Kade: Armed and Dangerous by Cheyenne McCray Read Free Book Online

her
     belongings beside it.
    Kade followed, setting her two suitcases on the rose-colored throw rug as Kelsey turned
     to face him. For a moment neither of them moved.
    The tension in the room tripled.
    Emotions warred within her and she didn’t know whether to kiss him or kick him in
     the shin and make a run for it.
    He winked, then headed out the door. “Let’s see that snake rattle, Trent.”
    Kelsey didn’t have any problem showing interest in the rattle as Trent presented it
     to her. Although the thought of the rattlesnake that had once owned that rattle made
     her a little squeamish.
    After they checked out the rattle, Trent grabbed Kelsey’s hand and took her on a tour
     outside the house.
    ***
    Warmth stirred in Kade’s gut as he observed Kelsey with his son. She listened to Trent’s
     nonstop jabbering and looked suitably impressed at everything he presented to her,
     including Roxie the rottweiler, a dead June bug, and Rock, his pet turtle.
    When Trent dashed off to search for one of the barn cats, Kelsey grinned at Kade.
     “You have a wonderful son. So much energy and utterly honest.”
    “To a fault.” Kade returned Kelsey’s smile. “The kid doesn’t know how to lie. I wonder
     how charming you’ll find him once you’ve been around his endless talking for a while.”
    “He might wear me out, but I can tell he’s one great kid. I’ve always wanted to have
     at least a couple.” Her voice went soft and her thoughts seemed far away. “But my
     ex-husband insisted we weren’t ready and he worried that I would get fatter.” She
     bit her lip and blushed, obviously embarrassed from letting something slip he was
     sure she hadn’t intended to.
    “Your ex sounds like a stupid ass.” He thought about punching the shit out of a man
     he didn’t even know. “You’re perfect.” He put his hand on her upper arm and looked
     into her sensual brown eyes. “Personally, I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
    “Thanks.” She shrugged away from his touch. “I’m not sure any man could truly love
     a woman as she is. I heard more than enough lies from Davis to convince me of that.”
     Her expression darkened. “Not to mention all the lies my father told my mother.”
    Kade caught her hand, bringing her eyes back to him. “I’m not lying, and I’m not your
     ex or your father.” He squeezed her fingers. “They both sound like bastards.”
    Kelsey looked startled, then laughed. “That’s them, all right.” He dropped her hand
     before she could pull away, and they walked through Sadie’s apple and peach orchard
     toward the barn. The air was completely still, a prelude to a monsoon storm. Thunderheads
     had built up all around the valley and it smelled of rain.
    Her gaze drifted around the orchard, barn, and cattle pens. “How long have you lived
     here?”
    “I grew up in this house.” He sidestepped a watering hose and sprinkler head hidden
     in the grass and made sure Kelsey didn’t stumble over them.
    “When I graduated high school,” he continued, “I moved to Tucson to attend the University
     of Arizona for four years, then went into FLETC, the Federal Law Enforcement Training
     Center, in Artesia, New Mexico. Once I was officially an agent, I was stationed along
     the Texas border.”
    Kelsey ducked under the branch of an apple tree. “How did you end up back on the ranch?”
    “When Trent’s mother died five years ago, I felt he needed his grandparents,” he said.
     “So I managed to get a transfer here and we moved in with Mom and Chuck for what I
     thought would be temporary.”
    She glanced up at him and he met her gaze. “I’d have already built my own house on
     a stretch of property I own if Trent hadn’t needed his grandparents so much. I just
     couldn’t separate them with him being so young.”
    “I didn’t mean to pry.” Pink flushed her cheeks. “About your wife and—”
    He squeezed her shoulder. “You didn’t.”
    “Dad Dad Dad Dad.” Trent