Her Stubborn Cowboy by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns [Johns, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-05-06T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Chet and Andy stood by the horse paddock after chores were done. The horses were already in the closest pasture, and Chet hooked his boot over the rail of the fence. The paddock was clean, and the dirt still retained the hoofprints. Chet pushed his hat back on his head. A brisk wind chilled his back where his shirt stuck to his sweaty skin. For once, Andy had gone out and worked as hard as Chet had, and Chet had a feeling that his brother was feeling a little bit bad about their argument the night before. They’d said a lot, but they hadn’t talked about the right things—this land, their shared inheritance.

“Look, about last night,” Chet said.

“Forget it.” Andy pulled his hat off and slapped it against his leg. The sun was still low in the sky, the rays flooding Chet’s arms and back with welcome warmth. The pinks and reds of sunrise had melted away, leaving a soft golden glow.

“No, really.” Chet turned away again, unwilling to look his brother in the face while he talked about this. “It’s your relationship. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have butted in.”

Who was Chet to judge, anyway? He’d done something he shouldn’t have in the barn last night. He could still remember the feeling of Mackenzie in his arms, but it was wrong. He shouldn’t have gone there. A night’s fitful sleep had convinced him of that.

Andy was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. “I meant it when I said I should have married Mackenzie.”

Irritation swam up inside Chet’s gut, and he glanced back toward his brother. “That was a long time ago. What makes you think she’d even be interested?”

Andy shrugged. “I don’t know. We really had something at one time. It’s hard to imagine that going away completely.”

Chet could only hope that it had...except that he wasn’t really meaning to start anything up with Mack, either, so he knew that his emotions weren’t steering him straight. If Mack wasn’t going to stay, there was no point in putting himself through that kind of pain, not if they eventually had to part ways. If he ended up having to sell, then the result was the same. Besides, with his brother feeling things for Mack—things that made him want to punch the guy—then what kind of future was really possible between himself and Mackenzie? Any kind of future worth having included the rest of the family, too—including Andy.

And what if Andy got his way and was able to spark something up with Mackenzie again? Could Chet really step aside for the sake of family unity? He tried to picture it and came up with a ball of rage in the pit of his stomach. He’d been able to step back once when they were teens, but he didn’t think he could repeat that kind of honorable sacrifice. Couldn’t they both just leave her alone?

“What about Ida?” Chet asked quietly. “No judgment. I just want to know what happened.

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