Claiming Her Cowboy by Tina Radcliffe

Author:Tina Radcliffe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-10-17T15:08:44+00:00

Chapter Nine

“This was a lot more fun than I anticipated,” Jack said. His gaze followed the triplets, whose laughter was unleashed like a kite tail as they raced around the gravel playground.

“I’m guessing your expectations were quite low.”

“Gloating is not an attractive trait, Lucy.”

She chuckled as she bit into her cone, releasing melted vanilla ice cream onto her chin.

He grinned as she struggled to catch the drips that ran leisurely over her fingers.

“You can stop laughing and hand over the napkins.”

He offered a stack of napkins.

“You and the kids shoveled in a lot of ice cream and toppings in a very short amount of time. In fact, I’m pretty sure your sundae was mostly chocolate sauce.”

He leaned back against the bench. “Shoveling in ice cream like a kid. I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“No? You caught right on, like an old pro.”

“Which is why I am recovering on a bench, while they run around,” Jack said. He turned to Lucy. “The park was an excellent idea.”

“If you feed kids sugary treats, you have to let them run it off. That’s rule eighty-six.”

“Right after ‘don’t break promises’?”

“No. ‘Don’t break promises’ is near the top.”

“Exactly how many rules are there?”

She shook her head as she seemed to consider his question. “Too many to count.”

Jack stretched his arm along the back of the bench, accidently touching Lucy’s warm shoulder. For once she didn’t move away, and he allowed himself to pretend that she welcomed his touch.

“Excuse me?” a voice said from behind the bench.

Jack and Lucy both turned to see an elderly couple standing behind them, with a beagle on a leash. Jack stood, as did Lucy. “Yes, ma’am?” he asked.

“Your children are simply adorable. And so well behaved.”

“They—” Lucy began.

Jack interrupted. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Thank you so much.”

“You certainly are blessed,” the woman added.

“That we are,” Jack said.

“Would it be all right if our little pup said hello to them? He so loves children, and he never bites.”

“Of course.” He took Lucy’s hand and they followed the couple to the triplets. Once again, Lucy didn’t resist.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Let’s not disappoint them.”

Dub, Ann and Eva petted the little dog for several minutes. As the couple walked away, Dub raced to Jack.

“Jack! Jack! That man thinks you’re my dad.”

“He does?”

A small wistful smile settled on Dub’s lips. He looked up at Jack. “I wish you were my dad, Jack. I do.”

“Thank you, Dub. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Dub raced back to his sister, and Jack’s gaze followed. Worrisome thoughts nipped at him. He turned to Lucy and reluctantly released her hand.

“What will happen to Dub and his sisters at the end of summer?” he asked.

“They’ll go back into foster care.” She glanced away, her expression solemn.

“Separate homes?” A knot twisted his gut.

“Once they leave the ranch, it’s out of my hands. Of course, the ideal scenario is one home, but the likelihood of that is slim.”

“Have

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.