Three Reasons To Wed. Helen Lacey

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ cattle to the herd? He hadn’t done any of that. Instead, he put the money in trust for the girls and got on with running the ranch as he always had. Business was steady and he made a good living. Good enough to run the ranch at a profit and take care of his family. The O’Sullivans thought way too much of their own opinions, and they’d never believed him good enough for Liz.

      But he’d loved her. She was kind and caring and had been an incredible mother to the girls and an amazing wife to him. She was what he’d needed when his dad died and he took over the running of the ranch at just twenty. Liz supported and understood him. And he didn’t regret one moment of the years they had together.

      “Grady?”

      Marissa’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Right, the bull. I’ll see he’s out of your way.”

      “Sure,” she said. “Can I see the girls soon? I have a few gifts for them. I missed being here for Breanna’s birthday last month.”

      He knew Marissa was generous. And seven-year-old Breanna adored her, as did five-year-old Milly. Tina, who was only two and half, also seemed to light up whenever Marissa came to visit. And since he loved his daughters more than anything, Grady would do whatever he could to make them happy.

      “Of course,” he replied. “I had Cassie come around this morning after you called to watch them until I get back.”

      Her brows shot up. “Cassie?”

      “My neighbor, remember? She’s married to Tanner McCord.”

      Tanner was his closest neighbor and friend and was recently married with a baby and another on the way. Cassie McCord had been a godsend in the past few weeks.

      She nodded as though her memory was kicking in. “Oh, right. What happened to Mrs. Cain?”

      “Left last month,” he said of his former housekeeper. “She moved back to Deadwood to be with her daughter.”

      “So the girls are eating your cooking?” she asked, widening her eyes provocatively. “Poor little things.”

      Grady grinned and curled the halter and lead in his hand. “They don’t mind it. As I recall you’re the only one who objects to my skill on the grill.”

      She gave a brittle laugh. “Skill? It’s always raw. That’s searing, not cooking.”

      He shut the door. “Let’s not get into another argument about how to best serve steak, okay?”

      Because he liked it rare. Marissa liked it well-done.

      They never agreed on anything. Never had. Never would. The only link they had was Liz, and since his wife’s death only his daughters had kept their association alive.

      “Agreed,” she said and followed him down the path and through the side gate. “And your bull busted some of the fence palings, by the way. So they’ll need to be repaired. You can send someone over to do it if you like.”

      Grady got the message. Someone. Not him. “You’re not much of a morning person, are you?”

      “What?”

      “Seems like you left your manners on the other side of the bed this morning.”

      She stopped in her tracks. “I did not. And I’m being perfectly—”

      “Obnoxious,” he said, cutting her off. “Give it a rest, Marissa. I know you had a long drive yesterday and you’re upset about Miss Violet, but you called and I’m here. I’ll take Earl home and get my foreman to come over and repair your fence, and if you want to drop by today or tomorrow to see the girls, that’s okay. But can you ditch the attitude? I really don’t have the time for it. I’ve got beef to get to market this week and I’m interviewing for a new housekeeper, and I don’t want the kids to pick up on any tension between us.”

      She stared at him. Glared at him. And he waited for her to respond, to go on the offensive. To give it back to him in spades.

      “Tension?” Her eyes widened. “Is that what it is?”

      Grady shrugged. “I don’t know. All I do know is that sometimes being around you is kind of exhausting.”

      When she didn’t say anything, he left her and walked toward the bull.

      * * *

      Obnoxious? Attitude? Exhausting?

      Perhaps she had been a little mean-spirited and irritable about the bull, but that didn’t mean he had to tell her off about it.

      She followed him, hands on hips, and watched as he effortlessly harnessed the bull and began to lead him across the lawn. He had a way with animals. Kids, too. She’d witnessed how much his daughters adored him on many occasions. Liz had adored him, too. And he’d adored Liz in return. Her friend had told her how much she’d loved being his wife. How caring and loyal he was. How faithful and strong.

      Faithful? It wasn’t a concept in marriage she was used to. Simon had betrayed her too many times. And within months of their wedding he’d cheated on her with a colleague Marissa had once considered a friend. In hindsight she knew she should never have married her boss, no matter how charming he had appeared. When she’d confronted him, he became verbally abusive, and later, that verbal abuse turned into violence. That’s when she’d bailed...and she thanked her lucky stars she’d had the mental fortitude to escape. She’d told no one what had transpired. She had no one to tell. Liz was gone by then and she had no intention of burdening Aunt Violet with such knowledge. So she had stayed quiet and kept her problems to herself. She’d changed firms but Simon had already made it impossible for her to get the kind of position she was qualified for. He was top in his field, a true corporate shark, and pulled a lot of weight in a town where reputation was everything. And once Marissa’s reputation was tainted, there was nowhere to go, no company that would take a risk with her, despite her stellar résumé and experience.

      So, even before Aunt Violet’s accident, she was planning on returning to Cedar River. She wasn’t running away. She was starting over. Carving out a new life with new possibilities. To help Aunt Violet and fulfill the promise she’d made to Liz to always be there for her daughters.

      And being at odds with Grady from the outset wasn’t going to make that easy. So she sucked up her irritation and took a breath.

      “I don’t mean for us to always end up arguing, you know.”

      Grady stilled when she spoke, tightening his grip on the lead rope as he stared at her.

      “You don’t?” he queried and grinned a little. “It’s the tension thing, then?”

      Earl snorted loudly and she took a wary step backward. She wasn’t much of a cowgirl. She didn’t even know how to ride. Liz had looked awesome in the saddle, and she knew Grady’s two oldest daughters had ponies of their own.

      She dropped her arms. “It’s just that we...we...”

      “We’ve never gotten along,” he finished for her. “Yeah, I know.”

      “But I think we should try, for the girls’ sake,” she added. “They mean the world to me.”

      “And СКАЧАТЬ