Cowboys and Cradles by Sharon Swan

Author:Sharon Swan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Again Eve looked at the old, handmade cradle, and saw far more. Now she knew why this house was different, why, from her very first sight of it, a sense of ownership had eluded her. She owned it, yes. But the man at her side had a personal claim, one that went deeper than any legal title.

He had been born here.

And now his formidable determination to purchase the Creedence Creek made sense. I believe Quinn wanted this property very badly, Hank Swenson, the real estate broker, had said on the day they’d met. Why, I couldn’t tell you.

Now Ryder, himself, had chosen to tell her. And only her, she reflected with confidence, suddenly sure no one else on the ranch knew what he had just revealed. The question was, how should she respond to that startling admission? As simply as possible might be best, she decided.

She faced him fully, found him studying her, and smiled. “You must have been a beautiful baby, cowboy.”

It won her a small smile in return. “According to my mother, I was a handful from the day I made up my mind to get born in a hurry.”

“And you did it here,” she summed up.

“That’s right. My folks came to the Creedence Creek one stormy afternoon, or so the story goes, when my father heard that a new barn was being built and thought he might get a job. He had several skills—carpentry, in particular. My mother was pregnant at the time with their first and, as it turned out, only child. Without warning, she went into full-blown labor on the way up the drive from the main highway. By the time they arrived at the ranch house, I was champing at the bit to get out. Amos Cutter gave my father some quick directions to this place, which was vacant at the time, and called the nearest hospital.”

“Hmm. Even in an emergency, he wasn’t about to have any female crossing his doorstep, was he?” Eve remarked dryly.

Ryder’s laugh was low and amused. “I guess not. Things worked out fine, though. Apparently an ambulance team arrived just in time to welcome me into the world.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“My mother didn’t think so.”

It was her turn to laugh. “And how long did you and your parents stay at the ranch?”

“Five years.” Something in his tone left little doubt that those early years were remembered fondly. “My father worked at various jobs around the place while my mother studied. She took college courses through the mail, more for the love of learning than to earn a degree.” He paused. “We were happy here, for as long as it lasted.”

But it didn’t last, Eve thought, and knew he regretted that fact by the way his expression sobered.

“When I turned five, my folks wanted to take a tour of the West before I had to go to school the following year. We packed up and left, and spent the next several months almost constantly on the road. They enjoyed traveling, my father most of all.

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