Lynnette Kent

A Wife in Wyoming


Скачать книгу

to bed hungry because we don’t have the money to buy food.”

      Wyatt flinched. Garrett looked down at his hands.

      “Not a problem these days,” the boss said in a quiet tone. “We’re all adults. We can all work. Most of the time, anyway,” he added.

      A few moments of silence allowed the air to clear. “In my opinion, the setup is too ambitious,” Ford said, finally, calmly. “A few hours a day for a week, maybe. But to have the kids living out here, making us responsible for them 24/7, is asking too much of us and them. When are we supposed to get actual ranch work done? What if a kid smuggles drugs onto the ranch? Or raids the liquor cabinet? If one of them runs away, we are responsible. With males and females in the group, it’s even possible a girl might get pregnant. Do we want that culpability?”

      All three of his brothers winced. “That seems unlikely,” Garrett said. But he sounded less sure.

      After a minute of silence, Wyatt pushed himself out of the rocking chair. “I’m going outside for a while to think. No, I don’t need supervision,” he said, as Ford looked at him in question. “I can manage on my own. I’m gonna walk to the corral, talk to the horses. They make more sense than you three, anyway.”

      Ford watched through the window to be sure his brother got down the porch steps. Then he turned back to Garrett. “If you’re supporting this plan because...because you’ve got a thing for Caroline, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get in your way. But—”

      “She’s something special, that’s for sure.” Garrett got to his feet. “But I’m on board because it’s a chance to do something good for kids who need a break. I’m just sorry you don’t agree.” He headed for his bedroom, the signs of his hurt feelings easy to read.

      “Touchy, touchy.” Dylan stretched his arms before flopping down full-length on the couch. “I’m gonna snooze till the boss shows up again. Maybe by then it’ll be dinnertime, and somebody will have cooked something.”

      Ford eased back in the recliner to nap a little himself. “You ever think maybe you could do the cooking?”

      “Nope.”

      “Just wondering.”

      He did manage to close his eyes for thirty minutes or so. Then, between feeding the horses and Honey and helping Garrett with the spaghetti dinner he’d decided on, supper was on the table before they all got together again. Even so, they had to drag Dylan off the sofa to wake him up.

      Fortunately, he was never grumpy when pulled out of sleep. “Looks good,” he commented, sitting down in the dining room. “How come we only eat like this when Ford comes home?”

      “Because he does most of the cooking.” Garrett passed the big bowl of pasta to Wyatt. “So what’s the answer, Boss? Did you come to a conclusion about Caroline’s project?”

      In his deliberate way, the oldest Marshall served his plate before answering. “Let’s say grace,” he suggested, and they all bowed their heads while Garrett gave thanks.

      As they took their first bites, Wyatt said, “Henry MacPherson took me on, a teenager with no ranch experience, and taught me what I needed to know. He paid the wages that, for better or worse, kept us alive those first couple of years.”

      The glance he sent Ford recalled his earlier comment about going to bed hungry. “In time, he paid all four of us to work on the Circle M. He brought us here to live with him, and he left us the land for our own. He pretty much saved our lives.”

      Looking around the table, Wyatt held each of their gazes with his own. “I say we owe it to Henry to pass the favor on.”

      “Yes!” Garrett pumped his fist in the air.

      Ford glanced at Dylan, commiserating in silence.

      In case anybody had a question, the boss made his decision clear. “We are going to do everything we can to give those teenagers a summer they won’t forget.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4R40RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbAAAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMiBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTU6MDI6MDYgMDg6MDA6MzEAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAGUqADAAQAAAAB AAAKAAAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAABz+AAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABlAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AFfh53Tq99tLhjl3p+oYc2R/gbXsc/wBN/wC76v6RUsu3Gc7H Dfptt9oPMx7x/mLqnYtPTKc/pt20ZWTU2tuM3/Rtc/ZnO/N/4j8//SemuO6lhijqWLc0wHO2msni Qfcz+sqRoGiaPZvakXVju3rjXZiueB6lVzYfBk+6Wts/769c0/CyabmbbHljnASCT7dwB/6K1eh5 DWssrtsDai5jRu4G87f+r2PReqi+iGsrrNrHkWMfI/qPYWfmog8JruiuKIOqKrB6fkPBLNpLntL2 6AFrizt7kW3od1Zc6nKsbIa9gDtwLSPb7bFm4WP1G/dbTe2u0Oc91Lvon3alu7ctG7I67S5jsnEF oaGwav3QSPzd/wBJI7/MPtUNrMT9iR9XX6a21+lXYxpDpgtcQ0H+t/XUqeruxi52ay2h22Geoze3 TV0Or93uQMz6w033tfcy3E9NpAa9hMEnsWfRVqjKxcxzK8V/2va2XVtJsJP9SHPb+8hR7LvI/a12 9TqfutqyA58yxjBBBP0vpfm1NWTl5bXSSN1LCQGuJ3W2fSjT/Bt+nc9F6wKGl7MrDdjPcCWOsY9j if8ABhjHtb6v8tE6B0ffF1h+h37A/S2Mb+e5zv8ABsTqAFnRjJJNBs9F6TYXuzcsgkw4udoAPzZb +az82uta+U2iqk5GY411AF1bHaOd/wAJYX+2uv8AkIOQ/qWNc5uOyi0VjdXhFwDwf9I73v3v/wCE fXsrVzG+rfU+oXVZfWG75l9dM/oKQ0cvL59S7/hrv+tsTDMSO/0G6a4Rq8X6uN+0/tnpn0RZvFe0 /Rj6e3bv9Pb+k+gkuh+x/wDZ36ED1A3f6W7uaN/0p+mkpf8Ave/8v8ZZZ/a//9Dbx66ep47Ok57n O2SOnZzRuspJ4pu/0mO7b/mfzvpvrruT9Ux2Y/Sq+nZFDn5uLU4Y5ax5D3lwtdlY2SGvpbWz+kZG 707fzLf8HYs+vr+TkVubbk2OnQ7He0/12sDX/wCesnqnWcsvxun0Zlv2Z9obbQHnYQdfSc39z851 X82nj4hHiHokADxcIr6ljl8Nlwn1xJI4eI3t+iP8H95JidP+0MNjrWt95bcNN9bAN7su2l23dQ3/ AEm/+c/Rfztqt5HSsJ7rMii3bjuYyyhjSHETVfa+qz1ttm9uRjej/wChNf8A1znBn9Qca6n5VzqW 2NmovlpG7j03O93/AFtFtymXdcZVg2E0OIa5jiWs3BsvEP8AdWrB+JwvaY+ka/6TUj8JnwjXGfMz v/ou3kdExaNz3ZBsrax9ksFcjbvPou3O/n/bV/X9b/g/0sXdNx9zC24Brmgu2OYAwtrbY9lnqWb/ AFHfT9m/9z+c/RrMtsyXZg9C57MWDuh0kx7HVn2/v+3/AMEVuojd7Wgk9oRj8SiRdT+yP/fJl8Jl 0MB9Z/8Aet5nT6GQTnNDw8Nmzaa/cb2sf7XP9v6rW/3+z9Zq/t6ldGC+bKXCgEVeo4O0abK6posh 79zq3uuyN/8Axl