Read Online Hunter's Montana Bride (Montana Ranchers and Brides #8) by Maya Stirling - Free Book Online

forehead.
    What a day it had been. Gretchen had finally returned, only not in any way that he could have imagined possible. She had come home and presented him with an instant family. It was as simple as that. He'd hardly had even a moment to take it all in, let alone comprehend what all of this might mean for his life.
    Hunter drew in a deep breath and listened to Gretchen and Mrs. Roper fuss over the changing of the children.
    His children!
    How could that be possible? Then Hunter recalled the wonder and desire of their wedding night. How he'd had to try so hard to contain his passion, be sensitive to Gretchen's needs and uncertainties. The memories had been burned into his mind. It was no real wonder to Hunter that the beautiful children in the room next door were the result of the most memorable experience of his life.
    A smile crept to the corners of his mouth and he felt a surge of pride well up inside himself. How could he not be proud of those two beautiful little bundles of joy.
    With a shake of his head, Hunter allowed himself to be overcome by one single, unalterable thought.
    Hunter Sinclair was a father.
    And he'd had no idea. He thought of how hard it must have been for Gretchen, dealing with the pregnancy at the same time as being apart from her new husband. Why hadn't she told him? Surely she could have sent him some kind of news that she was expecting. What had forced her to keep such a thing secret? Had it been pressure from her parents? Hunter knew that he and Gideon didn't exactly see eye to eye, but that hardly justified denying Hunter knowledge that he had been about to become a father.
    So, what was the reason for the concealment? What had driven Gretchen to keep the most important thing in Hunter's life hidden?
    There was a scream of delight from the next room and Hunter smiled when he heard Mrs. Roper teasing the babies with babbling sounds of her own. He heard Gretchen laugh and he felt his heart beat faster at the sound of her sweet voice.
    It was so incredible to have her back in his life. Even if the circumstances weren't anything he could even begin to comprehend. She had gone away, and now she was back. So how come he wasn't completely overcome with happiness that she was back?
    He rolled over onto his side and lay the side of his face against his arm. Gretchen still hadn't given Hunter a full explanation about where she had gone. She still hadn't told him what she had been doing while she'd been away. And until she did, he knew there was going to be a barrier between them. That happiness he'd experienced after their wedding had been sublime, a truly special thing. The losing of Gretchen had almost crushed him.
    Only one thing had allowed him to hang on to hope; only one brief exchange had let him hang onto the possibility that they would be reunited; that he would get a second chance at loving his wife.
    He remembered the visit to Gretchen's parents at their home in Helena. He'd been burning up with anxiety about Gretchen's leaving and he'd gone to her parents' house a week after she'd left. Hunter had needed answers that were more than the vague assurances that Gretchen had given him that she would be back very soon. The short time he'd spent at her parents' home had given him the certainty that Gretchen wasn't somehow hiding out at her parents. He'd taken some kind of relief from the fact that she hadn't left him and gone back to live with Gideon and Beatrice. But there still hadn't been an answer to the most important question of all.
    Where had Gretchen gone to?
    Hunter had pleaded with Gideon in the parlor of the house. He'd been given short shrift by the gruff and taciturn man. Almost on the verge of doing something he might have regretted Hunter, had begged Beatrice for some hint of where his new wife might be.
    Hunter recalled how he'd stood in the parlor, fists like tight balls by his side, his face ashen, his eyes wide, desperately seeking an answer. Finally Beatrice had persuaded