Read Online A Cowboy for Christmas by Lori Wilde - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lori Wilde
Tags: Romance, Contemporary
Ads: Link
her plans in action as soon as possible.
âW ell, Jake, what now?â Rafferty sat in his pickup truck parked outside Lissetteâs house. Rain came down slow and steady, dotting his windshield with precipitation and misting the air gray, causing the streetlamps to flicker on prematurely.
When Jake had called him back in June, just before Rafferty left for Australia, heâd said some disturbing things. Some of which Rafferty had told Lissette. He regretted being so frank with her. She had suffered enough. But he felt sheâd deserved the truth.
The one thing he had not told her was that Jake had made him pledge that if he didnât come back from Afghanistan, Rafferty would make sure that his wife and son were taken care of.
Of course heâd agreed. Jake had saved him once and heâd do anything for his older brother. When he found out about Jakeâs bequest, he thought maybe thatâs what he meant. Give Lissette the money. But why not just make her his beneficiary in the first place? Why use him as the middleman? Then the truth of it hit him all at once.
Itâs not about the money. He wanted you in Jubilee to pick up the pieces of the mess he left behind.
Honestly, Rafferty had not expected Lissette to reject the money. She needed it. She had a child to raise. A child who would need specialized schooling.
Lissette was both proud and stubborn. She didnât want pity or sympathy. She just wanted to make her own way in the world. He understood that impulse. He had some pride issues himself.
And he liked seeing her fight back. When he was a kid, he would have given anything if Amelia had been strong enough to stand on her own two feet. Sheâd had no one to depend on, and as a result, sheâd leaned on him hard. From the time he was very young, four or five, it had been like he was the parent and she was the child. He put her to bed when she got drunk. He locked up the apartment at night. He brought her aspirin for her hangover.
Rafferty chuffed out a heavy breath. He probably should have just left the check on the counter and driven away. Reality would have brought her to her senses eventually and she would have put it in the bank.
But there was that promise heâd made Jake. To look after Lissette and Kyle, and right now, she needed a whole lot more than money. She needed an attentive ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on and someone to help her with the boy until she had time to absorb what was happening to her.
He should be that someone.
Only one problem. A surprising problem he would never have anticipated in a hundred years.
He was attracted to her.
In a way he hadnât been attracted to a woman in a very long time, and that was wrong on so many levels. She was vulnerable and hurting and his half brotherâs widow.
The rain drummed down while he dithered. He needed to find a motel, make some plans, and figure out how to convince her to let him help without robbing her of her pride, dignity, and independence.
He was just about to start the engine and drive away when he saw her come out of the side door. Her head was ducked under a big black umbrella. She had on wader boots, and Kyle was on her hip. She rushed toward the detached garage that was just behind and to the left of the house.
She disappeared from his view for a few minutes. Curiosity kept him where he was. She reappeared without Kyle and the umbrella, hurrying toward the sack of oats slumped against the side of the house. It was a fifty-pound bag, and while it had been sitting under the eaves, it was damp.
She bent, tried to hoist the oats onto her slender shoulder. Unceremoniously, the sack ripped open, spilling oats all over her and the ground. She let out a curse and looked ready to have a meltdown.
Rafferty was out of his pickup, crossing the yard in five quick strides. âItâs okay,â he called. âDonât cry over spilled oats.â
She tossed her arms in the air.
âW ell, Jake, what now?â Rafferty sat in his pickup truck parked outside Lissetteâs house. Rain came down slow and steady, dotting his windshield with precipitation and misting the air gray, causing the streetlamps to flicker on prematurely.
When Jake had called him back in June, just before Rafferty left for Australia, heâd said some disturbing things. Some of which Rafferty had told Lissette. He regretted being so frank with her. She had suffered enough. But he felt sheâd deserved the truth.
The one thing he had not told her was that Jake had made him pledge that if he didnât come back from Afghanistan, Rafferty would make sure that his wife and son were taken care of.
Of course heâd agreed. Jake had saved him once and heâd do anything for his older brother. When he found out about Jakeâs bequest, he thought maybe thatâs what he meant. Give Lissette the money. But why not just make her his beneficiary in the first place? Why use him as the middleman? Then the truth of it hit him all at once.
Itâs not about the money. He wanted you in Jubilee to pick up the pieces of the mess he left behind.
Honestly, Rafferty had not expected Lissette to reject the money. She needed it. She had a child to raise. A child who would need specialized schooling.
Lissette was both proud and stubborn. She didnât want pity or sympathy. She just wanted to make her own way in the world. He understood that impulse. He had some pride issues himself.
And he liked seeing her fight back. When he was a kid, he would have given anything if Amelia had been strong enough to stand on her own two feet. Sheâd had no one to depend on, and as a result, sheâd leaned on him hard. From the time he was very young, four or five, it had been like he was the parent and she was the child. He put her to bed when she got drunk. He locked up the apartment at night. He brought her aspirin for her hangover.
Rafferty chuffed out a heavy breath. He probably should have just left the check on the counter and driven away. Reality would have brought her to her senses eventually and she would have put it in the bank.
But there was that promise heâd made Jake. To look after Lissette and Kyle, and right now, she needed a whole lot more than money. She needed an attentive ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on and someone to help her with the boy until she had time to absorb what was happening to her.
He should be that someone.
Only one problem. A surprising problem he would never have anticipated in a hundred years.
He was attracted to her.
In a way he hadnât been attracted to a woman in a very long time, and that was wrong on so many levels. She was vulnerable and hurting and his half brotherâs widow.
The rain drummed down while he dithered. He needed to find a motel, make some plans, and figure out how to convince her to let him help without robbing her of her pride, dignity, and independence.
He was just about to start the engine and drive away when he saw her come out of the side door. Her head was ducked under a big black umbrella. She had on wader boots, and Kyle was on her hip. She rushed toward the detached garage that was just behind and to the left of the house.
She disappeared from his view for a few minutes. Curiosity kept him where he was. She reappeared without Kyle and the umbrella, hurrying toward the sack of oats slumped against the side of the house. It was a fifty-pound bag, and while it had been sitting under the eaves, it was damp.
She bent, tried to hoist the oats onto her slender shoulder. Unceremoniously, the sack ripped open, spilling oats all over her and the ground. She let out a curse and looked ready to have a meltdown.
Rafferty was out of his pickup, crossing the yard in five quick strides. âItâs okay,â he called. âDonât cry over spilled oats.â
She tossed her arms in the air.
Similar Books
