Free The Cowboy's Gamble: Destined For Love Series by Janelle Denison Page B

Kellie, all charm and persuasion. “Maybe you and I could go for a ride together some time. You could show me some of your favorite spots on the Golden M.”
    “There’s a place I like to go to over in the west pasture. There’s a creek and a big tree.” Excitement tinged her words.
    He took a drink of his coffee. “I’d like to see it sometime.”
    “Okay.” Kellie glanced up at him from beneath half lowered lashes, bashful but curious. “Do you, um, have any kids?”
    Josie’s stomach dropped to her knees, and she almost lost the grip she had on the skillet of fried ham and scrambled eggs she was transferring to a platter on the counter. Dear Lord, how could such an innocent question cause so much inner turmoil?
    Watching Seth’s expression carefully, and seeing nothing more than a growing affection for her own daughter that she knew she was helpless to dissuade, she retrieved plates and silverware and carried them to the table.
    “No, I don’t have any kids,” he told Kellie. “But I’ve got a niece and nephew. Brianna is six, and Brandon is four. They’re my brother’s kids, and they’ll be your cousins once your mom and I are married.”
    Brightening at the prospect of having an extended family, Kellie leaned forward in her seat. “Will I get to meet them?”
    There was enough hesitation in Seth’s answer to cause Josie concern. Knowing how vehemently Robert hated the McAllisters, she wondered if Robert’s hostility toward her family had ebbed over the years, or still remained as bitter as it had been when she’d been a teenager. She’d spent eleven years deftly avoiding anything with the O’Connor name, and though she and Seth were forced to forge a truce because of her father, she realized she had no idea how this latest turn of events affected Seth’s brother.
    The way Seth was carefully thinking up a tactful response was a good indication that Robert hadn’t miraculously buried the hatchet between their families. And if that was the case, she refused to subject her daughter to the same cruelty she’d endured as a child, and intended to inform Seth as much.
    Seth offered Kellie a non-committal reply. “Eventually, yes, you’ll meet your cousins.”
    “Will they be at the wedding?” she asked hopefully.
    “No, they won’t be,” Josie cut in, setting the platter of eggs and ham in the center of the table, along with a plate of muffins. She sat at the end, between Seth and Kellie. “It’ll be just you, me, and Seth on Friday. The ceremony will be short and simple.” She looked to Seth for confirmation.
    A wry smile touched his generous mouth. “Short and simple,” he echoed.
    They ate breakfast, and Josie watched as Seth and Kellie developed an easy friendship. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that Seth was wonderful with her daughter. No matter how much she and Seth disliked one another, that enmity didn’t transfer to Kellie. She was at least grateful for that, while at the same time she worried about Kellie becoming too attached to Seth, a man who only had one agenda on his mind: claiming the Golden M.
    Once breakfast was over and Kellie cleared the dishes from the table, Josie sent her daughter up to her room to change, then start on her outdoor chores. Automatically, she refilled Seth’s coffee cup, and berated herself for softening a little at the appreciation in his gaze, and the husky way he said “thank you”.
    She filled the sink with soapy water. Dipping her hands into the suds, she scrubbed the platter, and finally asked the question that had preyed on her mind for the past half hour. “So, was Robert happy to learn you now own the Golden M?”
    “He was ecstatic that the property is back in the family,” Seth replied, his deep voice laced with a bitter edge. “But he’s not too happy that I won’t share it.”
    She glanced over her shoulder, meeting his gaze. “It would seem logical, you two joining the property again.”
    “It’s not even a remote