The Cowboy's Valentine Bride. Patricia Johns

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СКАЧАТЬ out some bowls and plates to set the table. She wasn’t Brody’s girlfriend, and she didn’t need to prove anything. Her goal was to get Brody to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen, and the best way she could see to make that happen was to lure Brody out with food—and his mother’s fantastic cooking was sitting right here waiting.

      An envelope crinkled in Kaitlyn’s back pocket, and she paused. Nina had sent a letter for Brody just as soon as she found out that he was on his way back. That was the deal—she needed to explain her actions herself, except Kaitlyn had hoped she could do it in person, or at least garner up the courage for a phone call. Regardless, once Brody read it, Kaitlyn was supposed to give her sister a call and let her know. That would let Nina off the hook, and she could start announcing her wedded bliss from the rooftops. Mrs. Brian Dickerson.

      Kaitlyn had to admit she was curious about the contents of that letter, but there probably wasn’t anything in there that Kaitlyn didn’t already know. Nina and Brian had been flirting for some time before Brody even left, not that anyone thought anything of it. Brian had driven Nina home from the airport after they’d all seen Brody off. In fact, Brian had been around a lot, so maybe it shouldn’t have been quite so shocking that something had developed between the two of them.

      The outside door opened with a rush of cold air.

      “Morning,” Dakota said as she came inside. She blew out a breath and slammed the door shut again. She pulled off her gloves and unzipped her coat.

      “Where are your parents?” Kaitlyn asked.

      “They went to my uncle’s place. He’s come down with a nasty flu, so they’re helping out with his chores this morning.”

      Kaitlyn nodded. Ranches didn’t stop for pesky little things like vomiting or fevers. Dakota lifted the lid of the porridge pot and inhaled the aroma. What had Mrs. Mason added—nutmeg? It smelled amazing.

      “How’s Brody?” Dakota asked.

      “I got him standing this morning,” she replied.

      “Really?” Dakota grinned. “That’s great! How long do you think it’ll take him to be fully recovered?”

      “I’m not sure.” Kaitlyn frowned. “That depends on him.”

      “Hmm.” Dakota pulled her hands through her hair. “I know we’ve probably manipulated things quite enough, but—”

      “No,” Kaitlyn said firmly. “Leave me out of anything else.”

      “The thing is, we’re going to need Brody around here,” Dakota said, ignoring Kaitlyn’s statement. “Dad will, at least. With Andy and me living on the Granger ranch, and with Mackenzie busy with the new babies, I can’t be running between two ranches forever. I’m exhausted.”

      Kaitlyn could sympathize. Dakota was a new wife, and she was trying to support the running of two different ranches. It wasn’t a fair workload. But then, Brody wasn’t exactly a candidate for ranch work, either.

      “He’s not in any condition to do chores,” Kaitlyn said. “Right now, Brody has to focus on recovery.”

      “It isn’t that. The problem is, when I talked to Brody last night, he didn’t seem like he wanted to stay,” Dakota said. “At all.”

      Kaitlyn’s stomach tightened. Brody wasn’t intending to stay in Hope? For some reason, she’d assumed that he was home safe...for good. Obviously, it was a presumptuous conclusion, but she hadn’t seriously considered him leaving again.

      “I didn’t realize,” Kaitlyn said quietly.

      “So we need to convince him to stay,” Dakota said.

      “We?” Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, I’m done with interfering. I highly doubt Brody would welcome our meddling, either.”

      “He’s always liked you—”

      “I don’t think he likes me as much as you think.” She smiled wanly. And he may like her even less after he saw the letter from Nina. She pulled the envelope from her back pocket and tapped it against her hand. “My sister sent a letter to explain things to Brody.”

      “What did she say?” Dakota asked, lowering her voice.

      Kaitlyn shrugged. “No idea. But I have to give it to him. He deserves to hear from her.”

      Dakota nodded, but she eyed the letter in distrust. “I just wish I knew what she said...”

      “We aren’t opening it,” Kaitlyn said.

      “No, of course not.” But Dakota looked a tiny bit sheepish. “You have to give it to him.”

      “The sooner the better, right?” Kaitlyn asked. “I don’t want to make things harder on him, but it might actually help him make sense of what happened.”

      There was a rustle behind them.

      “Give me what?”

      Both women turned to see Brody in the doorway. He’d managed to get his crutches, but he had to hunch over them. They looked like matchsticks compared to his bulky frame. His expression was taut, and his lips were pale. He was in pain, but he’d managed to get out here on his own, and Kaitlyn couldn’t help the grin that came to her lips. She hurried to his side and reached to steady him.

      “I’m fine,” he grunted. “Let me do it.”

      Kaitlyn stepped back, feeling slightly stung, not that she entirely blamed him. Dakota pulled out the closest kitchen chair, and Brody sank into the chair with a wince.

      “You okay?” Dakota asked her brother. “You look...white.”

      Brody nodded slowly. He’d be nauseated after that exertion, Kaitlyn knew, and she slid a glass of water in front of him. He took a sip and some of the color came back to his face.

      “So what are you supposed to give me, but don’t want to part with?” Brody asked, glancing between them.

      Kaitlyn sighed and held out the envelope. “A letter from Nina.”

      Brody eyed the envelope in Kaitlyn’s hand, then took it from her, his rough fingers brushing against hers. He looked ready to tear it open, then he sighed and tucked it into his front pocket.

      “Aren’t you going to read it?” Dakota asked.

      “Probably.” Brody cast his sister an annoyed look. “What’s it to you?”

      “I’d kind of like to see what she has to say for herself,” Dakota retorted, and when Brody glanced in Kaitlyn’s direction, Dakota went on, “Oh, don’t worry about Kaitlyn’s feelings. We’re all pretty much on the same page when it comes to Nina and Brian.”

      Kaitlyn shrugged—Dakota was right. They’d all hashed through this so many times that the eggshells were no longer necessary. They all thought Nina was a nitwit for what she’d done, and they all knew that there wasn’t a thing they could do about it. Nina had made her choice, and they’d all have to live with it. Including Brody.

      “Nina wanted to СКАЧАТЬ