Trial by Fire by BA Tortuga Read Free Book Online

trying to poison her. Cops thought she was dotty, but turns out she had low-level arsenic poisoning.”
    “No shit? Was it the kids?”
    “Her brother-in-law. Wanted his kids to inherit, not hers. Some kind of rat poison he shipped in from China.”
    “Fucking creepy, man. That’s some sick shit.” He couldn’t imagine doing that to somebody. He didn’t even like rat poison in the house ’cause of the dogs. And now the baby. Good thing he’d kidproofed his house when Landon and Addie had Chloe, so it was easy to bring her in.
    Speaking of which…. “Hey, you can help me paint and shit. I need to do up Chloe’s room.”
    “You got it. I live for that DIY crap.”
    “Good deal. The crib’s in there, but the fucking room is beige. No baby wants beige.”
    The little asshole designer motherfucker that he’d fucked for a few months had convinced him it wasn’t beige, it was mushroom. That hadn’t lasted long.
    “Mushroom is no one’s friend,” Ryan intoned. Best friend. He knew about the designer too.
    “God no.” He was finally cooling down, the tile actually a little chilly now. His butt had stopped throbbing too, so he rose to go find something to nibble. Holden kept forgetting to eat when he was alone.
    That sounded so fucking weird, but it was true. Oh, cheese ball. Please , he prayed as he listened to Ryan jabber, don’t let it be moldy.
    “So, anyway, I’ll be there Monday evening at the latest. Okay?”
    “I’ll pick you up. Just tell me whether you’re DFW, Love, or Texarkana.”
    “You got it, Holden. Hang in there, okay?”
    “You know I will.” He hung up and went to find some Tostitos or crackers or something. Cheese ball, crackers, and beer. The single dad supper of choice.

Chapter Seven
     
     
    LACHLAN sat at the table watching Mrs. Sheffield shell some sort of peas.
    He was on his third day in a row at the ranch, and he was learning Chloe’s schedule as well as getting to know the hands, who all stopped in to see the baby. God knew he’d drunk more coffee in three days than he’d ever had in his bloody life.
    He’d never been so desperate for a cup of real tea. He had a measly teabag with lukewarm water every day at the hotel, and he wanted to cry with it.
    Lachlan cleared his throat. “So, when does rodeo season begin again?”
    “We’ll head out in a couple three weeks. Our first few shows are always local. We try not to travel far until after the boys’ birthday.” Mr. Brandon was looking at the newspaper while Mrs. Sheffield shelled those peas.
    He was waiting for Holden to come in with Chloe. Holden had taken the baby on horseback to watch the ropers in the pen. Who took a baby out on a horse at seven thirty in the morning?
    Lachlan grinned. Okay, so her mum would have done, but still.
    Holden came up onto the porch, stamping his boots, baby in this sling thing on his chest. “Fixin’ to storm, y’all. Lachlan.”
    “Morning.” Back home a storm could mean problems. “Anything I can do?” He was sick of sitting on his bum.
    “The boys are hustling the stock in, and Crazy is putting Pepper away. I’d hang here ’til it blows over, though. Just to be careful.” Holden looked down at the sleeping baby on his chest. “She’s not looking concerned, huh?”
    Mr. Brandon snorted. “She knows she has a big sucker.”
    “Hey, Crazy’s not here. Don’t bad-mouth him!”
    That got him to laughing, Mr. Brandon and Holden joining in in short order.
    Mrs. Sheffield, now, she just pressed her lips together and blinked, her hands moving in a blur.
    Holden sat, looking as easy as a man could with a coffee and a baby. “You know when your folks are coming out yet, man?”
    “I was hoping they could hop a flight Sunday, but it looks like Tuesday soonest.”
    “Do y’all want to stay over to Landon’s instead of a hotel? Y’all could stay with me, but I got a buddy flying out from LA.”
    “Ryan’s coming?” Mr. Brandon asked, about the time that Mrs. Sheffield