Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1241 - Chapitre 1250

Hayden had taken the news of them becoming a family far better than either he or Ginger anticipated.When Kane mentioned adoption, Hayden immediately stopped calling him Buck and started calling him“Dad”, which had been beyond cool in Kane’s opinion. But it also drove home the point there was a big difference between being a Big Buddy and being a father. But he couldn’t imagine loving any kid more than he did Hayden.Kane knocked on Ginger’s office door. He heard a muffled “Come in,” and entered the room.The redheaded woman of his dreams stood in front of the window behind her desk, her left arm braced across her lower belly, her left hand up by her face.“Ginger? Everything okay?”She shook her head and he was by her side instantaneously.Kane turned her to face him. His heart plummeted at seeing her tear-stained face and red-rimmed eyes. “Do you feel all right?”“No.” Her arms circled his waist. She sobbed against his chest. She cried so hard he couldn’t make heads nor tails of th

(Prologue)“Who’s up for a threesome?”Whoops and catcalls echoed around the campfire while Brandt McKay seethed in the shadows of the pine trees.“And I mean anyone,” Mike, that little fucking prick, emphasized with a drunken leer. “Guys, gals.Hell, it don’t matter if it’s more than three. In fact, the more the merrier! Me’n Jessica here—” he whacked Jessie’s bikini-clad butt hard, “—are up for a good fuckin’ time tonight.”“Or a good time fucking,” someone shouted.“You got that right,” Mike shot back to additional wolf whistles.Jessica. The little fucking prick didn’t even know Jessie’s name, for Christsake. What the hell was she doing with him?Ain’t that why you’re spying on her like some lovesick peeping Tom? To figure out why she turned you down but she’s hooked up with a loser worse than you?Brandt ignored his sarcastic internal voice that resembled his father’s. He remained as still as a hunter tracking prey as he spied on his brother’s widow. The woman he’d purposely stay

He couldn’t believe Jessie had kept the wallet. She’d seemed embarrassed when she’d opened his present. Too late Brandt learned such a labor-intensive gift was appropriate for a girlfriend. Or a lover. Or a wife. None of which Jessie was to him. Luke had been a real prick about it, too, teasing him mercilessly.Ragging on Jessie. They’d both ignored Luke, and Brandt figured Jessie had probably thrown it out to keep the peace with her husband. Warmth expanded in his chest even as he called himself ten kinds of fool for feeling that spark of pleasure.He scrutinized the inside of the truck cab for anything else that might belong to her before he zipped up the purse and jogged back to his pickup.Jessie had wedged herself in the corner. Relief swept over her when he tossed the purse in her lap.“Thank you.”“You wanna check to see if anything is missing?”“No. Just take me home.”He let her be, even when he wanted to assure her that Mike’s reaction was a result of booze and pot, not a re

“Such a loving family,” Jessie muttered as Tell took her hands.“Miss us, doncha?”She smiled. “Not touching that one.”He laughed. “So what’s new?”“You’d know if you ever bothered to call me.” At his guilty look, she whapped him on the shoulder.“Tell. I’m kidding. Since my life is incredibly boring, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to?”“I’ve been hittin’ as many local rodeos as possible, tryin’ to complete my PRCA judges course.”Tell had been talking about doing that since the first time they’d met. “You actually followed through with it?”“Yep. I got tired of waiting for the right time to get certified and they accepted me as a candidate because of my past rodeo experience. I’ve been studying DVDs and scoring the rides. Then they match how I scored them to the real scores to see how I did.”“It hasn’t interfered with your ranch work?”Tell scowled. “To hear Dad talk, I’ve all but abandoned the ranch. Hell. I’m gone one day, two at the most in a month. Brandt and Dalton

There was Jessie’s horror-filled look. “But Casper—”“Is the worst possible choice, yeah, trust me, I know. My mother would be fine takin’ care of Landon, but she won’t stand up to my father, which means I’d have to leave Landon at their house. Every goddamn day. And I don’t trust my dad not to go around me.”“Go around you how?”“Given Samantha’s circumstances, he’ll try for full custody of Landon, and the court would award them guardianship, even temporarily, over me. I don’t want it to come to that. Ever.”“When did you plan on telling them about him?”“Tomorrow. I’d hoped to have a firm plan in place first, but if I don’t, I’ll wing it. Tell and Dalton will back me up, no matter what happens.”In the unbearably long, brutal silence, Brandt felt his hope drying up. Felt her pulling away.Shivering, Jessie wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s late. And I’m…”In shock. Heartbroken. Angry.Every emotion was written on her face. “Do you want me to go?”She said, “Yes,” then amended,