Read Online The Cowboy's Surprise Baby (Cowboy Country Book 3) by Deb Kastner - Free Book Online

of his that Cole wanted to wipe off his face, “you’ll know.”
    “They tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves,” Tessa explained. “Five minutes in their presence and you’ll know exactly which horse goes with which teenager.”
    Great.
    He had his doubts that the boys would even try to be straight with him, especially given that they were all delinquents. They’d try to pull a fast one on him, and he suspected their attitudes might make teaching them to ride more complicated than it needed to be.
    Then there were the girls, whom he could easily imagine overloaded with emotions. He wasn’t so old and removed from civilian life that he didn’t remember what happened when a bunch of teenage girls got together. Bubbly young ladies and skittish horses really did not mix. The very thought made him shiver. He was the last person in the world who wanted to deal with the racket created by a bunch of young women, with or without adding horses to the equation.
    He groaned inwardly as his dream of losing himself on the peace and quiet of the range floated right out the window. Instead, he was supposed to be a
mentor
. Alexis and Griff clearly thought it was possible, but he still had his doubts.
    “What about my hours?” he asked, tapping his pen against the table just to have something to do with his hands.
    “We know you have a sweet little baby to go home to,” Alexis said. “You’ll have office hours, so to speak, and your weekends will be free to spend with Grayson. We’ll have some of the other wranglers cover those shifts for you.”
    “I appreciate the consideration, but you really don’t have to do that,” Cole said. “Grayson is in good hands. I don’t mind evening and weekend work when it’s called for. I want to carry my weight around here.”
    “And you will. We all understand that your baby comes first,” Alexis insisted. “It’s no bother.”
    “That’s the way we want it to be,” Tessa agreed, compassion softening her voice. “The way it should be for a single parent. At the very least.”
    Cole swallowed hard.
    “Be sure to let your father know he can contact you at any time, for any reason. On your cell phone, or he can reach us at the office, either way. It doesn’t have to be an emergency.”
    “Your father?” Tessa echoed, arching her auburn brows.
    “Dad is taking care of Grayson while I work.”
    “I was wondering who would—” She stammered to a halt. “I mean, that’s incredibly generous of him.”
    “You’ve got that right. I wanted to hire a nanny, but Gramps, as he calls himself, wouldn’t hear of anything else. He’s over the moon to have a grandson and says he wants to spend every second with him.”
    Tessa chuckled, but her expression was a little sad. Cole’s father had always treated her like a daughter, at least until their bad breakup. He’d never asked his dad about it, but he suspected she and Pop weren’t on speaking terms now. Not after she’d publically humiliated Cole and left his heart in shreds.
    Tessa shook her head and appeared to recover. Cole refused to acknowledge the warmth in his chest that accompanied the reappearance of her smile.
    “So you really think I can do this?” he asked, directing his question to no one in particular. “This mentoring thing?”
    “It’s mostly a matter of practice,” Tessa assured him. “You’ll be surprised how fast you pick up the nuances of teen-speak.”
    “Yeah, but y’all have a degree. I’m just a wrangler.”
    “A degree is neither here nor there,” Griff said. “And besides, you’re way more than just a wrangler, Cole. You’re a sailor, too. I’m guessing you learned a great deal in the navy. College isn’t the only way to learn about life. You’ve overcome obstacles in your past.”
    Yeah. By running away.
    Cole quickly shifted his gaze away from Tessa lest she read on his face what he was thinking. The biggest obstacle of his life was sitting right across the table from him,