Walker Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

might be just that close.
Who could have known--his grandfather, that's who.
    But as far as he knew, the Walkers were bad
people and that was that.
    Nothing could have been further from the
truth.
    Susan walked out of the house and waved. He
gave her a nod as he climbed out of the truck and shut the
door.
    She walked toward him. “What are you doing
out here?”
    “Just taking a drive,” he admitted.
    “Pearl said you got your tux fitted. Thank
you.”
    He gave her a shrug. “I still don’t know why
you want me in your wedding.”
    She reached her hand out and gently placed it
on his shoulder. “You are family. Eric’s brother. No matter how the
past was written, it doesn’t have to be the future.”
    He nodded. “Funny how things happen,
huh?”
    Her eyes were soft as she looked at him. “Can
you stay for dinner?”
    “Oh, I don’t…”
    “Lydia is staying. You might as well stay
too.”
    He looked toward the field where he’d seen
his sister. The thought of going home to where his grandfather
waited didn’t appease him. He shouldn’t be a man in his forties and
afraid of going home.
    “I think dinner would be nice, thank
you.”
    Susan smiled warmly. “I’m glad to hear that.
It’ll be ready in about forty minutes. Eric, Russ, and Ben are up
in the barn.”
    “I’ll head up that way,” Tyson said,
returning the smile.
    He waited until Susan had gone back into the
house before starting his walk toward the barn.
    There were three trucks parked outside of the
barn. His sister’s, and the trucks of two of Eric’s brothers, Ben
and Russell. If he’d been looking for a family bonding moment, it
seemed as though he’d certainly chosen one.
    The men were fussing over a foal and its
mother in one of the stalls. If Tyson were feeling extremely
ornery, he’d have called them out on it, as they looked like three
women ogling over a new baby. As it was, he was curious too.
    “Whatcha got there?” he asked as he
approached and all three turned to look at him.
    He noted the quick flash of disgust that lit
in Russell’s eyes before he must have thought better of it. Ben
simply gave him a nod, but Eric turned with a smile.
    “Hey. Come check her out,” he offered.
    As Tyson approached the gate, Russell and Ben
shifted to one side, as if, perhaps, not to get too close. Okay, so
this family bonding thing hadn't crept over into Eric’s other
brothers—not yet anyway.
    He looked into the stall and saw what had
captured the men's attention. It was a beautiful new chestnut foal
still getting her wobbly legs under her.
    “Now that’s a sight,” he said, his voice
cracking under the emotion of seeing them.
    It never changed, this was something he’d
appreciated since childhood—new life. He could even remember
staring at Lydia when she was newborn with the same enthusiasm. At
thirteen years old he was old enough to appreciate what a baby
meant to the world. He had no idea then how chaotic and strange the
future would become, only that he would vow to protect her for the
rest of his life.
    “Dane bought the mare before he knew he was
getting the job in Ohio. I promised to take care of her,” Eric
said.
    “She’s a beauty alright. What’s her
name?”
    Ben chuckled, “Fairy Godmother.”
    Tyson shook his head. “Is there a book on
naming horses with funny names?”
    Russell lifted his head. “I left a message
for Dane to tell him the foal was here and ask what he wanted to
name her.”
    Eric slapped a hand on Russell’s shoulder.
“Did you give him a suggestion like Cinderella?”
    “Is she the one with the Fairy
Godmother?”
    The four men looked at each other dumbfounded
as if they were supposed to know that. Then Tyson supposed, they
each wondered how they got to talking about that. They each turned
in a different direction and took manly stances as Lydia rode up to
the barn.
    “What are ya’ll doing in here looking
guilty?” she asked as she dismounted her horse.
    “Talkin’ horses,”