The Rancher Takes a Bride Read Online Free PDF

his embrace, to welcome the comfort he was offering. She wanted to soak up his scent, his strength. She turned to tell him this was too much, that she couldn’t accept it, but when she turned, his arms went around her, and he pulled her close, bending to drop a kiss on the top of her head. It was what she’d dreamed of, and the last thing she wanted.
    No, she didn’t want to need him. But she couldn’t make herself pull free from the embrace and all it offered.
    â€œIt’s just a house, Oregon. It isn’t a commitment. It isn’t a ridiculous proposal offered on the spur of the moment. It’s a place to live.”
    â€œIt’s too much,” she tried to insist.
    â€œYou’ve raised my daughter alone for twelve years. I think I owe you a home to live in and more. Let me do this.”
    She nodded. “Thank you.”
    â€œThank
you
. For bringing her here...and for telling me.”
    Behind them they heard the sound of crutches on the tile floor of the kitchen, then the squeak of the screen door. Oregon wiped her eyes and moved away from him to face her daughter. Lilly looked from Duke to Oregon, her eyes wide, suspicious.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Lilly asked.
    â€œLet’s sit down out here and we’ll talk,” Oregon said with a lightness she was far from feeling.
    â€œI’ll get us a glass of tea,” Duke offered.
    Oregon nodded, accepting the offer as she held out a chair for Lilly. Her daughter sat and was immediately joined by the dog.
    â€œWhat’s your dog’s name, Duke?” Lilly asked.
    â€œDaisy.”
    â€œVery manly,” Lilly teased. Her smile was back, but she wouldn’t offer it to Oregon.
    Duke returned with three glasses of tea on a tray. “I stocked the fridge and cabinets.”
    â€œYou didn’t have to do that.” Oregon didn’t want him taking over, feeling as if he suddenly had to provide for them. Her shop, selling handmade creations of her own design, was doing quite well. She hadn’t come here for support, for money. She just wanted her daughter to have what she’d never had. A real dad. A place to call home.
    â€œI know I don’t have to, Oregon. I wanted to make things easier for you.”
    â€œWhat if I’d said no?” she countered as she lifted the glass, condensation making the outside damp and cold.
    â€œOkay, could we not start some kind of family disagreement,” Lilly said. And then she looked at the two of them. “We’re not a family.”
    Oregon bit down on her bottom lip and let her gaze slide to Duke. He was looking at her daughter, at
their
daughter. Oregon nodded when he looked to her for direction.
    She had to do this.
    * * *
    â€œLilly, we need to talk.” Oregon began with those words, and Duke couldn’t disagree. He didn’t know any better way to start. But now that the words were said, he wondered if they should have given it more time. Maybe they should have prepared Lilly in some way. This was big news for a kid.
    It had been pretty big news for him.
    â€œOkay.” Lilly sank her fingers into Daisy’s black-and-white coat, and she looked at Duke as if he could make this any easier. He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging, hang-in-there smile.
    â€œDuke and I knew each other a long time ago. We met at a rodeo when I was eighteen.”
    The words hung between them, and he felt like an acrobat on a tightrope, hanging precariously above this situation. Lilly continued to pet Daisy. She dropped her gaze to the dog with its tongue hanging out, a dog smile on her face. Daisy whined and moved in closer to Lilly, as if sensing that this wasn’t good.
    â€œHow many years ago?” Lilly raised those blue eyes and looked from her mom to him.
    â€œAlmost thirteen years.” Oregon spoke in a quiet voice, her gaze shifting from her daughter to him.
    â€œThirteen,” Lilly whispered, her face pale, her