Free Twins for the Bull Rider by April Arrington

tore off, a cloud of dust billowing with each step. Cissy took off after him, fussing the entire way. Pop and Logan laughed, Jayden bouncing with excitement between them.
    Dominic found himself inching forward. Pop was in hog heaven with those boys. And Logan’s laugh was the first genuine one he’d heard in ages.
    Before he knew it, he was striding toward the laughter inside the paddock.
    It’d be time to go soon enough. But right now, he was right where he wanted to be.

Chapter Four
    â€œGahlee! How much do these things poop?”
    Cissy squinted tighter and squatted lower, scraping her shovel against the stall floor. The muscles in her shoulders and arms screamed with each forward thrust. The acrid smell of manure flooded her nostrils and billowed around her.
    Wrinkling her nose, she wondered the same thing herself. Every afternoon for the past two weeks, they’d mucked the stalls. And every day it seemed to take longer and longer.
    â€œKayden, stop complaining and help your brother.”
    â€œBut we’ve been doing this for forever,” he whined. “I want to do something else.”
    Cissy drew upright, wincing at the ache that spread throughout her upper body, and prayed for patience. Kayden slumped against the wall, running that dang rope through his hands. Down, up and then back again. Just as he’d been doing for the past half hour.
    She blinked away a fat drop of sweat that stung the corner of her eye and leveled a stern look on him. “I don’t think you can really say you’ve been doing much of anything other than lollygagging and complaining. If you pitched in and helped, the time would pass much faster.”
    â€œYeah,” Jayden piped from his crouch in the corner of the stall. “If you helped.”
    The shovel Jayden clung to extended several feet above him and the handle bopped against his head with each of his awkward movements. But he continued sifting through the shavings.
    Kayden’s face scrunched into a sour glare. “Who asked you?”
    â€œI asked myself.” Jayden glowered back.
    â€œCut it out, boys.” Cissy gestured with a weak hand. “Kayden, bring the wheelbarrow closer.” She smiled, giving Jayden a nod of encouragement. “Jayden, you’re doing good. Keep it up.”
    Kayden groaned, then flounced out of the stall to stomp around the corner. Cissy rolled her eyes and firmed her grip around the rough handle of the shovel.
    Stubborn whippersnapper . Everything always turned into a battle with him.
    Kayden knew how to push her buttons better than anyone. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get a handle on that kid. The only one who seemed to have any control over him was Dominic. And darn if that wasn’t a blow to her pride.
    Cissy frowned. What was it Dominic had told her the other day? Stick to your guns and don’t give in . She shook her head, slinging the sweaty strands of her hair away from her face. Easy for him to say. He just swooped in when it was playtime. He didn’t spend every waking second with them, disciplining and correcting. Lecturing and worrying.
    Worrying... Her worries had multiplied by a thousand since she’d taken Jason’s most recent phone call.
    She stabbed the shovel deep into the shavings. Jason knew where they were now. She hadn’t been able to put off telling him anymore. He’d been strangely silent at the news. Then, he’d asked the question she’d been most afraid of.
    Could he come down to meet her? They needed to talk.
    She’d tap-danced around an answer but knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. Jason was their father. And if she wanted a real shot at keeping the boys, she had to be smart in her dealings with him. Like it or not, one move from him could tumble her shack of cards.
    â€œMy arms are getting tired, Aunt Cissy.” Jayden dropped his shovel and rubbed his hands up and down the outside of his