Cattleman's Choice Read Online Free Page B

him to enjoy his company? He disturbed her, unsettled her and she didn’t understand why. Which only made it worse.
    â€œI’ve been too busy for guests,” she said. Her eyes went up to the tattered curtains at the window. “You could use some new curtains.”
    â€œI could use a lot of things,” he said curtly. “This house is falling apart.”
    â€œYou’re letting it,” she reminded him. She put the pot on to boil, grimacing at the grease that had congealed and blackened on top of the once-white range.
    â€œThere hasn’t been any reason to fix it up before,” he said. “Just me, living alone, not much company. But I’ve hired a construction firm to do some renovations.”
    That was startling. She turned to face him, her gray eyes wide and curious. “Why?” she asked without thinking.
    â€œIt has something to do with the reason I brought you in here,” he admitted. He finished the cigarette and crushed it out. “I need some help.”
    â€œYou!” she burst out.
    He glared at her. “Don’t make jokes.”
    â€œOkay,” she sighed. “What do you want me to do?”
    He hesitated uncharacteristically. His face hardened. “Hell, look at me,” he growled finally, ramming his hands into the pockets of his worn, faded jeans. “You told Patty I was too savage to get a woman, and you were right. I don’t know how to behave in civilized company. I don’t even know which fork to use in a fancy restaurant.” He shifted restlessly, looking arrogant and proud and self-conscious all at once. “I want you to teach me some manners.”
    â€œMe?” Mandelyn exclaimed in shock.
    â€œOf course you,” he shot back. “Who else do I know with a cultured background? I need educating.”
    She blinked away her confusion. “After all these years, why now?”
    â€œFemales,” he said angrily. “You always have to know it all, don’t you? Every single damned thing…all right,” he sighed roughly, running a hand through his thick hair. “There’s a woman.”
    She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She stood there like an elegant statue, staring at him. Patty! she thought. It had to be Patty! It was the only possibility that made sense. His unreasonable anger about what Mandelyn had said to Patty, his sudden decision to renovate the house coinciding with Patty’s return to Sweetwater. So that was it. The invulnerable man was in love, and he thought Patty had become too citified to like him the way he was. So he was making the supreme sacrifice and having himself turned into a gentleman. Pygmalion in reverse.
    â€œWell?” he persisted, glaring at her. “Yes or no?”
    She lifted her shoulders. “Surely there’s someone else.”
    â€œNot someone like you,” he returned. His eyes wandered over her, full of appreciation and something much darker that she missed. “You’re quality. A real, honest-to-God lady. No, there’s no one else who could teach me as well as you could.”
    She dropped her eyes to the coffee pot and watched it bubble away.
    â€œLook on it as a challenge,” he coaxed. “Something to fill your spare hours. Don’t you ever get lonely?”
    Her face lifted and she studied him. “Yes,” she said. “Especially since Uncle died.”
    â€œYou don’t date?” he said.
    She shifted uncomfortably. There was a reason for that, but she didn’t want to discuss it with him, not now. “I like my own company.”
    â€œIt isn’t good for a woman to live alone. Haven’t you ever thought about getting married?”
    â€œI’ve thought about a lot of things. What do you want in your coffee?”
    She poured it out and braved the refrigerator for cream. Inside there was a basket of eggs, some unsliced bacon, some moldy lumps and what appeared to have