The Cowbear's Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch 2) Read Free Page B

least she’d finally, epically, rejected her mother’s insistence on always having good manners. Even though her mother would never know about her torrid act of defiance, Maddie would know, and that was good enough.
    The turnoff to the Curvy Bear Ranch snuck up on her. She missed it and skidded to a stop on the side of the highway. After backing up, she turned onto the narrow road. She hit the odometer and watched it count up. The directions had said to drive for four miles then look for signs.
    Twenty minutes later, she glared at the clock. It blinked eight a.m. Damn, she was going to be late. She hated being late for anything, especially interviews.
    As the sign for the Curvy Bear Ranch came into view, she relaxed. At least she wasn’t that late.
    She drove under the huge sign and onto a gravel road. The ground crunched under her tires as she pulled up to a large cabin-like home. She didn’t know much about the ranch, but she knew they ran a bed and breakfast in addition to whatever else it was that cowboys did.
    As she hopped out of the car, her heel caught on a rock. She stumbled and landed on her knees. She quickly stood to inspect the damage. An angry red welt rose up on her right knee and scratches marred her left. She’d chosen a thick wool skirt and winter coat, but as the wind whipped in from the prairie, she wished she’d chosen something warmer.
    The front door opened. A big, burly man strolled out and descended the porch steps. “You must be Madison Collins.”
    “That’s me.”
    “I saw you fall. Are you okay? Do you need a Band-Aid?”
    “I’m fine. Are you Mack?”
    “No, Mack’s my older brother. He’s out in the pasture right now. He asked me to have you wait in the kitchen over at the B&B. He should be coming in soon. Some of the cattle got loose last night and he’s leading the roundup.”
    “I see.”
    “The B&B’s this way.”
    “I didn’t catch your name.”
    “I’m Hank, but don’t feel bad if you can’t remember my name. With five other brothers, we pretty much answer to any one of our names.”
    Five? Wow. Did everyone up here have a big family? She wanted to ask but didn’t want to be rude.
    As they approached the bed and breakfast, she smiled. “This is great. How many guests can it hold?”
    “Twenty couples.”
    Oh crap. Twenty? How on earth was she going to cook for forty people when she hadn’t turned on a stove in years? “Are you full during the winter?”
    “We sell out every year. This year, we sold out within a week of putting up the availability. I think people know that they need to book early because we’re only open for a limited time. We start two weeks before Christmas and close the week after New Year’s. It doesn’t open again until spring, so people are quick to book space.”
    A rush of dread pooled in her belly. What had she been thinking? On the application, she’d lied. She’d said she was capable of running a bed and breakfast with up to thirty guest rooms. Crap, even if she got the job, there was no way they wouldn’t bust her the first week. This entire trip had been a mistake.
    Hank unlocked the door and swung it open. “After you.”
    When she walked into the entryway, her breath caught in her chest. A huge stone fireplace rose up one wall. Brown leather sofas and overstuffed chairs formed a semicircle around it. Oil paintings depicting scenes from Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons decorated the walls.
    She walked across the wood floor to the enormous living room. One corner boasted floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A section of the ceiling was two stories high. She spotted a rolling ladder and couldn’t wait to explore the books. If she did somehow manage to get the job and keep it, she’d have plenty of reading material. Hopefully there were a few cookbooks mixed in with the other books.
    “Wow, this is amazing.”
    “Our mom used to collect books about Yellowstone and the surrounding area. After she died, we moved all of her books