The Cowbear's Christmas Shotgun Wedding (Curvy Bear Ranch 3) Read Online Free Page A

the cake.”
    “I’d like to think I know how to bake a cake since my mom owns a bakery and I’ve been baking since I was old enough to reach the counter,” Rachel snapped.
    “Ladies,” he held up his hands. “I know how you can settle this little debate.”
    “Really?” Madison arched a brow.
    “Bake two cakes, I’ll eat them both, and then let you know which one was better,” he said.
    Rachel snorted. “That’s your solution?”
    “We could have a bake-off,” Madison said.
    “That’s not a bad idea,” Rachel said. “We could invite some of the other women from town and then have the brothers judge the cakes. It would be a great way for me to get to meet more people.”
    “My mom can help judge,” Rachel said.
    “But she can’t enter. It wouldn’t be fair,” Madison said.
    “Well of course she can’t enter. She’d win every category.”
    Madison laughed. “She does make amazing cakes.”
    “Her pies are better.”
    “No one can make a pie as good as my mom’s huckleberry pie,” Logan said.
    They looked up as if they’d forgotten he was in the room.
    “Of course not. I hear her pie was legendary,” Madison said.
    “It was.” His heart clenched. Time could never heal the hole his mom’s death had left in his life. He missed her so much.
    “You hungry?” Madison asked.
    “Does a bear shit in the woods?” he quipped.
    Both women laughed. Madison grabbed a plate from the cupboard and piled eggs, bacon, and toast onto it. As she handed it to him, the aroma of the freshly cooked food made his mouth water.
    “Thanks for the grub,” he called over his shoulder as he walked toward the dining room.
    He found the table empty except for his brother Brady, and Brady and Rachel’s son, Jimmy. He slid into the chair next to Jimmy. “How’s it going little man?”
    “Uncle Logan, I made an airplane!” Jimmy shrieked.
    “You did?”
    As Jimmy swooped a paper airplane around the table, Logan noted the boy’s rosy complexion and clear brown eyes. The little tyke had been through hell with leukemia but was recovering quickly thanks to a bone marrow transplant from his dad.
    “How’s Kate doing?” Brady asked.
    “She’d be fine if she’d let me help her fix up the place. But she’s stubborn as hell.”
    “Not the same timid mouse she was in high school?”
    “Far from it. But hey, if she wants to do everything on her own, then it’s up to her. I can’t make her want my help,” Logan said.
    “You can’t make a woman want anything she doesn’t want,” Brady said with a grin.
    “True that.”
    “Give her a few days with a hammer and nails. Maybe she’ll change her mind.”
    “You never know,” Logan said.
    He doubted she’d change her mind. She seemed hell-bent on getting the out of West Yellowstone. He just hoped he could keep himself occupied until she was gone. The temptation to look in on her appealed to his bear. The beast had decided she’d make a nice little sex snack. He couldn’t argue with that. His bear had impeccable taste in women. He stuffed three strips of bacon in his mouth, hoping it was enough to satisfy his bear.
     

 
    Chapter 3
     
    Kate climbed a ladder to get to the barn’s second level. A bevvy of cobwebs clung to her like a veil. Apparently her father hadn’t been up in the hay loft in a while. He’d always done the bare minimum to get by, so why would this be any different?
    She’d spent the better part of each summer hiding amongst the hay bales, especially during his drinking rages. He’d kept extra panes of glass, wood, and tools in unsorted piles in and around the barn.
    Once, when she’d tried to organize the mess, he’d yelled at her for hiding his favorite hammer. Before he could find it, she’d run into the forest and had hid until well after dark. When she’d finally returned, he’d been passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of beer in one hand and the hammer in the other. She had no doubt that he would have killed her