Baby Girl: Dare to Love by Celya Bowers Read Free Book Online Page A

her. 
    He had expected her to follow his direction, but instead she trotted over to where he stood.  Then she gave him the death stare.  “Yes.”
    “Yes to what?” Kyle’s heart quickened at the possibilities.  Would this little actually be okay with her mother dating?
    “Mommy.”  She smiled at him as she patted Nutmeg on her neck.  
    “I can ask your mommy to the movies?”  He smiled up at her. 
    “Yes.” 
    “Thank you, Kassie.”
    She grinned, then prodded Nutmeg and resumed her trotting around the arena. Kyle watched this tough little girl who had the courage to battle something she could not see, and had already captured his heart.  What was so different about her? 
    Since his return to the ranch five years ago, he’d trained lots of kids.  Some younger than Kassie, with attractive mothers, but he’d never asked one of them out. 
    Then it struck him. What if Jemma didn’t date white men?  Race was unimportant to him, since he’d grown up on the ranch.  He’d worked with just about every race there was.  If that was the case, he’d just admire Jemma from afar and move on with his life.
    “Kyle and Kassie should be coming back soon, Mrs. Patterson,” Chutney said from behind the counter.  “Would you like something to drink?”
    “No, thank you.  I’ll just sit and wait.”  Jemma was seated in one of the chairs, admiring the cookbook.  “This book has great recipes. I never realized there was actually cowboy cuisine.  My dad would flip for this.  He’s originally from England, so he loves discovering stuff like this.”  She continued looking through the book.  “His birthday is in a few months.”  Why was she babbling to the teenager?
    “Wow, that’s neat.  Do you ever go there?”
    “Yes, my grandmother’s 90 th birthday celebration a few years ago.  I loved it there.  It’s a great place to visit, but I’m always happy to return home.”
    Chutney’s blue eyes took on a dreamy haze.  “I can just imagine all the rain, walking through the parks, and seeing the queen.”
    Jemma laughed.  “Most Americans think all Brits see the queen on a daily basis, but the royals are rarely seen. Unless they want to be.  My dad says he’s never seen any of them.”
    “How long has he been here?” Chutney walked over to the table where Jemma sat and took a seat.  “I mean, I could imagine being that far from my parents.”
    “Me either, actually.  They live in Dallas.  For most of my life I lived pretty close to them.  Moving to Mansfield is about the furthest I’ve ever lived from them. I still see them almost every weekend.”
    “Does your father still have his accent?  I think British people sound so sexy,” the teenager said. 
    “Well, he just sounds like Dad to me.  He’s been here almost forty years.  So I imagine he’s lost a lot of it.  When I go to England, he doesn’t sound like any of my cousins.”
    The office phone rang.  “I’d better get that.  Probably Mr. Cosgrove,” she said as she rose.  She hurriedly walked to the phone.  “Cross-Cut Ranch,” Chutney said into the phone. 
    Jemma resumed browsing through the book when the door opened and Kassie ran to her mother.  “Mommy!”  She hugged her mother.  “I can jump!”
    Jemma’s voice got caught somewhere in her body.  Did she really just say she jumped?  “Baby, are you sure?” Surely, Kyle wouldn’t have let her baby jumped bushes, trees, or whatever they use to jump. 
    She nodded, slipped the helmet off her head.  “Yes.  It was fun!”
    The fact that her daughter was excited about anything overruled any fear that Jemma had.  Every word her daughter babbled was joy to her ears.  She hugged her daughter.  “That’s wonderful, Kassie.  I’m so proud of you.”  Her weepy emotions took control of her once again and this time Jemma didn’t fight back.  She let them flow.
    “Are you okay, Mrs. Patterson?” Chutney asked, handing her a box of