Read Online Secluded With the Cowboy by Cassie Miles - Free Book Online
Authors: Cassie Miles
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agree. They’d butted heads. They’d made amends. And Dylan missed that old cowboy. He’d shed some tears when he heard that Lucas was dead.
He looked toward the bed where Nicole was breathing slowly and steadily. The glow from the bedside lamp highlighted her delicate features. She was right about Lucas. They needed to bury the old man and pay him respect.
In spite of his betrayal? Dylan didn’t want to send the message that he accepted traitors. There had to be consequences for bad behavior. Life wasn’t all daisy chains and sunsets. There were hard decisions to be made.
Those thoughts echoed inside his head. There are consequences. Make the hard decisions. Plan for the best but be prepared for the worst .
Leaning back in the chair, he groaned. When had he become such a stubborn cuss? When had he turned into his father?
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Dylan tried to get back into his normal routine. After making sure Nicole was okay, he showered, dressed, went downstairs, got coffee and went to his office. His intention was to dig into the stack of unopened mail and deal with an e-mail in-box that was stuffed like a Christmas turkey.
For a full week, the running of the ranch had been on autopilot. Now, there was work to be done. Invoices to be signed. Schedules to be reassigned.
Back to normal . That was what he wanted.
His instinct to stay through the night with Nicole—in spite of her objection—had been a good one. She’d wakened twice.
The first time, she’d been breathing hard, gasping. Both her hands drew into fists that she held to her mouth. When he came near the bed, she’d slapped at him. In a hard voice, she’d told him to get away from her and had let loose a string of graphic profanity—words he’d never heard from his sweet, gentle wife. Dylan had known better than to take her insults personally; she wasn’t talking to him but fighting off the demons that haunted her sleep.
Instead of waking her or touching her, he’d sat beside the bed and spoken softly, telling her that she was safe. She was home. Everything was going to be all right. Gradually, she’d slipped back into peaceful sleep.
The second time she woke up, she’d been sobbing. Again, he’d reassured her.
Though he told himself that she’d be all right, he figured that he’d better take Carolyn’s advice and call in a doctor. Maybe Nicole needed a sleeping pill, a sedative, something for her nerves.
She’ll be all right. She has to be . It might take a while, but he had to believe that Nicole would forget about her ordeal and remember that she was his wife, that they had a good life together.
Dylan got down to business. He tore open a manila envelope from the local law firm he used for day-to-day operations. The first line of the cover letter read, “Regarding the death of Lucas Mann…”
The words stung. He dropped the attorney’s papers on his desk. Who the hell am I kidding? Life at the Carlisle ranch would never be the way it was before. He couldn’t turn back the clock, couldn’t bring Lucas back to life, couldn’t erase Nicole’s heartache and make her love him the way she had before. Whether he liked it or not, things had changed.
Pushing his paperwork out of the way, he folded his arms on the desktop, leaned forward and rested his head. Tears pooled behind his eyelids, but he wouldn’t cry. Not while he was sitting at the desk that had once belonged to his father.
He closed his eyes. I’m tired . He’d gotten only a few winks of sleep last night. So tired .
When he opened his eyes and looked at his watch, hesaw that two hours had passed. It was after nine o’clock, and the whole household was awake. He heard voices and laughter and the sounds of people walking around. Outside the door to his office, life was happening.
On a normal day, he’d stay right here and work. He was tempted to ignore his responsibilities and join the rest of the family. Things had changed .
Just maybe, change was
He looked toward the bed where Nicole was breathing slowly and steadily. The glow from the bedside lamp highlighted her delicate features. She was right about Lucas. They needed to bury the old man and pay him respect.
In spite of his betrayal? Dylan didn’t want to send the message that he accepted traitors. There had to be consequences for bad behavior. Life wasn’t all daisy chains and sunsets. There were hard decisions to be made.
Those thoughts echoed inside his head. There are consequences. Make the hard decisions. Plan for the best but be prepared for the worst .
Leaning back in the chair, he groaned. When had he become such a stubborn cuss? When had he turned into his father?
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Dylan tried to get back into his normal routine. After making sure Nicole was okay, he showered, dressed, went downstairs, got coffee and went to his office. His intention was to dig into the stack of unopened mail and deal with an e-mail in-box that was stuffed like a Christmas turkey.
For a full week, the running of the ranch had been on autopilot. Now, there was work to be done. Invoices to be signed. Schedules to be reassigned.
Back to normal . That was what he wanted.
His instinct to stay through the night with Nicole—in spite of her objection—had been a good one. She’d wakened twice.
The first time, she’d been breathing hard, gasping. Both her hands drew into fists that she held to her mouth. When he came near the bed, she’d slapped at him. In a hard voice, she’d told him to get away from her and had let loose a string of graphic profanity—words he’d never heard from his sweet, gentle wife. Dylan had known better than to take her insults personally; she wasn’t talking to him but fighting off the demons that haunted her sleep.
Instead of waking her or touching her, he’d sat beside the bed and spoken softly, telling her that she was safe. She was home. Everything was going to be all right. Gradually, she’d slipped back into peaceful sleep.
The second time she woke up, she’d been sobbing. Again, he’d reassured her.
Though he told himself that she’d be all right, he figured that he’d better take Carolyn’s advice and call in a doctor. Maybe Nicole needed a sleeping pill, a sedative, something for her nerves.
She’ll be all right. She has to be . It might take a while, but he had to believe that Nicole would forget about her ordeal and remember that she was his wife, that they had a good life together.
Dylan got down to business. He tore open a manila envelope from the local law firm he used for day-to-day operations. The first line of the cover letter read, “Regarding the death of Lucas Mann…”
The words stung. He dropped the attorney’s papers on his desk. Who the hell am I kidding? Life at the Carlisle ranch would never be the way it was before. He couldn’t turn back the clock, couldn’t bring Lucas back to life, couldn’t erase Nicole’s heartache and make her love him the way she had before. Whether he liked it or not, things had changed.
Pushing his paperwork out of the way, he folded his arms on the desktop, leaned forward and rested his head. Tears pooled behind his eyelids, but he wouldn’t cry. Not while he was sitting at the desk that had once belonged to his father.
He closed his eyes. I’m tired . He’d gotten only a few winks of sleep last night. So tired .
When he opened his eyes and looked at his watch, hesaw that two hours had passed. It was after nine o’clock, and the whole household was awake. He heard voices and laughter and the sounds of people walking around. Outside the door to his office, life was happening.
On a normal day, he’d stay right here and work. He was tempted to ignore his responsibilities and join the rest of the family. Things had changed .
Just maybe, change was
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