Texas Christmas Bride: The Gallaghers of Sweetgrass Springs Book 6 Read Online Free

before taking her lips in a slow, delicious kiss.
    She sighed and softened against him. “I might have heard something about that.”
    “Run away with me to South America.” He pressed his lips to the spot just beneath her ear that never failed to make her shiver. “We’ll make love day and night.”
    Her sigh was soft and sweet, her body warm and welcoming to his. “Too bad supper’s nearly ready.”
    He chuckled and rested his head against hers, eyes closed. “You’re all I think about. You’re—”
    “Get a room, you two,” snickered their sixteen-year-old Ben. “Sheesh. There are children present.”
    Jackson groaned, squeezed her once more, then turned to face the son he hadn’t known existed until recently. Ben looked so much like him, it was like looking in a mirror at that age. His hair was Jackson’s black, though he had Veronica’s hazel eyes, and he possessed the same rangy build, the promise of reaching Jackson’s six foot five. Jackson had no idea how people in Sweetgrass hadn’t realized Ben was his son and not his buddy David’s, who had married Veronica and fathered the twins. “Deal-breaker, dude. I’m gonna kiss your mom every time she needs it.”
    “Which is about all the time, you seem to think.” But Ben’s eyes were twinkling. They’d had a rough road, both of them, getting over the shock of learning Ben’s true parentage. Ben had adored the man he’d thought was his father, and he’d been furious with Veronica for keeping his birth father’s identity secret. Jackson had been equally furious, though he could now acknowledge what an impossible situation she’d been left in.
    But they’d made a lot of progress. It had only taken a family crisis and the near-destruction of Jackson’s video game company to get there.
    “Hey, it’s a tough job, but I’ll persevere.”
    Ben cracked up. “So what’s for dinner? I’m starving. Can I have a snack first?” Ben’s near-genius IQ, rivaling Jackson’s own, hadn’t stopped him from playing every sport, a natural athlete as Jackson had been. That, added to the normal demands of a growing teenage male body, created the phenomenal number of calories Ben burned in a day’s time.
    “I have no idea how my mom did it.”
    Veronica leaned against him and squeezed, then left his side. “Keeping you fed, you mean? I’m surprised she didn’t just throw raw steaks at you.”
    “Ew!” Abby cried. “That’s yucky.”
    “Not literally, honey. Now wash your hands, and you and Bethie set the table, all right?”
    “Yes, Mommy.” Abby skipped from the room. Beth started after her, but turned back to Jackson.
    He crouched again to be closer to her level. “What is it?”
    Beth simply threw her arms around Jackson’s neck and hugged him. “I’m glad you’re back. I wish you could stay always.”
    Jackson enfolded her in his arms and rocked her slightly. “I wish I never had to go anywhere, either. I’m trying to fix things so I travel as little as possible because I miss you, too, when I’m gone.” He leaned back and looked into her eyes, understanding that losing one father had hit hard at her sense of security. “I’m really careful while I’m gone.” He smiled. “But I always want to tell the plane to go faster when I’m headed home. You okay, sweetie?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    He squeezed her again. “I’d better let you get to setting the table before Ben starts eating the silverware or something.”
    She giggled and released him. “You’re funny, Prince Daddy.”
    His throat too full for speech, he stroked a finger down her nose, then kissed it. She skipped after her twin.
    Daddy.
    A year ago—hell, a few months ago, he could never have imagined his life would hold all this. He might have possessed a boatload of money before, but now he was truly rich. Wealthy in the love Veronica had shared with him, from her own heart and in the form of her children.
    Jackson rose and looked around him at the humble ranch house