Winter's Embrace (21 page)
Henry laughed and Crabby
looked mad. “Near about going on ten years. That’s all you’ll get out of me.”
He turned to Henry. “At least I have a gal. I don’t know what you’re whole
story is but you need to get yourself a woman.”
Henry blushed and continued to
take care of his horse without responding.
Stone shrugged. Out here, a
man’s business was his own. He’d known plenty of hands who had hard luck
stories. He also knew that it did no good trying to get them to talk about it.
“Car coming,” Crabby said.
“I didn’t hear anything,”
Henry said.
“That’s because God blessed me
with supersonic hearing and a melodious voice.”
Stone grinned at his old
friend. “Damn if you aren’t right. I hear it now.” He headed outside. Damn it
was Stu. What did he want now? Stone waited for the car to get closer, and he
went to stand beside the driver’s door, making it impossible for Stu to get
out.
“What are you doing here?”
Stone glowered at him.
“I came to talk and see
Rachael.”
“Do your talking now. You’ll
be leaving momentarily.”
“I have papers that will
change that. I have visitation rights.” He appeared flustered.
“Now answer me this, is it
Clare you want or a daughter?”
“My
daughter.”
Stone studied his cousin for a
minute. “Okay. I’ll ask again are Clare and Rachael a package deal? Because if
you think that Clare would make a good mother, you are dead wrong. If you
really have Rachael’s best interests at heart, I suggest you ask Clare who is
going to stay home to raise your daughter. Who is going to get up every day
early to get her ready for school? What if Rachael gets sick? Clare wouldn’t go
near her. You might have good intentions but I know Clare. I’ve been waiting
for her to demand money in place of Rachael.”
Stu looked confused. “Clare
has plenty of money. Her daddy is a rich old son of a bitch.”
Stone shook his head. “Where
have you been? Clare’s father is in jail for fraud. He stole all the money
people invested with him. There is no money. In fact she called me a few weeks
ago begging to come back.”
Stu closed his eyes and leaned
his head back against the headrest. He took a couple of deep breaths. “Damn
her. I need to talk to her. But as far as Rachael is concerned, I do want her.”
“Well, good luck with that. It
costs money to go to court.”
Stu was visibly upset. “I need
to talk to Clare.”
Stone took a step back. “See
ya.” He watched Stu turn his car around and drive away.
He spotted
Winter
out of the corner of his eye, and turned toward her. The worry on her face made
his stomach clench.
“Stone?”
She
stood on the porch in bare feet.
“I think Stu has some hard
thinking to do.” He strode toward her and picked her up. “Your feet must be
freezing.”
“I didn’t even notice. What
did he want?”
Stone walked into the house
and placed her in her favorite chair near the fireplace. “He came to see
Rachael.”
Alarm crossed her face.
“I told him Clare wasn’t rich
anymore, that’s why she called here. I guess Stu doesn’t read the news. He
seemed shocked. I also asked him who would take care of Rachael because Clare
wouldn’t.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he needed to talk to
Clare.”
“But—”
“No buts. I know what’s going
on, finally. My best guess is that Clare will show up soon, and offer to sign
papers giving up all rights for the right amount of money.”
She wrung her hands. “I don’t
have much, but you can have all I’ve got.”
Every time he thought he loved
her so much, she did something to make him love her even more. “Honey, we don’t
have to worry about money.”
“What do you mean? I know that
ranching has good years and bad, but you can’t use all your money. What if you
have a bad year, you could lose your ranch.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Winter’s eyes narrowed. “Just
how rich are you? Nothing in this house says rich. Your truck is
old,
I just assumed that we had to watch our pennies.”
“And you married me anyway?”
“Of
course.
I don’t care about money. All I need is you and
Rachael and a roof over our heads.”
Stone took her hands and
pulled her up. “I must have done something right to deserve you. As for money,
I’m hardly home, and I didn’t have a need to buy things. You might want to ride
in my helicopter. We’ll be using it soon. Spring is here and we need to make
sure to have all the pregnant cows close to the ranch.”
“You own a helicopter? I’d
like to sit in it on the ground only because of my fear of heights.” She
shuddered and put her arms around his waist. “I don’t think I’ll be taking any
rides.”
“I can’t wait for spring, when
everything is fresh and green. It always reminds me of your eyes.”
“You
sweet talker.
Too bad Rachael’s nap is almost over.”
He held her tight and kissed
the top of her head. “I have to go on a trip.”
She pulled away to see his eyes.
“I need to talk to Clare
before this goes any further. I’ll offer the money and I’m pretty certain
she’ll go away.”
“What about Stu?”
“I don’t know. I feel sorry
for the guy, but not sorry enough to turn Rachael’s life upside down.”
Winter nodded. “Make the deal
that both have to sign.”
Stone pulled her close again.
Being with her made everything
seem
possible. “I don’t
know why I didn’t think of that.”
Epilogue
It had been the most beautiful
spring that
Winter
had ever seen. Scanning the
horizon, she understood why Stone had picked this place to call home. It had
been such a surprise to see the crocuses, then the tulips. The house was
surrounded by red tulips. When she asked Stone about them, he just smiled. Later
that day, he brought her a photo of the two of them together, dressed for the
prom and she wore a red tulip on her dress. It embarrassed her that she had
forgotten, but it touched her heart in a million ways.
Now the warmth of spring was upon them and she loved
it. It didn’t feel as hot as Texas.
The screen door opened and Rachael came bounding out.
There was always a smile on her face. They had a lot of fun pouring over seed
catalogs, planning a garden. Her days were spent with Rachael but her nights were
reserved for her big, strong, handsome cowboy and he never disappointed.
Stone walked out of the barn and winked at her. “Let’s
go and get this done.”
Crabby walked over and laughed at Snoopy, who was
chasing his own tail. “Today’s the big day. Good luck.”
Rachael beamed. “I’m ‘
dopting
everyone to be legal. I’m ‘
dopting
Mommy, and Daddy,
and Spot.”
Winter looked around her. She’d finally gotten her
happiness. It had taken a big payoff to Clare and few threats to Stu to get
them to sign over their parental rights. There had been many nail biting
moments before they both agreed to sign.
Winter grabbed Stone’s hand, pulling him to her. “I
love you, cowboy.”
“I love you too, Winter.” His gray eyes pierced her.
“Me too!
Don’t forget me!” Rachael took both of their hands and led them to the truck.
“Let’s be legal.”
Stone smiled at
Winter
.
“Forever legal, forever in my heart.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Don’t you forget
it.
”
*The End*
About the Author
Sexy Cowboys and the women who love them...Finalist in the 2012 RONE
Awards.
Top pick, five star series from the Romance Review. Kathleen Ball
writes contemporary western romance with great emotion and memorable
characters. Her books are award winners and have appeared on best sellers lists
including Amazon's Best Sellers List, All Romance
Ebooks
,
Bookstrand
and Secret Cravings Publishing Best
Sellers list. She is the recipient of eight Editor's Choice Awards, and The
Readers' Choice Award for Ryelee's Cowboy. There's something about a cowboy....
www.kathleenballromance.com
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Other books by Kathleen
Dawson Ranch Series
Texas Haven
Ryelee's
Cowboy
Cowboy Season's Series
Summer's Desire
Autumn's Hope
Winter’s Embrace
Coming soon-
Spring’s
Delight