Hope on the Range by Cindi Madsen

Author:Cindi Madsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2021-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The flames from the bonfire were dying down, and the scent of roasted hot dogs and smoke hovered in the air. Brady shifted forward in the canvas camping chair to accept the cup of vanilla-and-chocolate swirled ice cream with a wooden spoon on top.

“Thanks,” he told Ma, who beamed. Nothing could diminish her happy mood tonight, and her ear-to-ear grin sent happiness through him as well.

For most people, Friday signaled the end of work for a few days, but when it came to the ranch and caring for teenagers, there was no end. Brady’s excitement over Fridays came from them being bonfire, hot dogs, and s’mores night. As long as the weather permitted and the kids earned it, that was, and the teens had been extra well-behaved this week. No talking back, only one tardy between the lot of them, and they’d done their chores without having to be hounded.

Their chill Friday night had turned into a celebration when Jessica and Wade announced they were going to have a baby. Brady had acted his ass off, afraid of what would happen if Ma found out he’d heard the news before she did. Now she was passing out celebratory ice-cream cups, and Brady resisted the urge to make a bet over who’d be the first to end up in a sugar coma. Him, probably.

Brady squinted through the fire to where Harlow and Chloe sat side by side. Maddox had come back early from their ride, with the others showing up about ten minutes later. It’d looked suspiciously like Harlow had been crying, and he’d been observing the dynamic between her and Maddox ever since.

I swear, I told that kid to be nice to her. I made myself very clear. Nick had warned Maddox to behave himself around Harlow as well. This was why Wade was a stickler about never crossing lines and keeping the drama low. The teens already had heaps of drama, so adding to it was like juggling three sweaty sticks of dynamite. One wrong move, one slip, and boom! It blows up in your face.

After falling for Jess despite the rules, Wade had become less of a stickler, but he was hardly lax. The only reason Chloe and Aiden were allowed to date was because they’d both graduated from the program. The other teens had crushes here and there, sure, but the staff closely monitored them. Brady had noticed Maddox and Harlow had been spending a lot of their time together chatting and laughing, but it seemed more like a mutual friendship that was good for both of them.

Shit. I’m the one who put them together for roping. Brady had also thought working on the car together would solidify them as a team and give Maddox’s progress in the program a boost.

I’d better fix it before it gets any worse.

And if Maddox had threatened or hurt Harlow in any way… Safety was of the utmost importance, and if Brady had to, he’d enforce the harshest punishment. Even if it meant kicking Maddox out before they’d had a chance to break through to him.

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