AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hallie laughed.“Real hard.”
“Enough teasing,” Belle said as she placed an arm around her.Belle and Liberty were identical twins.Both were dark-haired, tall, and beautiful.Liberty was assertive and driven and Belle was more soft-spoken and compassionate.“Can’t y’all see Sweetie’s upset?”
Sweetie rested her head on Belle’s shoulder.“I don’t know what happened.I don’t even like him.”
“Of course you like him,” Noelle said.“You used to go out of your way to hang out with him.”
Sweetie straightened.“What are you talking about?I didn’t go out of my way to hang out with Decker.”
“Now that Noelle has pointed it out,” Hallie said.“I do remember you choosing mucking out the stalls with Decker to herding cattle with Jace.Which was weird because Jace was your boyfriend and Decker was just a kid.Although he never acted like a kid.He’s always acted like he was fifty.”
“He had just cause,” Belle said.“Losing his parents made him have to grow up fast.”
“Well, he’s not a kid now,” Liberty said.“So I don’t see why you’re so upset about sharing a few kisses with a hot cowboy, Sweetie.”
“Because he’s not just some random cowboy,” Sweetie said.“He’s Jace’s cousin.I struggled to forgive myself for what I did to Jace.I certainly don’t want to break Decker’s heart and spend the next few years feeling guilty.”
Hallie rolled her eyes.“Believe me, from what I’ve seen on Jace’s social media, his heart wasn’t broken for long.”
“Decker is different than Jace.He’s more ...”She struggled to find the right word and found more than one.“Sensitive.Caring.Loyal.”
All her sisters stared at her as Cloe spoke.“Are you starting to develop feelings for Decker, Sweetie?”
“Of course not.”
But she was developing something for him.It was like he had cast a weird spell on her.When he was around all she could think about was touching him ...and having him touch her.And she didn’t get it.
“Mama!”
The sound of their father’s loud bellow had all the sisters startling and turning to the open door.Daddy and Mama had gone into Austin to see Daddy’s heart specialist and it looked like they were back.It also looked like Daddy was pissed about something.It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that was.He’d found out about the gossip Mimi had spread.
Sweetie jumped up and headed outside.She might be mad at her grandmother, but she didn’t like the thought of her daddy taking his anger out on her.Or of her daddy getting upset and having another heart attack.She intercepted him and Mama on their way around the side of the house.Daddy looked mad as hell and Mama was trying to calm him.
“Now, Hank, don’t get upset.You could be wrong.It could be someone else who started the rumor.”
“What rumor?”Mimi came around from the back of the house.Her sunbonnet hung so low it obscured her eyes and she had to tip her head back to look at her son.“Everything go okay at the doctor’s?”
“Everything went fine ...until Darla and I stopped in Wilder for some barbecue.”
“I hope you didn’t bring any home for supper.As much as I love it, barbecue no longer agrees with me.”
“I didn’t get any barbecue.And you know why?Because before I could order, men surrounded me and started asking for my daughters’ hands in marriage.I thought the entire male population of Wilder had gone plumb crazy until I ran into Decker leaving the ranch.And you know what he told me, Mama?He told me you had started that rumor.”
Sweetie’s sisters, who had followed her out of the barn, showed their shock in gasps and a few“What the hell”s before Daddy continued.
“What were you thinking, Mama?”
Mimi tipped her chin even higher.“I was thinking what everyone in this family should be thinking.How can we keep from selling the ranch?”
“Selling the ranch?”Liberty, Belle, and Noelle said in unison.
Daddy ignored them and continued to glare at Mimi.“Have you lost your mind, woman?”
Mimi pointed a dirt-covered finger at him.“There’s nothing wrong with my mind and you better watch the way you speak to me, young man.I have kept my mouth shut and allowed you to run this ranch the way you saw fit and look where that has gotten us.Now I’m stepping in and doing what I think is right.”
Sweetie jumped in.“You can’t auction us off like mares, Mimi.”
“I’m not auctioning y’all off.I would never force any of you girls to marry someone you don’t love.Which is why I never said a word when you broke up with Jace.I knew you two weren’t meant for each other.Just like I know you’re not meant to be a country singer.I thought you’d figure that out when you were in Nashville, but you seem to be as hardheaded as your daddy is about accepting the truth.It took him until now to figure out that he isn’t a businessman.If we want to keep this ranch and make it successful, we need to run it like a business.Which is why we need one of the Remingtons.They know how to run a successful ranch.”
