The Rancher's Secret Child. Brenda Minton

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       Chapter One

      A car door slammed and a child’s laughter rang out, followed by a woman’s voice. The horse beneath Marcus Palermo skittered across the arena, forcing him to hold tight. He managed a quick look in the direction of the visitors. A woman, tall with dark hair. A little boy with chocolate-brown hair who seemed all excited as he headed for the arena as Marcus made a last-ditch attempt at controlling the horse.

      He had a few seconds to wonder where this woman and boy had come from and how they’d found the place, an old farm situated down a long dirt drive and hidden from view of the road by a copse of trees. He’d only recently purchased the old Brown farm and few people knew he lived here.

      The boy shouted something as he ran toward the makeshift arena that Marcus had built with cattle panels. The horse jerked his head forward and took a few running bucks across the dirt-packed pen. Marcus’s hat flew off. He’d just bought that hat and he liked it. He tightened his legs, but the horse had the upper hand. The black-and-white paint gelding twisted and, with a final hard buck, sent Marcus flying. As he hit the ground, he remembered that he really didn’t like ranching all that much.

      After a minute he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck where it hurt the most. Slowly he became aware of a couple of things. First, the horse he’d been attempting to ride had moseyed on over to the fence. The traitor had his head down like a big old puppy dog so the kid could pet him. The woman’s gaze left the boy and the horse and shifted his way, nervous and a bit guilty.

      Considering she was partially to blame for his bad exit off the horse’s back, she could have at least asked if he was okay. But, no, she only managed to look sheepish as she ran her hand down the horse’s neck. The little boy seemed more curious than anything.

      “No, don’t worry, I’m fine,” he muttered as he came to his feet.

      He limped across the arena and grabbed the horse’s reins because he was a little jealous of the attention the animal was getting. He moved СКАЧАТЬ