His Heartbroken Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 4) Read Online Free PDF

at me and started laughing so hard his drunk ass fell off the chair after that.” Luke shifted his weight, smirking. “I think I just figured out the joke.”
    Mason’s face was definitely bright red now, and not because of the cold wind. “You believe the stuff Cody says any time he’s at The Silver Dollar?”
    “I do now,” Luke answered without hesitation.
    Mason let out a breath and turned to him. It took a few more seconds before he could drag his eyes up to meet Luke’s. “Okay, I’ll own up to it,” he said, quietly. “I took a fancy to your sister when I first met her. I swear that I really didn’t know she was married. I’d been off at the logging camp with Pa when she and Teddy showed up, and I got back after Teddy left. Took two weeks of me mooning over her before Annabelle caught on and set me straight. I couldn’t look Teddy in the eye at first once he returned.”
    “You still like her.” Luke cut to the end of the story Mason was working his way up to telling.
    “What makes you say that?”
    Luke’s grin widened, but his eyes held a certain wistfulness too. “Because you think there’s something wrong besides Teddy’s death,” he said, then turned to continue working. “And so do I.”
    Energy and the desire to run to Libby and protect her with his life surged through Mason’s blood. “So why don’t you do something about it?”
    Luke laughed. “Because she’s my sister. Every time I’ve tried to broach the subject in the past few days, she’s gotten all embarrassed and changed the subject.”
    “What?” Mason paused, blinking. He didn’t understand women at all.
    Luke shrugged. “Eden says that means it’s a girl problem of some sort.”
    “What kind of girl problem? Do girls have problems?”
    “If they do, they don’t tell us,” Luke chuckled.
    For half a second, the conversation felt normal—like two men laughing over all the things they didn’t understand.
    Another half second later and Mason’s fears swept back in, as worrisome as ever.
    Luke glanced over his shoulder, catching the frown. He tossed one more load of hay into the trough, then jammed his pitchfork in the ground and leaned against it.
    “You know, there isn’t much to do around here this afternoon. Lawson and Mike are working on repairs to the other wagons, and Billy’s inspecting the herd. If you wanted to go into town and, I don’t know, visit an old friend and see if she’ll confide in you, I think I could spare you for that.” He finished with a wink.
    Unexpected relief washed over Mason’s shoulders. “You know, I think I might take you up on that offer.” He rushed to finish the job he had in front of him with a smile. “Don’t women like to have someone to talk to about things?”
    “They sure do.” Luke’s smile seemed more relaxed too. “And once you get them talking, trust me, they never stop.”
    Mason laughed, but it had a hard edge to it. “I’m beginning to think that I might not want her to stop.”
    Luke’s grin twitched and his brow furrowed. “I didn’t really know Teddy that well,” he said. “Sure, I met him a couple of times, and he seemed like a really decent guy.”
    “He was,” Mason assured him. “The very best of men. He was a good friend to us while we were living up there.”
    Luke nodded, then went on. “You think he’s the kind of man who would want to know that his wife and sons were safe and well-looked-after now that he’s gone?” There was no mistaking the meaning behind the sideways look Luke shot him. It was a blessing and permission to court his sister if he wanted to.
    “I reckon he was,” Mason answered with a sigh. “But really, that’s up to Libby.”
    Luke nodded, his smile returning. “You’re right. And sometimes my sister takes convincing.” He emptied a load of hay into the trough, then grinned at Mason. “So you’d better get going.”
     
    Libby had no idea that young boys could screech so loud.
    “I’m gonna