A Ranch for His Family by Hope Navarre

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

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ROBYN FOLLOWED NEAL slowly as the implication of what he’d said sank in. Once. He had betrayed her once. Did it make any difference how often?

No, of course not. And yet it did. It wasn’t the calculated, deceptive affair she had been led to believe. And if what he said was true, it was nothing like the deception she had carried out.

The horses splashed into a shallow creek. She jerked hers to a halt as Neal’s horse scrambled up the opposite bank. When he realized she wasn’t following, he stopped and gave her a puzzled look. She stared at him for a long moment.

He sat on his horse with the grace of a man born to the saddle. If his ribs still pained him, it didn’t show. The scar on his face was fading. Soon it would be only a faint white line. The eye patch had become a familiar feature, and she hardly noticed it anymore. She had been right that day by the spring. Underneath it, he was still the same man, a man she had loved with all her heart.

Why hadn’t she had the courage to confront him all those years ago and learn the truth? What a mess she had made of her life. Of both their lives. What was there to talk about? She couldn’t undo what she had done.

She had promised Colin on his deathbed that she would never reveal Chance wasn’t his child. She had already broken that promise by telling Neal the truth. Edward and Clara doted on Chance. How could she tell them another man had fathered their only grandchild, their only link to their beloved son? She couldn’t do it. It would crush them.

She’d had no way of knowing Neal would come back into her life when she had made that promise. She’d never dreamed Neal would want to be part of Chance’s life. How had it become so complicated?

A slow grin spread across Neal’s face, deepening the crease in his cheeks. He leaned an arm on the saddle horn. “I think his hooves are clean now.”

She flushed as she realized her horse was still standing in the water.

Neal pushed his hat back on his head and smiled at her. Her heart flipped over. In that instant, she knew where taking a break in the shade would lead. Back to the same thing that had happened at Little Bowl Springs. She’d be in his arms again in no time. This craving to be with him had to stop.

“I have to go back.” She needed to think, and she couldn’t do it with Neal only a few feet away. She pulled her horse’s head around and rode out of the creek.

Neal straightened in the saddle. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just need to go back now. You go on.”

“I’ll ride back with you.” He nudged his horse back down to the water.

“No! I said I’m fine.” Panic filled her. She had to get away and get her emotions under control.

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.