A Cowgirl's Christmas Read Online Free Page B

marriage began falling apart last spring, Sage had shared the story of what she’d seen as a little girl—their mother and neighboring rancher, Bill Sheenan, having oral sex in their parents’ bedroom here at the Circle C. The point of sharing the story had been to let Mattie know that a marriage didn’t necessarily break up because of infidelity.
    But Callan thought the example had backfired. Based on the rocky relationship that had existed between her father and mother, she suspected both would have been happier if they had gone their separate ways.
    “You think Bill Sheenan got Mom pregnant?” Dani asked.
    “It’s possible. And since I’m the youngest child...maybe Bill Sheenan was my real father?”
    “No.” All three of the sisters shook their heads.
    After a few moments their expressions of denial softened into thoughtfulness.
    So Callan knew the idea wasn’t crazy. It might be true.
    All these years she’d worked by her father’s side, getting a lot more abuse than praise. She’d tried to be strong and take it. Had worked even harder, to make him proud. But what if he’d never really loved her...because she was another man’s child?
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    A t ten minutes to four Eliot packed Nat, Portia and Wren into the SUV and drove off.  The plan was to have pizza with Sage’s husband Dawson and his little girl Savannah in Marietta, leaving the sisters free to focus on the meeting with the lawyer and Court McAllister.
    The house seemed dreadfully solemn to Callan once they’d left. Even baby Bev was quiet, fast asleep since her afternoon feeding.
    “I’m going to put on a fresh pot of coffee,” Mattie said.
    They’d gone through so much coffee already, Callan supposed they were in store for a second sleepless night. But that was okay. Being wired with caffeine was better than falling apart. “You do that. I’ll get out the bourbon.”
    It had been a tough day. Her sisters had only briefly entertained the possibility that she might not have been Hawksley’s biological daughter. They’d been quick to point out that she and Mattie were so alike they could be twins, excepting the thirteen-year age gap and the fact that Mattie was all curves while Callan had a boyish figure.
    “Hawksley was just being Hawksley,” Dani had said to conclude the discussion. “When he said ‘bastard’ he was merely voicing his disapproval of the whole dying thing.”
    Callan wished she could be certain they were right. All day long she’d been growing more anxious and uptight. She had a really bad feeling about this meeting with the lawyer. And she felt even more nervous about meeting Court McAllister.
    “We should put out some snacks, too. I have more chocolate in my car. I’ll grab a fresh box.” Sage reappeared a moment later with a large-sized, copper-colored box filled with her fruit and nut bark. After arranging the chocolate on a pretty plate, she placed the plate on the table in the family room where they’d decided to hold their meeting.
    Meanwhile, Mattie had washed some grapes and put them out with some cubes of cheddar and Swiss cheese.
    At four o’clock precisely, Callan heard Ren Fletcher’s vehicle pull up in the gravelled driveway.
    All four sisters gravitated to the foyer, but they let Callan open the door. She understood why. This home had belonged to all of them, but her sisters were acknowledging the fact that it was Callan who had stayed and made the ranch her life.
    Two men emerged from the dusty SUV. Callan barely glanced at Ren Fletcher, whom she’d known most of her life. It was the other man who drew her eyes. Almost as tall as Ren, he had a lean build and a smoothly handsome face. She could see nothing of Hawksley in him. Despite his faded jeans and the worn leather of his boots, he looked like a man from the city to her. For one thing, his skin was too pale.
    “My condolences, Callan.” Ren was the first up the porch steps. He didn’t hug