Read Expecting the Rancher's Heir for Free Online

lowering his head, covered her mouth with his for a quick kiss. Then, reluctantly stepping back, he turned toward the kitchen counter. “Why don’t you go into the living room and put your feet up while I load the dishwasher and clean up?”
    â€œAre you sure I can’t help?” she asked, sounding tired.
    â€œPositive. It won’t take but a few minutes.” He rinsed their plates and started stacking them in the dishwasher. “There is one thing you could do for me, though.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œTurn on the sports channel and see if you cancatch who won the game this afternoon between the Rockies and the Cardinals.”
    â€œYou’re a baseball fan?”
    Looking at her over his shoulder, he grinned. “I like baseball as much as the next guy. But this game is kind of special. I have a bet going with Cactus and I’d like to see who wins. He thinks the Cardinals will sweep the Rockies in this three-game series and I say they won’t.”
    Laughing, she shook her head as she started toward the living room. “Men and their sports.”
    As he started the dishwasher, he couldn’t help but think about how fast his plans had changed. When he had first come up with the idea of bringing Lissa to the ranch for the weekend, he had thought they would be spending the majority of their time within the confines of his bedroom. But that had changed in the blink of an eye with her announcement that she was going to have his baby.
    Now, even though it made him as jumpy as a day-old colt, his main priority was convincing her to let him do the right thing by her and the baby. He wiped off the counter, then turning out the kitchen light, headed for the living room.
    He had three days of uninterrupted time with her to figure out how to get her to say yes. Given her argument about their not knowing enough about each other, it probably wasn’t going to be easy.
    Smiling to himself as he walked down the hall, he decided he was more than ready for the challenge.His personal code of honor demanded that he make her his wife and help her raise their child. And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that before he took her back to Aspen, she would agree to be just that.

Three
    W hen Shane turned off the television, Melissa asked, “How much money did you win from your housekeeper?”
    â€œNone. If he had won, I was going to have to cook for the next month.” Shane laughed. “But since he lost, the old boy is going to have to keep the driveway cleared of snow until spring.”
    â€œHow old is Cactus?” she asked, hoping he was younger than Shane made him sound.
    â€œI’m not sure,” he said as he rose from the couch to take her hand in his. “He’s a little sensitive about his age, but I’m pretty sure he’s at least seventy and probably a few years older than that.”
    â€œHe’s that old and you’re going to make him getout in the cold to clear the snow?” she asked, allowing him to help her to her feet. She didn’t like the idea of Shane taking advantage of the older gentleman. “Tell me you’re going to take pity on him and let him out of this stupid bet.”
    â€œNot on your life.” Grinning, he shook his head. “I don’t feel the least bit sorry for him. He’ll be on a tractor with a heated cab, a built-in CD player that he can crank up as loud as he wants with his favorite bluegrass music, and if I know Cactus, he’ll have a Thermos of Irish coffee to keep him company.”
    â€œYou make it sound like he was going to win either way.”
    Shane nodded as they climbed the stairs. “We go through this every fall. He’ll come up with a bet he knows he can’t win in order to do something he enjoys.”
    She didn’t understand that kind of logic. “Then why doesn’t he just volunteer for the job?”
    â€œBecause that’s not how the