Red's Hot Cowboy Read Online Free Page B

reason I’m here. Spiders are like dogs. They know I’m scared of them so they follow me,” she whined.
    “Well, it’s a dead bug now.”
    A team of wild, longhorn bulls wouldn’t make Pearl admit to a customer that what she’d killed was deadlier than a common house spider. Next week she’d call the exterminator. It wouldn’t stop the problem but it would slow it down. Scorpions were as native to Texas as sexy cowboys and rodeos, and when it got cold they went looking for a warm place to hole up. The woman trying to walk six inches above the floor wasn’t a native of Texas or she’d know the difference between a spider and a scorpion.
    “Thank you.” Georgiana’s voice didn’t match her size. She could be a Dial-Up-Sex woman with that sweet little girl voice. “I’m sorry I said that about your motel. God, I can’t wait to get home to Buffalo, New York.”
    Pearl had her hand on the doorknob but stopped in her tracks. “What in the hell are you doing in Texas on Christmas?”
    “I was maid of honor for that married couple. She was my roommate in college and he’s my second cousin. I introduced them. I flew into Dallas and I’m flying out tomorrow. I’ll be back home by late tomorrow night, and it won’t be a minute too soon,” Georgiana said.
    “Well, the bug is dead. Sleep well and be careful on the trip to Dallas. Roads might be slippery.” Pearl eased out the door.
    The door to room one opened when she reached that side of the motel. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and all the wise men, did she have to run into him every damn time she went on a room service call? Digger pranced at the end of a bright red leash and Wil had enough sense to put on his jacket.
    She pointed toward the road. “There’s a doggy section over there.”
    He nodded. “That’s where we’re headed.”
    She was about to open the lobby door when she caught a movement in her peripheral vision. The texting granddaughter had slipped out of room five and was headed straight for Wil. She wore high-heeled boots, a denim miniskirt, and a bright red halter top that didn’t have enough fabric in it to sag a clothesline much less keep her from frostbite if she stayed outside very long. When she walked under the porch light of Wil’s room, Pearl could see too much makeup and shoulder-length blond hair that had had a recent session with a curling iron.
    Wil didn’t even know that trouble was headed his way in the form of cute little jailbait. He was watching Digger sniff every frozen blade of grass in the small area.
    Pearl sighed. She should let Wil take care of himself. He was a big boy and could most likely set that little bit of fluff straight with a stern look and a few words. She didn’t owe him protection with the $49.95 room rate. But she couldn’t let her motel get a bad reputation. It might be old and antiquated, but it did have a reputation for being clean, cheap, and quiet.
    “Hey, Wil, darlin’, you think you could get that dog to hurry up?” she yelled.
    He jumped like he’d been shot and turned so quick that he almost dropped the leash. “What did you say?”
    “I asked if you could get that dog to do his business any faster. It’s cold out here and there’s a warm bed waiting,” she said.
    Wil looked back and waved at Pearl. “I’ll be right there,” he yelled. “Soon as Digger does his business. Open up a beer for me.”
    The room five girl popped her hands on her hips and almost fell when she spun around. When she passed Pearl she gave her a look that would have turned the devil’s pitchfork blue.
    Digger melted the sleet on a section of grass and then pulled at Wil to take him back to a warmer place. Pearl waited until the girl was in the room and the door shut before she reached for the lobby door. The wind continued to blow hard enough to slap the sleet against the windows with little pinging noises like a whole army of terrorists attacking the Longhorn Inn with BB guns.
    Wil reached the door at the same