The Rancher's Surprise Daughter. Jill Lynn

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СКАЧАТЬ other, Luc. Four years, four months.” So like her to have the details exact.

      He simply stared, not knowing how long they analyzed each other before he managed to make use of his voice again. “What are you doing here?”

      “I—” Her hands clenched together in her lap. “I need to talk to you about something.”

      Ah. This felt like safe ground. She must need something. Help, he could do. Love? No, ma’am. They’d tried that once. There’d been some immaturity on his part—he could admit that—but mostly he’d loved her, and she hadn’t believed him.

      “What do you need?” Even after all of this time, after how they’d left things...he wouldn’t turn her away. But hopefully once she said what she needed to, she’d leave. Luc refused to ride that kind of emotional roller coaster again. Since Cate, he’d barely dated. It was easier to focus on work. He had a good life running the guest ranch with his sisters. He was fine on his own. Work might be a lonely companion, but it didn’t leave him shattered like Cate had.

      “You’re going to need to sit down.” Her voice came out quiet. Beaten.

      “That bad, huh?” Sadness and maybe even a little fear poured from her, and his pulse thundered with curiosity. “Come with me.”

      When she stood, he led her down the hall to his office for some privacy since a staff member could come through at any moment. Cate shuffled along behind him as though he was directing her to an execution instead of a cushioned seat.

      The small space housed a desk, two filing cabinets, framed photos of his family and the ranch in various stages over the years, plus the Top Twenty Guest Ranch Award they’d received the past two years running. Luc motioned for Cate to sit on the charcoal futon that took up one corner.

      She sank down, eyes glazed, almost as though she was in shock.

      For a moment Luc considered sitting next to her, but the air in the room was already on short supply. Unwilling to risk the close proximity, he perched back against the desk instead, stretching long legs out to hold him steady.

      Cate wore a navy shirt with white capris and camel-colored sandals. And even though she looked put together—gorgeous, which he was nowhere near willing to admit—something was definitely off. Luc was almost positive moisture shone in her soft chestnut eyes.

      The silence tortured him. “Just tell me, whatever it is.” How bad could it be? His mind raced with possibilities. Her parents had been pretty tough on her. Could it be something with them? But what would that have to do with him?

      She sucked in a breath, apprehension flitting across her face before she opened her mouth and let loose. “My daughter needs to have surgery.” A hand momentarily pressed against her lips as though stemming the flow. “That wasn’t how I planned to say that.”

      “You have a daughter?” Her revelation pierced like a stab wound. Luc would expect that Cate had moved on after him, despite the fact that he’d never accomplished the same himself. But even now, after all of this time, she still felt like his.

      But she wasn’t. He searched her finger for a wedding ring, but the skin was barren.

      Luc shook off the crushing blow. It didn’t matter. Their past—her decisions since then—had nothing to do with him. She had a sick daughter. He’d deal with that now. The rest? He’d wait until after she left to process.

      “Do you need money?” Where was the father? Why was she coming to him for help?

      “No. I need...you.”

      He had to be missing something. It had been a long time since Cate had needed him. None of this made sense.

      “I didn’t know until you’d left. I didn’t find out until you’d been gone for over a month that I was pregnant, and then I kept waiting for you to contact me, to try to fix things between us. But you didn’t.”

      He resisted a growl. “You told me not to.” What she’d said...how she’d said it...he’d never forget it.

      “I know what I told you.”

      His gut bounded for his boots like a loose boulder on a steep hill as he processed the rest of what she’d said. I didn’t find out until you were gone that I was pregnant.

      “Cate.” His voice was low and barely existent, but he managed to spit out the question rattling his mind while shock and disbelief ricocheted through him. “What are you saying?”

      Remorse brimmed again, and Luc read the truth in the soulful depths before she spoke.

      “I’m saying...I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. And that she’s yours.”

      * * *

      Catherine Malory thought she’d understood humility, but she’d never been brought so low as this moment. Who walked into the life of a man she’d lied to, hid a child from for years, and just blurted out that he was a father?

      Luc would hate her. And she deserved it. In the beginning she’d felt vindicated keeping Ruby to herself—especially with the way Luc had left and how Cate had grown up being torn between her selfish parents. The feeling of being unimportant had never left her, like a disease that infiltrated her bones.

      She’d been attempting to put Ruby first. To protect her. But Luc would never understand that.

      He pushed off from the desk, a long, lean giant in a heather-brown Wilder Ranch T-shirt, faded jeans and boots. “I...have a daughter? You’re saying she’s mine?”

      His words ached with a misery that resonated in her own chest. What had she done? “Yes. I’m so sorry. I know an apology isn’t enough. I just—”

      “Where—” Luc scrubbed a hand through maple hair, though the short cut left little room for mussing. “Where is she?”

      “She’s here.”

      His head rolled back as if he’d taken a blow to the jaw.

      “We came in, and your sister Emma was headed out to the barn. I remembered her from you talking about her, but of course she didn’t know me. She offered to show Ruby the horses after hearing I needed to talk to you. I tried to say no, but Ruby begged to go with her.”

      And Cate had realized the conversation would be much easier without Ruby present. She hadn’t processed through that before she’d gotten in the car and trucked out here. But what would she have done with Ruby anyway? She didn’t have family to watch her. A friend would have, but Cate didn’t like to be separated from her daughter. Especially with the girl’s heart condition.

      “Emma’s great with kids.” Luc’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Ru-Ruby will be fine.”

      Their daughter’s name coming from his lips for the first time sent Cate scrambling to keep her careening emotions under control.

      “Why are you here now after all of this time? What changed? And how do I know...?” Luc’s chest expanded. Cate could imagine his heart beating triple time, because hers felt as though it might explode. His heated hazel eyes held hers. “How do I know she’s mine?”

      She’d СКАЧАТЬ