Certified Cowboy by Rita Herron Read Free Book Online

what he was about to do. Because if she didn’t come clean with him, he had no choice. He’d have to ask her to leave.
    And that meant tearing out a little boy’s heart.
    No wonder she hadn’t wanted Kenny getting attached to him.
    He started toward the porch, but suddenly a scream pierced the air. A woman’s scream… Rachel…
    The image of her bruises flashed in his mind, and he took off running.

    K ENNY THOUGHT HE HEARD a scream outside. He clutched the butterball puppy to him and craned his head to hear again.
    No, it had to be the wind. He was safe and so was his mama.
    He stretched against a haystack, and Cleo plopped her head in his lap. The puppies started crawling all over him, up his leg, and the fat one fell off and rolled onto its back with a squeal.
    Kenny rubbed its belly, then helped it turn over. The fat butterball got on his feet but wobbled and fell over again and he laughed.
    Cleo snuggled against his arm and he hugged the dog.
    “I like it here, Cleo,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “And I really like Mr. J.”
    The dog licked his neck, and he swallowed back tears. He was a big boy and not supposed to cry.
    But his mama was scared. She jumped at every little sound. He just knew any minute she’d tell him it was time to leave.
    “I don’t wanna leave,” he whispered to Cleo.
    But a shadow moved in the barn, and just like his mama, he jumped. A squeaking sound came from the far corner, and he scooted back behind the haystack, pulling the puppies with him. The butterball one got away, though, and waddled across the barn floor.
    Kenny held his breath.
    Had his daddy found them? Was he in the barn?
    He choked back a cry. If he was, he might hurt the puppy.
    Kenny looked around for something to fend him off with if he came toward him. A stick or a rock. Anything to save the little butterball from his daddy.
    Outside he heard a scream.
    Not the wind. His mama.
    His heart pounded. He had to save her. “I love you, Cleo,” Kenny whispered. He hugged the dog, then scratched behind her floppy ears and settled Cleo back down beside the other puppies.
    The butterball one had made it to the door, and he ran to get her, then carried her back and put her in the stall. His legs felt shaky, and he wanted to hide inside the barn with the dogs.
    But he remembered the bruises on his mama’s face and neck, and he balled his hands into fists. Then he ran back to the barn door and peered outside.
    Daddies were supposed to be nice like Mr. J.
    But his daddy was a monster.
    He couldn’t let him hurt his mama anymore. He just wished he was big and strong like Mr. J. so he could stop him.
    He sucked in a big breath and slowly opened the door. He might not be big and strong, but he’d try anyway.

Chapter Five
    Rachel stared at the snake lying in the middle of her bed with revulsion. Her first instinct was to run.
    But running might make the snake strike.
    Suddenly the door screeched open, and she heard Johnny’s gruff voice. “Rachel?”
    In spite of the fact that she was desperately trying not to move, a tremor rippled through her and her legs wobbled.
    His boots pounded on the floor as he crossed the room coming closer. “Rachel?”
    She had to clear her throat to make her voice work. “In here.”
    His footsteps grew louder, then she glanced sideways and saw him at the doorway, his pistol drawn. He quickly glanced around, his expression worried.
    “What’s wrong? I heard you scream.”
    “There. The bed…” Rachel pointed to the snake. It was almost two feet long, with red-and-black coloring. “Is…it poisonous?”
    Johnny muttered a sound of frustration, then inched into the room and lowered his gun. “How the hell did that get in here?”
    “I don’t know.” Rachel fought a surge of tears. She had an idea, but she couldn’t tell him or he’d know the truth about her. That Kenny’s father was not only alive but a terrifying, cruel man who liked to torment her.
    That her worst fear might have