The Cowboy's Christmas Bride. Patricia Johns

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СКАЧАТЬ a disappointment. But he’d asked Nina to marry him and she’d accepted. What could they do?

      “I don’t want him distracted over that little idiot when he’s dodging bullets,” she retorted. That little idiot was what her mother had called Nina since she’d sheepishly announced she was marrying Brian Dickerson eight months after Brody had been deployed. She’d followed through with that—a tiny wedding she’d agreed to keep secret—and then promptly moved to the city with her new husband. To add insult to injury, Brian had been Brody’s best friend since elementary school. They both were going to have some explaining to do when Brody got back home. As was Dakota when she’d have to tell her brother why she’d kept the secret, and she wasn’t looking forward to coming clean. Brody was going to be crushed.

      Brody was better off without Nina, though. She was flighty and more preoccupied with material objects and celebrity gossip than she was anything worthwhile. She had perfectly coiffed red hair, swaying hips and breasts like melons. She left a cloud of perfume in her wake, and a string of gaping men.

      Nina was a self-involved flirt, much like Andy Granger, but having Nina take up with Brian behind her brother’s back was worse. Brody’s taste might be a little lacking, but he deserved better than that while he fought for his country. Apparently, Nina hadn’t been able to wait long before she got sidetracked by the next available guy. They’d all agreed to keep the secret until he got back. Then Nina could rip his heart out at her leisure, when he was safely home again.

      “Don’t worry, I have plenty to distract Brody with,” Dakota said with a wry smile. “Did you know that Chet and Mackenzie are at the city hospital right now?”

      “I just heard that from Audrey,” her mother said with a frown. “Apparently the babies are low in amniotic fluid and she needs to be under medical supervision. Who’s taking care of the ranch while they’re gone?”

      “Andy.”

      “What?” Her mother looked back. “Seriously? So the prodigal son has come back, has he?”

      “As a favor to Chet, he claims,” she replied, her mind flashing to the meeting at the Granger ranch. “So he’ll be the one leading the cattle drive. I don’t think Andy knows enough to lead one on his own, but apparently he’s going to try.”

      Her mother fell silent and they exchanged a tired look. Andy Granger was old news. They’d talked about him on a regular basis, and he’d grown bigger and badder with each mention.

      Dakota remembered coming back late one night after the construction had started and the water had dried up, and could recall overhearing her parents talking in the kitchen, their voices filtering through the open window. Her father had sounded so gutted, so deeply sad, that his deep voice trembled.

      “Millie, we might lose this place...” There had been a pause so long Dakota’s leg had almost cramped as she’d tried to stay still. “That Granger kid... He did this. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him.”

      Dakota had never forgotten those words or the quivering sadness in his voice. Because of Andy, her father stood to lose the land that fueled his heart, and she was determined to do whatever it took to keep them ranching.

      Hence looking for side work and extra income. She’d taken anything she could get for the last several years, but it had never quite added up to enough.

      “The cattle drive starts Monday,” Dakota said. “So, like I said, I’ll have plenty to update Brody about without having to say much of anything about Nina.”

      “Are you sure you want to do this?” her mother asked. “You agreed to work with Chet, not Andy.”

      “There aren’t that many jobs posted right now, Mom.” Dakota picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and polished it on her shirt. “And the Grangers are paying pretty well. Don’t worry. I can deal with Andy Granger for a few days.” Dakota shot her mother a grin. “I’m pretty sure he’s more afraid of me than I am of him.”

      Her bravado was only partially sincere, though. She wasn’t looking forward in the least to doing a cattle drive with Andy, but the last thing her mother needed was to shoulder more guilt about the family finances. It wasn’t her fault that she’d gotten sick or that the insurance company had fallen through when they’d needed them most. What mattered was that she’d gotten the hysterectomy she’d so desperately needed and was back to full strength.

      “As for Nina...” her mother added. “We only have to keep the secret until your brother gets home in February. Just a few months longer. I’d rather have him find out when he has family support.”

      It was an old conversation—one they’d had a hundred times before—and Dakota stared down at the polished apple in her hands.

      “What about Dad?” she asked cautiously. “I know how he feels about Andy and all—”

      “He’ll be fine. A paycheck is a paycheck.” She smiled wanly. “As long as you think you can handle it.”

      Dakota took a bite of the crisp apple and chewed thoughtfully. Times like these she missed her brother the most. Brody would have some wisecrack to make them laugh and he’d manage to cut Andy down to size in no time.

      “I’m going to go fill the feeders before it gets too late,” Dakota said. They’d done their own cattle drive last month and the whole herd was back in the nearby fields. The cows wouldn’t wait, and she still had to sort out how they’d manage the work while she was gone for a few days. There was one thing she wanted more than anything else, and that was to ranch this very land she was raised on, if only she could get her father to let go of his hopes for Brody taking it over. She glanced down at her brother’s email.

      Is Nina okay? She seems distant, but I guess I’m a bit distant, too. I want to do the right thing and marry her when I get back. I know you don’t like frilly stuff, but any chance you’d pitch in and help to put together a wedding?

      This family was in tatters; their finances were shaky. Right about now, doing a cattle drive with the man who’d dried up their land didn’t seem half bad compared to facing the rest of their problems.

      She needed a paycheck. She’d start with that.

      * * *

      HARLEY WEBB ARRIVED on time with a cigarette behind his ear and a worn New Testament tucked into the front pocket of his fleece-lined jean jacket. He looked young—too young for this job. He’d barely grown a mustache and the rest of his face looked smooth as a boy’s. A cowboy hat sat firmly on his head and his hands looked too big for his wiry physique, like an overgrown puppy. So this was the bottom of the barrel, apparently.

      “Harley, I take it?” Andy asked, shaking the kid’s calloused hand—at least he’d done some hard work in his life.

      “That’s right,” Harley replied. “Good to meet you.”

      While Dakota had the unpleasant surprise of seeing Andy instead of Chet, Andy had been the one to call Harley for an interview, and it was mildly relieving not to have to explain his presence to someone. That being said, he didn’t know this kid from Adam, and he was used to having some sort of personal association with the men who worked the ranch—either they’d worked on a neighboring ranch in the past or were related to someone from the county. Harley, however, seemed to have dropped down from above—a gangly, questionable gift.

      “So СКАЧАТЬ