The Cowboy's Secret by Jill Kemerer

Author:Jill Kemerer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-01-09T19:37:33+00:00

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Gabby couldn’t stop peeking at Dylan all the way home. They’d finished their shopping—she’d done a double take at his enormous bill but kept her mouth shut—and stopped at a nearby coffee shop for a snack and to give Phoebe her bottle before heading back. At the coffee shop, he’d told her about some of the places he’d visited last year. She hadn’t realized he was so adventurous. He made it sound easy, riding a train from Paris to the Alps.

She’d been out of the state only a handful of times. She couldn’t imagine traveling around the world, especially by herself the way Dylan had. Hadn’t he been scared? Worried about not speaking the language? Lonely? Homesick?

He must have had a larger inheritance than she’d originally assumed. She wanted to tell him to hang on to his money. Invest it. It was nice of him to buy Phoebe some clothes, but she’d rather see him save for his future.

There she went again, assuming she knew everything about him. Who was she to conclude he didn’t save? He could have a 401(k) tucked away and everything.

Casting a glance at his tanned arms lightly gripping the wheel, then up to his handsome profile and the T-shirt hugging his biceps, she mentally rolled her eyes at herself. Sure, he’s got a 401(k), a financial advisor and an accountant to boot. Didn’t all cowboys? She smiled at her own joke.

“What’s the story on your dad?” He peered at her, keeping one eye on the road. The blue sky and green hills were empty and peaceful. “Or do you not want to talk about it?”

“I don’t mind. My heart isn’t so sore about it now.” She thought back to the last time she’d seen him. Mom had kicked him out, and he’d been hauling his belongings out in trash bags. He’d come inside and reached for the framed family photo of the four of them, and Mom had swiped it out of his hand. You ruined this family! You can’t have the picture. It’s mine! And Gabby had glared at him, hating him for cheating on Mom. After her mother stormed out of the room, Allison had tiptoed to him and handed him the photo. He’d hugged her tightly while Gabby watched, her eyes burning with so much anger.

The anger had faded to a general wariness with time, but there was still a part of her that blamed him for destroying their family. He hadn’t only cheated on Mom. He’d cheated on her and Allison, too.

“Dad was, for lack of a better word, charming,” she said. “I thought the sun rose and set around him when I was a girl. He was gone a lot—working on local ranches or driving trucks—but whenever he was around, he made us feel special. Bought us toys, took us out for ice cream, that sort of thing.”

“But?” He glanced her way, and she was relieved to see compassion in those brown eyes.

“But when he wasn’t around, it was if we didn’t exist.

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