Nevada Cowboy Dad by Dorsey Kelley

Author:Dorsey Kelley [Kelley, Dorsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, Romantic Comedy
ISBN: 9781459259508
Google: Lr5oRwjwYNcC
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-07-14T18:30:00+00:00

For weeks after the picnic, Lucy barely saw Rusty. Thanksgiving came and went with only a quiet meal of baked ham, potatoes and green beans. Rusty bowed his head to make a short blessing at the table thanking the Higher Powers for Cricket, the child they all loved, and asked for a mild winter. He ate everything on his plate, thanked Fritzy and returned to work.

Even at subsequent dinners he spoke in monosyllables, gulped his food and found time only to play with Cricket. Within ten or fifteen minutes he was heading back out for a meeting with some stockman or other, or to closet himself making phone calls or pore over paperwork.

The harder he worked, the more Lucy worried. She could see he’d stepped up his activity, and she supposed checks were coming in. She’d driven him away, damaged his friendship by the sorry tale of her miserable marriage. It was all her fault. Bitterly, she regretted opening up to him. Why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut?

Another month passed, Cricket gained several pounds and was now pulling herself up to stand precariously against table legs, bookshelves, even passing ranch dogs who unfortunately refused to stand still. More often than not, Cricket found herself plopping onto her diapered bottom. Howling in complaint, she would quickly crawl after and retry on any canine inattentive enough to stick around.

Her hair was growing, and the auburn down held hints of someday becoming a luxurious sunset-hued mane.

Fascinated by the baby’s almost daily changes, Lucy visited the library in the nearby town of Lovelock and checked out several child development books and spent evenings perusing them. It shocked her—this unexpected affection for the infant that wasn’t even hers. Lucy, a woman who’d never hoped to mother a child, found mothering natural and fulfilling and even joyous. Each of Cricket’s tiny advances thrilled Lucy, filled her with pride.

In Lovelock some civic-minded group had draped holiday banners of green and red across the sheet and bracketed store entryways with poinsettia pots. Christmas was coming. She shopped, careful to keep her gifts modest She had no wish to offend anyone by extravagant spending.

Yet Rusty was remote and unteachable, a work-driven man. While she knew it was nearly impossible for him to amass the required sum, she sadly recognized one immutable fact: he would never quit trying. All his labor had one goal: to oust her off the Lazy S.

Seated on the davenport one afternoon after Cricket had finished her bottle, Lucy forced herself to face the painful possibilities. Would he be able to raise enough money? Would he really throw her out, like old paint cans and vegetable peelings on garbage day? Apprehension poured through her, filled her throat with a cruel, hard lump she could not swallow.

And what about Cricket? In her arms the baby chattered and gnawed through drool on Lucy’s wrist. Something sharp sank into her skin. “Ouch,” she cried, jerking her arm away.

Startled, Cricket gazed wide-eyed into Lucy’s face.

“What’s in your mouth, Cricket?” Lucy asked, bending over her.

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