Read Online The Rancher's Wife by April Arrington - Free Book Online Page B

her lashes down her cheeks.
    â€œYou told me you were moving to a new apartment. Not to a different state.” Traci’s ragged whisper broke the silence at the table.
    She rose, pushing back her chair and leaving the room.
    â€œCome on, boys,” Cissy said, pulling the twins’ napkins from their laps and nudging them to their feet. “Time for your bath.”
    Kayden scowled. “But we ain’t had no cookies yet. You said we could—”
    â€œI’ll get you some on the way,” Dominic said. He stood, helped Cissy up with a hand on her elbow then took each of the boys’ hands, leading them out of the room.
    â€œHave you thought this through?” Betty asked, fingers clutching the collar of her shirt. “Maybe you need to take some time and decide if it’s really what you want to do.”
    â€œI’m sure, Mama.”
    â€œBut...” Betty’s gaze hovered on a red-faced Logan. “What about...?”
    â€œThings have been over for a long time between me and Logan,” Amy whispered. “You know that. It was my fault. I was too young and too much happe—” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. “It’s time we both moved on.”
    The implication fell hard, slamming into the silence and echoing around the room. Betty winced and looked at Pop. A burst of laughter traveled from the guests’ dining room, the sound muffled by the closed door.
    â€œLogan?” Pop frowned, his gaze sharp on his son’s face.
    Logan’s jaw clenched. He looked down and slumped back in his chair.
    â€œExcuse me,” Betty whispered, shaking her head and leaving the table.
    The sound of her sobs faded with each of her slow steps.
    â€œI’ll just...give you two a minute.” Pop squeezed Logan’s shoulder briefly before he left, too.
    Amy stayed silent, flinching at the harsh rasp of Logan’s heavy breaths and staring at the empty chairs. She bit her lip, her teeth digging hard into the soft flesh, and a sharp metallic flavor trickled onto her tongue. Red drops of wine dripped from the tablecloth and plopped onto her leg, the crisp material of her pinstriped pants soggy beneath the stain.
    The moment was so familiar. Almost a perfect replica of another meal she’d shared at this table. When she’d announced her pregnancy with gleeful, nineteen-year-old abandon, shocking and saddening those around her. Betty’s tears and Pop’s disapproval had been just as strong. And Logan’s shame just as apparent.
    Amy jerked to her feet and headed for the door with unsteady steps. She shouldn’t have told them tonight. It hadn’t been the right time. But she’d done so anyway because it was easiest for her.
    Here, she was still the same disruptive girl she’d always been. If she stayed at Raintree, she’d only bring more of the same. Discord and trouble. She should never have come back.

Chapter Four
    It’d be so easy to let her go. To turn around, trudge to their room—which had been empty of her for so long—and continue with the status quo.
    Logan frowned, examining the stiff line of Amy’s back through the window. He clutched the bottle of beer in his hand, the cold wetness seeping into his warm skin. It was Amy’s favorite brand. The only kind she drank. And he’d kept it on hand for four years, fool that he was, having picked it up out of habit during every trip to town.
    He’d grabbed the bottle quickly from the fridge minutes earlier, ducking out of the kitchen to the low murmurs of Pop consoling a tearful Betty, then made his way toward the front porch. To do the right thing. To talk to Amy and pick up the pieces. Again.
    He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the knot in his upper back. His mind urged him to walk away. It practically screamed at him to go in the opposite direction. Just as it had yesterday morning when he’d sat in his truck debating