A Dark & Stormy Knight: A McKnight Romance (McKnight Romances) by Suzie Quint Read Free Book Online Page A

gonna get there. Just like Aunt Del.”
    “Aunt Del?” Georgia hadn’t been married
to Sol long enough to get to know his extended family.
    “Daddy’s sister. Aunt Del’s been training
barrel racers for nearly twenty years. She trained all Cissy O’Keefe’s horses
when she rode the circuit.”
    As hard as Georgia ignored rodeo, she
still recognized Cissy O’Keefe’s name. The three-time World Barrel Racing
Champion had retired a few years back. Georgia hadn’t known about the
connection to the McKnights, but sometimes it seemed as though the six degrees
of separation that supposedly connected everyone on the planet got chopped in
half with rodeo people.
    “You’d rather train than ride?” Georgia asked.
    “Yeah. Aunt Del says I got the right
attitude. She’s been coaching me. I’m going to be as good as she is.”
    Georgia didn’t dare doubt it. Daisy had always been determined. Sol called her
stubborn. It was two sides of the same coin in Georgia’s opinion, and it was a
McKnight family trait. “So who’ll ride these horses that are going to build
your reputation?”
    “Leah wants to. I told her she could ride
the one I’m training now as long as she works hard and doesn’t get too attached
to the horses.”
    Leah was only fourteen, but apparently
she was already showing signs of the family’s obsession.
    “I’ve been helping, Mama,” Eden said.
    “What?” Georgia’s heart plummeted,
leaving an empty spot in her chest. No way did she want her daughter seduced
into the rodeo life.
    “And a great help you’ve been, too,”
Daisy said. To Georgia she added, “Eden’s been getting up early and feeding
Spitfire and mucking out her stall.”
    Georgia ’s
heart returned to its proper location. Daisy was determined but she was also
notoriously hard to get out of bed in the morning. It wouldn’t hurt Eden to do chores for her aunt. How long would it take her daughter to figure out she was
the grunt labor?
    While they’d been talking, Gideon had
been tapping nails into the horseshoe. Another McKnight who hadn’t been
interested in college, he’d trained as a farrier. With blacksmithing, a little
welding, and some experience floating horses’ teeth thrown in, he had a solid
customer base among the local ranchers. If the boys kept choosing ranch-related
occupations, the McKnights soon wouldn’t need to call in any outside help.
    “Where’s Sol?” Georgia asked.
    “He’s over at the Blake place,” Gideon
said, still focusing on the horse’s hoof. “They wanted that bull we bought a
while back to cover the cows they got in heat. Sol and Zach took the bull over
there. Don’t know if they’ll be back for supper. Old Man Blake’s quite a
yakker.”
    Georgia tried to suppress her smile. Everyone was a yakker compared to Gideon.
    No slouch at yakking himself when the
subject was bulls and breeding, maybe Sol would stay away late enough that she
wouldn’t see him at all.
    ###
    Sol dropped Zach off at the modular home
his brother shared with Maddie and their two kids half a mile from their folks’
place. The aftertaste of his own failed marriage had caused Sol some concern
when Zach had brought Maddie home, but she was damn near the perfect rancher’s
wife. She understood about things like being late to supper.
    He slowed approaching the ranch driveway.
Yup, there was Georgia’s tin can. Sol shifted gears and drove past. He’d clean
up at his trailer and go into town to eat at The Road Kill Cafe. Maybe stop off
at The Lariat for a drink. That sounded like a better plan than having Georgia ruin his mood with her don’t-touch attitude.

Chapter Five
     
    “Supper’s on!” Ruth yelled from the back
door.
    When Georgia walked into the kitchen,
Ruth was insisting Zach’s wife, Maddie, stay and eat.
    “But Zach’ll be home soon,” Maddie
protested. “I should have his supper ready.”
    “Nonsense.” Ruth nudged Maddie toward a
chair. “Your young ‘uns are fed, and there ain’t no