The Cowboy's Saving Grace, an erotic western novella (Taming the Cowboy) Read Online Free PDF

explaining this well. He was still processing it himself, hadn’t thought about how he’d tell his brother, figured he had another week to work that out. “My kid. She had my kid. I have a kid.”
    Luke dug his fork back into his salad. “Surprised you don’t have kids all over the damn country.”
    Liam waved an impatient hand. “No. This is my first. A little boy. Three years old.”
    Luke winced. “Paternity test?”
    “Don’t need one. No lie, Luke, he looks just like me.”
    Luke stopped shoveling food and frowned. “And you’re taking her word for it? After she hid it from you for three years?”
    Liam blew out a long breath. “We haven’t worked out the whole bit about her hiding it from me, though she said she was afraid I’d make her have an abortion or something. But definitely my kid.”
    Luke sat back and sipped his glass of water. “So what are you going to do? Move to Las Vegas? Marry the girl?”
    Just the word “marry” had Liam’s stomach clenching. “Not sure yet. I’ve known for like, six hours.”
    Luke sat forward again. “I’m telling you. Paternity test. Watch out for her. That was a big damned secret to keep.”
    Liam thought about defending her once more. Asking her to do this was saying he didn’t trust her. But his brother was right. Grace should have told him. He didn’t know what his reaction would have been, before the kid had been born, but he should have had a right to be involved from the kid’s birth.
     
    ***
     
    Liam was used to shutting down clubs, especially strip clubs, but he was generally feeling no pain. Tonight he’d had only two beers, hardly enough after the day of riding he’d had. Hell, he’d hit the dirt so many times, he hurt all over. All he wanted was a couple shots of whiskey and a hot bath. But he didn’t want Noah to smell whiskey on his breath. God knew, Liam had smelled it often enough on his old man’s. He didn’t want his kid to have the same memory.
    “You’re quiet this evening,” Grace said as she placed a Coke in front of him. “Rough day?”
    “Lot to think about.”
    She slid him a wary look. “Made any decisions?”
    “No more than I told you this morning. Luke is in town already. I told him.”
    She opened her mouth to say something but another bartender called to her. Just as well. He didn’t want to tell her that his brother didn’t trust her.
    “I want you and Noah to come to the rodeo tomorrow,” he said when she came back to his end of the bar.
    She lifted her eyebrows. “Are you riding tomorrow?”
    “No, not yet, but I’d like to take Noah down to the arena and show him the horses.”
    “You know he’s only three. He doesn’t sit still very well.”
    Liam grinned. “That might be genetic.” Because God knew he didn’t stay in one place long. How the hell could he be someone’s daddy if he didn’t know how to stay put?
     
    ***
     
    “Come inside,” Grace invited when they reached her apartment.
    Liam looked past her into the dark living room, with the small little night light near the kitchen. He hadn’t intended to come in, just to see her safely home and go back to his fifth wheel. “I don’t want to wake anybody up.”
    “You didn’t wake him up last night, and you weren’t exactly quiet.” She tugged lightly on his hand. “Come on.”
    He followed her into the bedroom, where she closed the door quietly. “Don’t you worry he’ll hear? That he’ll come in?”
    “Teresa took him to the zoo today. I doubt he’d hear a train if it came through the apartment.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted her face. “I thought about last night all day.”
    Ordinarily, he would have, as well, but something bigger had taken control. When he didn’t kiss her, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat. His cock jumped to immediate attention, and he brought his hands to her waist, his arms tensing to push himself away. But he couldn’t make himself do it.
    “I