”
    “He’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Come on. I’ll walk you out.”
    “Is that a service you provide for every female who comes
through your office?”
    Close enough. “I need to lock up anyway.”
    She gathered her coat and shrugged into it, and then he led her
back the way he had just come. The moon was filtering through the clouds,
painting lovely patterns of pale light on the new snow.
    Caidy Bowman drove