A Cowboy for Mom Read Online Free PDF

trusted him. He was, after all, her
father. “So why don’t you have kids and a wife and stuff?” she asked as she
stepped forward to let the animal eat from her hand and laughed, a laugh that,
if he listened, sounded just like his own. “That tickles.” She giggled.
    Chuckling, he stroked the mare's neck while he stared past
her, his gaze slightly unfocused. “I had only one woman in my life that I
really cared for and could have loved for eternity. She was amazing, stunning,
and could make even the most stern old fart in town smile just to hear her
laugh. She left while I was in the hospital, I don’t know where or why, just
left. I didn’t find out until months later, when I could finally communicate
with everyone to ask about her. My sister told me she’d heard of the accident
but apparently didn’t care. She ran off with some guy and that was the last
anyone heard.” He smiled sadly and shook his head slowly. “I just hope she
found the happiness I obviously couldn’t give her.”
    Straightening, he waved her toward the doorway before
sliding the stall door shut. “You’re awfully nosey for a teenager. Shouldn’t
you be full of angst and rebelling against the system or something?” he asked
with a teasing grin while they moved to the next stall.
    Carrie snorted. “My mom is too good to me for that,” she
admitted. “And what if that wasn’t what happened?” She gave the second mare a
pat after it finished the apple. “Did you ever try to look her up? You know,
sometimes what you think is true and what is true, well, they aren’t exactly
always the same things.” She shrugged and pulled back. Shoving her hands in her
pockets, she added, “Besides, if you cared that much about her, why didn’t you
tell her?”
    “I thought I had all the time in the world,” he said
quietly. They were moving to the third mare, where he talked softly and checked
her over before they left the stall. He sat on a hay bale and pulled his
Stetson off, running his fingers through the blond strands. “My biggest regret was never knowing what I did wrong to send her running. I
tried to find her for awhile but I had no clue where to even begin. Plus, at
the time, I was trying to save this place from ruin, working eighteen hour days
when I got out of the hospital, and then time just seemed to have passed me
by.”
    Setting the hat on his knee, he pressed his palms to the
bale as he leaned forward a bit. “I know I likely could have tried harder, but
honestly at the time I thought I’d done all I could with my limited resources.
Besides, she never once contacted me either so maybe she really didn’t feel
anything for me beyond a passing bit of emotion.” Shrugging, he looked to her
then. “I just really hope she found whatever she was looking for and has all
she ever dreamed of. As long as she’s happy, then I suppose it’s best she left me when she did.”
    Carrie sat down beside him and shrugged. “I don’t know.
Maybe she did, but I don’t think she did.” She shrugged. “You could ask her,
you know,” she said with a grin. “I know for a fact she’s sleeping in your
guest room…well, no, I take that back. Right now, she’s standing there giving
me a shitty look.” Carrie rose and walked toward her mom. Over her shoulder she
called, “See ya, Pops .” And then she disappeared into
the darkness.
    Monica just stood there. She could kill Carrie. Holy
shit, I’m ready to die. This isn’t possible. It really isn’t. My daughter did not
just say that, did she?

Chapter Four
     
    Carson sat there staring after Carrie for a long time before his
eyes finally moved to her face. He had a look on his face somewhere between
confused, stunned, and absolutely unsure. Standing, he held his Stetson down by
his leg as he stared at her, a look of concentration coming over his face as he
appeared be trying to resolve some inner turmoil.
    “What did she mean by all that?” he finally said, his voice
hesitant and