The Rancher Takes a Bride by Brenda Minton Read Free Book Online Page A

trust issues. He also knew he couldn’t fix everything. As a medic in the army, he’d tried. And he’d walked away, disillusioned with his own abilities and with God, because he knew God had to hear him screaming for help saving those kids.
    He cleared his throat, coming back to the present, away from dark memories that he usually kept at bay until night. Oregon watched him closely with eyes that seemed to see too much.
    â€œSo what about you?” he asked as he studied her face. He shifted his gaze to Lilly. Not for the first time he wondered how he’d been so blind. Breezy had told him she noticed the first time she met Lilly. Jake had nodded, as if everyone had seen the resemblance.
    â€œI’ll take a chef salad,” Oregon answered.
    He started to stand but Ned was there, round face smiling big and her graying auburn hair in a long ponytail. Nedine, fifty and happily single, was half hippy and half rancher, and when she settled her hand on his shoulder, he didn’t argue. He stayed put.
    â€œI’ve got this, boss.” She winked and held up her order pad. “How about I fix you some lunch and you can join the ladies?”
    â€œI’ll take the same as Lilly. And thank you.”
    She winked and walked away. He stood, moving his chair back to the neighboring table. Lilly scooted, making room for him in the booth. He slid in next to her, their shoulders bumping. He looked down, and she looked up at him, her teeth biting into her bottom lip as she studied his face.
    Was she seeing the resemblance? he wondered. He guessed she was because she frowned, first at him and then at her mom.
    Oregon’s cheeks turned pink, and she focused on the napkin in her hands. He had to get control of the situation. That was the first step in this new life of his. Staying in control.
    â€œI’ve got Ned and Joe working tonight.” At the mention of Joe, Oregon looked up. Suspicion settled in her eyes, because that’s the reaction everyone in town had to the drifter who had shown up before Christmas.
    Oregon thanked Ned, who set a glass of sweet tea in front of her and the shakes in front of Lilly and himself. The waitress scurried away, fast for a woman so large.
    â€œI thought I’d take the night off and help you move.”
    â€œOh, I see.”
    Did she have another plan? Someone else who would help?
    â€œIs that okay?” He leaned forward, folding his large frame a little so that he didn’t tower over Oregon and his daughter. Even sitting, he knew he towered. A man who was six foot eight knew he could be intimidating.
    â€œYes, of course,” Lilly answered, sounding way too grown-up. That gave him pause. She was twelve, but she would soon grow up.
    He got a little itchy thinking about that. She’d be a teenager. She’d date. There would be boys knocking on the door, and she would get in a car and go out with them. He swallowed a lump of fear that got tangled up with premature anger. If the boys were anything like him, they weren’t coming near Lilly.
    A foot connected with his shin, and he managed not to squawk at the sharp pain. He glanced at the woman sitting across from him as she gave him a warning look.
    â€œWhat?” he fairly snarled.
    â€œThat’s my cue to take a walk.” Lilly pushed his shoulder. “Grown-up talk time. And I don’t even know why. I get a family and suddenly we can’t sit down to a meal without the adults acting like they’re at war.”
    He moved from the booth and watched as she situated her crutches and scurried away. She glanced back over her shoulder. “I’m going to the kitchen. Let me know when you’re done talking about me.”
    Duke folded himself back into the booth and felt like a ten-year-old kid that had been sent to the principal’s office. He glanced at the woman sitting across from him. She didn’t openly smile, but he saw her lips start to curve, the