Read Online And Then You Dare (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 5) by Heather A Buchman - Free Book Online Page A

house as soon
as Clancy drove up. Bill had the truck door open and was running toward her
just as fast.
    “Oh my boy,” she cried, “how I’ve missed you.”
    His little sister wasn’t far behind, tears in her eyes. “Look
how big you’ve gotten,” he said to her.
    “Me? Look at you!”
    “Let me look at you,” said his mama. “She’s right, you’ve
grown a foot or more.” She started to cry again.
    “Oh Clancy,” she reached out to him. “How can I thank you for
takin’ my boy in?”
    Clancy tipped his hat. “No thanks necessary, Mrs. Flynn. Bill
here is a real hard worker. We’re happy to have him up at the ranch.”
    She put her hand on his arm. “It’s more than that, and we both
know it is. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” Bill swore
Clancy’s weathered skin reddened.
    He had a million questions. For starters, whose house was she
living in? He knew it was far nicer than she could afford. He wondered if she
and his sister worked for room and board. He hoped not, but that was the most
likely explanation.
    “Come inside, it’s freezing out here.” She took his hand and
pulled him the direction of the door, and then put her arm around his
shoulders.
    A man came out the same door his mama had. “There’s someone I
want you to meet. Someone very special. Bill, this is Russ Snyder. Russ, this
is my son, Bill.”
    “Nice to meet you,” said Russ, shaking Bill’s hand.
    “You too, sir.” There was something about the man that didn’t
sit right with Bill. Something in his eyes.
    Clancy offered to find another place to bunk for the night,
but his mama insisted he stay with them at Mr. Snyder’s place. He had a guest
room with two twin beds in it, she told him. He and Bill wouldn’t mind sharing
a room, would they?
    After thanking Mr. Snyder and Bill’s mama for their
hospitality, Clancy suggested they call it a night. They’d had a long day of
travel, he told them, and they were both mighty tired.
    Bill wasn’t tired at all, and he doubted Clancy was either. He
hoped this meant they’d have a chance to talk. The longer Bill was around Mr.
Snyder, the less he liked him. His little sister didn’t seem all that fond of
him either. The only person who seemed to like the man was his mama, and she
liked him a lot.
    “You didn’t do a very good job of hidin’ your feelings son,”
Clancy said as he closed the bedroom door behind him.
    “Should I have?”
    “Yes, you should’ve.”
    “Why? You can’t tell me there ain’t somethin’ ’bout the man
that rubs you the wrong way.”
    “No I can’t say that.”
    “Can’t say what? There is somethin’ or there ain’t somethin’?”
    Clancy opened the door a crack. “Let’s wait a bit before we
have this conversation. I think they’re headed to bed too.”
    That was more than Bill wanted to think about. His mama was
sharing a bed with this man, and they weren’t married. If his papa wasn’t
already turning in his grave over his wife being with another man, this would
have him clawing his way out of the ground.
    A few minutes passed. Clancy told him to follow him outside,
and to be quiet about it. They crept down the hall, and out the door by the
kitchen.
    “You’re right young Flynn. I don’t like the man much,” Clancy
began once they were inside the cab of the truck. “Can’t put my finger on why
not, but there’s somethin’ about him.”
    “See? So why’d you say I shoulda’ hid my feelings?”
    “Listen to me now.” Clancy looked over at him. “Are ya
listenin’?”
    “Yes sir,” Bill muttered.
    “Your mama is fixin’ to tell you that she and Mr. Snyder are
gonna get married. That’s the important news.”
    Bill put his head down. He didn’t know what to say. She
couldn’t be planning to marry him. She just couldn’t.
    “I don’t know yet what their timin’ is. Could be next week,
could be next year. Although considerin’ she wanted me to get you down here
right away, I’m