Read Online Ryelee's Cowboy by Kathleen Ball - Free Book Online

She was a fraud and a liar.
For her baby’s sake, she had to try to remain calm, but waiting for
the other shoe to drop was going to be agony. She had become too
enmeshed in this family to come away with her heart and soul
intact. Finally, she fell into a fitful sleep.
     
    ****
     
    Clint put Rheenie to bed and walked
into his study where he poured himself a shot of whiskey. He needed
something. Talking about Jill had been difficult. He was glad
Ryelee had been there. Rheenie deserved to know about her mother,
and he didn’t know if he could have done it without Ryelee’s
support.
    He drank his whiskey, looking out at
the vast darkness of the Texas sky. He missed Jill. She had been
his high school sweetheart. She was so beautiful with light brown
hair and big hazel eyes. They married young and had Rheenie right
away. A car accident had left her in a coma and Rheenie with her
leg brace. Somehow, their insurance had lapsed. Jill handled all
the bills, so he wasn’t sure how it happened. In the end, his ranch
went into foreclosure a year after Jill died.
    He ran his hand over his whiskered
face and sighed. Had it only been a year? It seemed a hell of a lot
longer than that. He looked at his desk calendar and realized that
Thanksgiving was only a week away. Where does all the time go? His
sense of time had come unbalanced.
    For Rheenie’s sake, he would have to
make Thanksgiving the festive holiday it was supposed to be. God
help him, he didn’t even know where to start.
     
    ****
     
    Clint came home to make lunch and was
pleased to find Rheenie and Ryelee visiting with Annie Dawson.
Always a ray of sunshine, she had been a good friend to him and
Rheenie. He caught her gaze as he strode into the room and quickly
made his way to her side to give her a kiss on the
cheek.
    “Well hello, cowboy,” she said
warmly.
    “Fancy meeting you in a place like
this,” Clint replied with a huge smile.
    “Thanksgiving is this Thursday, and I
was just inviting y’all over to the ranch house for
dinner.”
    Clint looked at Rheenie’s excited
face. “Of course we’d be delighted to come. I do have to admit I
was wondering what we were going to do with Ryelee on bed rest and
all.”
    Annie stood up and hugged Ryelee and
Rheenie. “Problem solved.”
     
    ****
     
    The days leading up to Thanksgiving
were very confusing for Ryelee. Rheenie “nursed” her, and she
played along like a trooper. Rheenie so wanted to help, and Ryelee
adored her for it. There were no more Band-Aids. Somehow, they had
disappeared. Clint carried her upstairs every night, holding her
close while looking at her with desire. By morning, annoyance
replaced desire as he carried her back downstairs.
    Ryelee didn’t know what to think. She
really had no experience with men. She didn’t count her father as a
man—he was just a disaster. By Thanksgiving, she was a bundle of
nerves. She wanted to yell and scream at Clint, but at the same
time, she wanted to kiss and hold him. Her emotions jumped all over
the map. Her eyes were quick to mist in the morning when he was
cold to her, but her smiles at night were just as quick when he was
gentle and sweet.
    She looked in the mirror as she pulled
her hair back. She did look healthy. She hadn’t realized how gaunt
she looked before. Stepping back, she admired the black maternity
dress—the finest thing she had ever worn. She hoped for a good day.
She had much to be grateful for this year.
    Rheenie insisted on dressing herself.
The plaid skirt didn’t quite match the polka dotted top, but
Rheenie seemed rather proud of herself, so Ryelee didn’t have the
heart to say anything. She grabbed Rheenie’s hand, and they walked
down the stairs together.
     
    * * * *
     
    Clint waited at the bottom of the
steps as Ryelee and Rheenie approached one-step at a time, and his
eyes fastened on Ryelee. She looked so sophisticated in her black
dress, he could hardly take his eyes off her. After fighting his
feelings for her all