Cowboy Secret (The Dalton Boys Book 4) Read Online Free

than a sack of meal in blue cotton. His limbs were fat and his cheeks red from sleep, just as his mom’s got.
    But that shock of dark hair and the blue Dalton eyes gave away his parentage.
    Oh God.
    Sabrina found her voice at last. “That condom scare’s looking a little more serious now, isn’t it, Beck?”
    * * * * *
    While driving for a day and a two nights, Sabrina had tried to work out what she’d say to her ex. All those words had flown out her ear the instant she clapped eyes on Beck Dalton again.
    What she’d done was the equivalent of handing him his child and grunting, “Baby.”
    Owen was soft and pliant in her arms. He also had a very wet diaper. What better way to meet his father?
    Beck drifted closer. When she studied his handsome face, she found it unreadable—a mask. She couldn’t blame him after the shock, but now she was getting nervous. Maybe she’d made the wrong decision in coming here. She and Owen could have accepted government aid and found low-income housing. She could have gotten a second job.
    Why had she chosen this route?
    She gulped around the lump in her throat.
    Beck clamped his hands into fists. “He’s…ours?”
    Owen nuzzled against her chest. He was a hard waker, just as she was. She nodded, unable to speak.
    A muscle in the corner of Beck’s jaw fluttered and she swore she could hear the sound of his teeth grinding. She’d never seen him mad. Joking, yes. Playful, certainly. But to see this surge of emotion seemed totally out of character.
    “You. Kept. This. From. Me.” He bit off each word, jaw snapping with each syllable.
    Her stomach hatched a thousand butterflies. At the time she’d made the best decision for her and her baby. Besides, she’d been there, done that with this hunky cowboy. He was frosting without the cake. Hot fudge without the ice cream—he lacked the basics that would fulfill her. She’d lived that with her own parents, and he sure as hell wasn’t leaving Owen starving for affection.
    She leaned against the car for support, and Owen started to stir more, looking around with interest. The fresh air ruffled the thin hair on his head, standing it erect.
    “I did what I had to do.”
    “Bullshit,” he ground out. Then he unclenched his fist to stab a finger in her direction. The callused tip hovered inches from her face. She wished she could back up, but the car was in the way.
    He went on, blue eyes snapping with fury. “You didn’t think I had a right to know?”
    “It was my body.”
    “Oh I see. Feminist views? I thought you were smart enough to know I would have done right by you, Sabrina.”
    She laughed, but the sound held no humor. “You’re insulting my intelligence again. Next you’ll suggest I give up on teaching and head down to the Suds and Duds and get a waitressing job.”
    “Where have you been? What the hell have you been doing?” He slashed the air with a hand. “Never mind. That doesn’t matter. What matters is now. What are you doing here? And why now? Why reveal this secret now?”
    His words tumbled out, tripping on each other—another sign he was anything but calm. She liked to think of him as more flustered than irate.
    Owen wiggled, and she gave him what he wanted. She turned him around, hooking an arm around his fat belly while he flapped his arms and kicked his feet.
    Beck sucked in a sharp breath. He seemed to rock on his boots, looking as though the morning breeze could blow him over. His gaze riveted on the baby, and his expression flipped through emotions.
    Confusion, worry, awe. Finally his features landed on a look of such tenderness, Sabrina’s heart twisted. She couldn’t draw breath.
    She did the only thing she could think of—she held Owen out to his father.
    Beck didn’t hesitate. He scooped him up and held him with practiced ease, shocking her. He hugged Owen to his chest and buried his nose in their son’s hair. When she saw Beck’s lips moving over the baby’s round head and his throat