Learning To Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series:Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

ranch, and this was Anders’ strong suit.
                  “I would ordinarily say it sounds like a fine idea, but I can’t say that now,” Bernard stated. He looked to Anders, who looked at Casey before quickly ducking his head back into his numbers, recording the transaction Casey had made in town that day and mostly busying himself with anything but the conversation at hand.
                  “What’s wrong with their stock, Dad? I know we’ve never raised stroud before, but it could be a good mix. I heard in town that they’re a long-haired breed, not really suited well for Texas, but if we introduce them into our herd, they might make our stock hardier for winters up north. We could sell a better animal at a higher price if the farmers up there knew these were bred with something that tolerated the winter well.”
                  “Yes, you make an excellent point, son. But I meant that the auction will not be going as planned. A buyer has come in and taken the whole parcel, the land, house, equipment, and the stock.”
                  “Oh,” Casey answered, not surprised as news of the auction was at least a month old. “That changes things.”
                  “Not so very much, it doesn’t. We could still establish the breed with this other farm. That parcel is only two miles from the edge of our northern boundary line,” Bernard continued, “and I do expect to have a good relationship with that ranch, once the buyer moves in.”
                  “Well, we can hope for the best but snatching up entire lots of land tends to make men greedy out here. I’d be more worried that this new owner might be just another idealistic new guy or some hippie who thinks he’s going to sit around on his porch and eat free-range chicken eggs all day. With our luck, he’s going to be another pseudo-environmentalist who thinks we should raise cattle because meat’s deadly and their farts destroy the ozone layer or something. Besides, if there’s a route through that parcel we can take when we drive the cattle north, he may want to charge us some hefty fees for passing through,” Casey continued, a worried frown creasing his sun-browned features. Bernard only smiled.
                  “Yes, I would fear the same thing, if I didn’t know the owner so well,” he continued, his eyes dancing as he smiled. Casey looked from his father to Anders once again, bemused when his younger brother suddenly snapped his laptop closed and fled from the room with it, his pencil still in hand. Casey stared after him before turning a wary eye on his father, but Bernard only laughed. “Yes! I’ve bought the ranch! For you and your wife!”
                  Casey’s shoulders sagged in defeat as his father opened this wound again. “What are you talking about, Dad?”
                  “This! This came today! The answer to the ad! I bought the land the same day I submitted your dating profile,” Bernard explained as he pointed to an open email on his screen. Casey looked at the screen and rolled his eyes at the swirly font and formal greeting.
                  “Dad, any woman who writes like this isn’t fit for the ranch. She’s practically writing a poem, going on and on about the ‘wondrous landscape of the frontier’ and the ‘challenges that seem insurmountable but can only be overcome by man’s natural desire for exploration’. Is she writing a book, or answering an ad for a ranch wife?” Casey closed out the email and turned to him with his hands on his hips, readying himself for battle against his father’s matchmaking.
                  “So we help her be fit for the ranch, both her husband,” Bernard gestured to Casey, who threw up his hands in defeat, “and the staff of the ranch. It’s not like there are no women here, women who can show her what needs to be done. They’ll help