Read Online Elly: Cowgirl Bride by Trish Milburn - Free Book Online
Authors: Trish Milburn
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she’d been hurting so much? All her respect and admiration for her father disintegrated around her. She wanted to scream and curse, but now wasn’t the time or place.
“Don’t say anything to your father,” Anne said.
“Why not?” Elly couldn’t prevent the bitterness that coated her question. She felt as if it was oozing out of her pores.
Anne looked back over her shoulder. “This is something your father and I have to handle.”
The knowledge of what was going on at the homestead right at that moment weighed on Elly. She didn’t like keeping anything from her mom. Being the only girl, she and her mom had always been close. Close enough that she could well imagine what it must have been like to find out her husband had not only had an affair but had fathered a child with another woman, a child who was the brother of her daughter’s best friend. No wonder she was sitting at the kitchen table alone, crying. Living next to a lie did that to a person.
God, she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Didn’t even want to think about it.
“Do you need any help?”
Anne shook her head. “Honestly, if you don’t mind, I think I’d like to be alone.”
The words would have hurt if Elly didn’t know this was how her mom always dealt with major upsets. She baked and wanted to be alone with her own thoughts until she sorted through things.
“Okay,” Elly said, but it took her several moments to force herself to her feet and walk out of the kitchen. She paused at the doorway and looked back at her mother. “I love you, Mom.”
Anne met her gaze and gave her a sad smile. “I love you too, honey. Now, go ride or something. Days are ticking away until Denver.”
Even amidst all the turmoil in her own life, Anne was able to think about her children and what was important to them. It’s what made her such a wonderful mother.
Someone who should have never been betrayed.
Elly trudged toward the front door then outside. She stood on the edge of the front porch and let her gaze run over the miles of Cody land in all directions. This ranch was as much a part of her as the blood pumping through her body. If her father’s mistake had endangered that, she’d never forgive him.
She tried to shake away the doubts, wanted desperately for this entire situation to not be true. Not because she disliked Mark. No, that was Jesse’s department. But she ached for her father to have never done what he had.
Maybe everyone was wrong. Even if her dad had an affair, that didn’t mean Mark was his son. After all, Tomas Hansen had raised Mark as his own. Wouldn’t he have known otherwise? Maybe Jesse was right in his demand for proof.
Or maybe the knowledge that Mark wasn’t his son was what had driven Tomas to drink.
Unbidden, memories of Abigail Hansen looking at her in an odd way rose to the surface. At first Elly had thought she’d imagined it. Later she’d attributed it to the onset of Abigail’s Alzheimer’s disease. Never had she suspected what might have truly been running through Abigail’s head—that her son was a Cody, too, that he deserved the wealth and privilege as much as Elly and her brothers. Not the hard life he’d had with Tomas Hansen as a father.
She stepped off the porch and returned to the golf cart. The sound of her mother’s pain echoed in her head as she drove back down the road toward the main area of the ranch. As she approached the homested, she noticed Will coming out of the house and heading for his Yukon. Quick and irrational anger exploded within her at his involvement. She just wanted all of this to go away, to have never seen the light of day. But here Will was digging for a truth and consequences she didn’t think she wanted to know.
How could she look at Will and not think about what had brought him back into her life? He’d be tainted, and she wanted him to remain untouched by the ugliness of the situation. Maybe she could convince Jesse to hire another attorney so she
“Don’t say anything to your father,” Anne said.
“Why not?” Elly couldn’t prevent the bitterness that coated her question. She felt as if it was oozing out of her pores.
Anne looked back over her shoulder. “This is something your father and I have to handle.”
The knowledge of what was going on at the homestead right at that moment weighed on Elly. She didn’t like keeping anything from her mom. Being the only girl, she and her mom had always been close. Close enough that she could well imagine what it must have been like to find out her husband had not only had an affair but had fathered a child with another woman, a child who was the brother of her daughter’s best friend. No wonder she was sitting at the kitchen table alone, crying. Living next to a lie did that to a person.
God, she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Didn’t even want to think about it.
“Do you need any help?”
Anne shook her head. “Honestly, if you don’t mind, I think I’d like to be alone.”
The words would have hurt if Elly didn’t know this was how her mom always dealt with major upsets. She baked and wanted to be alone with her own thoughts until she sorted through things.
“Okay,” Elly said, but it took her several moments to force herself to her feet and walk out of the kitchen. She paused at the doorway and looked back at her mother. “I love you, Mom.”
Anne met her gaze and gave her a sad smile. “I love you too, honey. Now, go ride or something. Days are ticking away until Denver.”
Even amidst all the turmoil in her own life, Anne was able to think about her children and what was important to them. It’s what made her such a wonderful mother.
Someone who should have never been betrayed.
Elly trudged toward the front door then outside. She stood on the edge of the front porch and let her gaze run over the miles of Cody land in all directions. This ranch was as much a part of her as the blood pumping through her body. If her father’s mistake had endangered that, she’d never forgive him.
She tried to shake away the doubts, wanted desperately for this entire situation to not be true. Not because she disliked Mark. No, that was Jesse’s department. But she ached for her father to have never done what he had.
Maybe everyone was wrong. Even if her dad had an affair, that didn’t mean Mark was his son. After all, Tomas Hansen had raised Mark as his own. Wouldn’t he have known otherwise? Maybe Jesse was right in his demand for proof.
Or maybe the knowledge that Mark wasn’t his son was what had driven Tomas to drink.
Unbidden, memories of Abigail Hansen looking at her in an odd way rose to the surface. At first Elly had thought she’d imagined it. Later she’d attributed it to the onset of Abigail’s Alzheimer’s disease. Never had she suspected what might have truly been running through Abigail’s head—that her son was a Cody, too, that he deserved the wealth and privilege as much as Elly and her brothers. Not the hard life he’d had with Tomas Hansen as a father.
She stepped off the porch and returned to the golf cart. The sound of her mother’s pain echoed in her head as she drove back down the road toward the main area of the ranch. As she approached the homested, she noticed Will coming out of the house and heading for his Yukon. Quick and irrational anger exploded within her at his involvement. She just wanted all of this to go away, to have never seen the light of day. But here Will was digging for a truth and consequences she didn’t think she wanted to know.
How could she look at Will and not think about what had brought him back into her life? He’d be tainted, and she wanted him to remain untouched by the ugliness of the situation. Maybe she could convince Jesse to hire another attorney so she
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