Read Online Cowboy Daddy by Carolyne Aarsen - Free Book Online Page A

tell Mr. Cosgrove that he’s working on a Saturday too and we’re wasting time here.”
    Justin frowned, then laughed. “He is Uncle Kip,” the little boy said with a grin.
    â€œHe is many things,” Nicole returned, her gaze still on Kip.
    His eyes narrowed as if he caught the inference but wasn’t sure what to do with it. Instead of saying anything, he handed Justin down to her.
    â€œI’m taking the boys to see the puppies. Is that okay?” she asked.
    â€œJust stay away from the horses. I’m going back foranother load of hay,” he said, his voice brusque. “Make sure you keep the boys away from the tractor too when I come back.”
    Before she could think of a suitable reply, he had closed the door and started up the tractor again.
    She bit her anger back, took a breath to calm herself, then looked down at the boys. No sense in letting them know how angry she was with their uncle.
    â€œLet’s go,” the boys said, dragging her by the hand toward the barn.
    â€œWe’ll first go see your grandmother and then we’ll go see the puppies,” Nicole said.
    They ran across the yard ahead of her, laughing and screaming like two young colts.
    Nicole smiled at the picture of utter freedom.
    When Nicole and the boys got to the house, Mary was watching television. She brightened when the boys came into the living room.
    â€œHey, there, my boys. Do you want to watch a movie with me?” she asked.
    Nicole was about to protest.
    â€œCan we watch Robin Hood? ” Justin asked before she could speak.
    â€œI’ll go get it,” Tristan said.
    Nicole stifled a beat of disappointment. She’d hoped to spend her time with the boys alone, just the three of them. She had looked forward to being outside with them, walking around the ranch, not sitting inside a stuffy house watching television.
    But Mary was their grandmother and she was simply the outsider, so she said nothing.
    The boys popped the movie in and settled on the couch to watch. Nicole sat with them for a bit but got fidgety.She’d never enjoyed watching television like her sister did. She had preferred reading and doing crafts.
    â€œDo you mind if I tidy up?” she said to Mary.
    â€œYou don’t have to do our work,” Mary protested, pushing herself up as if to get up out of her wheelchair.
    â€œI don’t mind. I’m not much of a television person, and I don’t mind, really. You sit with the boys and I’ll wander around here.”
    Though she had grown up with a housekeeper, years of living in foster homes had given Nicole a measure of independence, and she had always kept her own room neat and later on, she did her own laundry.
    So Nicole tidied and cleaned, washed dishes and did another load of laundry while the boys sat mindlessly in front of the television.
    What a shame, she thought, wishing she had enough authority to turn off the television and make them come outside.
    Finally, the movie was over and Nicole came into the living room. “I think we should go outside now.”
    â€œI’ll have a nap,” Mary said. She smiled at the boys. “Now don’t go and tell your Uncle Kip.” She winked at them and they giggled. Then she glanced at Nicole. “Kip doesn’t let them watch television during the day.”
    If she’d known that, Nicole thought, she wouldn’t have let them. But she didn’t know the politics and the hierarchy of this particular household, though she was learning.
    She turned to the boys. “Now you’ll have to show me where those puppies are,” she said. They each took one of her hands and as she looked down at their upraised faces a wave of love washed over her.
    It surprised her and, if she were honest, frightened her. Each time she saw them it was as if one more hookwas attached to her heart. The pain of letting go could be too much.
    But that wouldn’t happen, she reminded