The Next Mrs. Blackthorne (Bitter Creek Book 6) by Joan Johnston

Author:Joan Johnston [Johnston, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Bitter Creek, Saga, Family Drama, Summer, Wedding, Socialite, Sacrifice, Consequences, Protect, Rejection, Federal Judge, Terrorism, Trial, Suspense, Danger, Threat, Past, Daring, Second Chance, Adult
ISBN: 9780743454414
Goodreads: 327210
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2005-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

10

“Hasn’t that boy done enough work for one day?” Jocelyn asked.

“He’ll be done when I say he’s done,” North replied.

Jocelyn stepped in front of North, hands on hips, and glared into his wintry eyes. “When will that be? When he’s fallen down with exhaustion? You’ve been working him like a mule for a month.”

“He looks fine to me,” North said, eyeing Breed, who was digging postholes, a job most cowboys looked on as punishment. Only his protruding hip bones kept the lanky boy’s jeans from sliding on down, and his bare, bronzed torso glistened. The brim of the battered straw hat North had lent him was dark with sweat.

“He’s as stubborn as you are, that’s for sure,” Jocelyn said. “Don’t you see he’d sooner die than quit? You’ve pushed him hard all day, and he’s never once complained. What are you trying to prove? That he’s no Grayhawk? Well, he’s not! Your father made that clear when he named the boy.”

“Sassy swears he is,” North said.

“Is what?” Jocelyn queried, when North didn’t continue.

“A Grayhawk. She says she never slept with another man when she was married to King.”

Jocelyn followed North’s narrowed gaze and studied the black-haired, silver-eyed, bronze-skinned boy. “How is that possible?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” Jocelyn said.

North tugged off his leather gloves as he spoke and tucked them into his back pocket. “One of my ancestors was an English nobleman, the earl of Grayhawk. The earl was some sort of black sheep and came west before the Civil War hunting his fortune. When folks started calling him ‘Mister’ Grayhawk, he didn’t correct them.”

“How do you know all this?” Jocelyn asked.

“Mom was into genealogy. She figured out ‘Mister’ Grayhawk must have been Christopher Kingsford, the fifth earl of Grayhawk. His younger twin brother inherited the title.”

“So you come from good English stock,” Jocelyn said. “I don’t see how Breed—”

“I’m not finished,” North interrupted.

Jocelyn lifted a brow, telling him to go ahead.

North’s lips curled sardonically before he continued. “ ‘Mister’ Grayhawk married a Sioux woman in Montana and settled with her in Wyoming. They had four sons. Only one of them looked Indian, but they all carried her blood. It’s there, all right. Which is why Breed looks the way he does.”

“Are you saying Breed really could be your father’s son?” Jocelyn asked incredulously.

North shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. King can’t repudiate him. He’ll inherit along with the rest of us, so what’s the difference?”

“The difference is that he’s grown up with the stigma of being a bastard. The difference is that his father rejected him at birth. Does Breed know?”

“Know what?”

“That he might actually be King’s son?”

North shrugged again. “That Sioux great-great-grandmother of ours is no secret.”

“Then why would King deny Breed is his son?”

North looked at her and smirked. “I think it has something to do with Sassy flaunting her indiscretions in King’s face before the boy was born.”

“I thought you said she never slept with anyone else.”

“That’s what she admitted to me. That’s not what she told my father.

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.