Read Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series) for Free Online

staying
here for a couple of weeks. She needs bed rest, and the cat will be with her in
the bedroom off the kitchen. Give Grace whatever she needs. She'll let you know
what it is."
    Flo said
nothing, her eyes shifting between Jack, and Grace's belly, and the cat in the
carrier, and fixing on Grace's belly again. "When's the baby due?"
she asked, her brow creased in a frown, her eyes holding a myriad of unspoken questions.
    "Next
month," Jack replied. "And don't try to figure it out right now, Flo.
It's a long story." He handed the cat carrier to Sam then scooped Grace up
in his arms and carried her through the entry. Grace couldn't help but be aware
of the rock-hard arms holding her. Jack was all lean, solid muscle, and he
carried her with no effort.
    Once inside,
what struck Grace first was the musky odor of wood from the massive log walls,
intermingled with smoke from years of logs burning on the hearth of the immense
stone fireplace at the far end of the great room. A rustic iron chandelier made
of several concentric circular iron bands, and held together by welded interlocking
horseshoes, hung from beams that crisscrossed above, forming a cathedral
ceiling over the entry, and straight ahead rose a bank of stairs to a balcony
above, which was lined with guest rooms. At the far end of the room, near the
fireplace, were overstuffed chairs and leather sofas, which were arranged in
groups, inviting conversation, and several wooden card tables stood ready for game
players. Through a double-wide opening was a dining room, with one long table
lined with a couple dozen chairs.
    Grace saw no
sign of guests. "I assume this is your off season?" she said to Jack,
whose face was not more than a breath away from hers.
    "Yeah,"
Jack replied, as he headed across the great room toward a hallway, while still
carrying Grace. "Guests start filling the place on Easter weekend and they’re
here through New Years. We shut down for repairs after that, so winters are
quiet."
    Sam, holding
the cat in the cat carrier, followed behind Jack, who passed the kitchen on the
right and Flo's room on the left. When the hallway made a turn, Jack carried
Grace straight ahead and through a doorway and set her down in a bedroom
outfitted in peeled-pole furniture with Indian-motif upholstery.
    "You
should have everything you need here," he said. "If not, just ask
Flo."
    "I'll be
fine," Grace replied, while taking in the surroundings. Being a corner
room, it had large windows on two walls that looked out onto a scene covered in
snow. From the window on the end wall, and across an expanse of snowy grounds, she
saw the stables with its corral enclosed by a peeled-pole fence. The other window
looked out the front wall of the lodge, where she could see hills dotted with
evergreens, everything cloaked in newly-fallen snow. On the interior wall was a
large-screen TV and a cabinet with DVD's, and beside the cabinet, a door opened
to a bathroom. In it was a modern footed tub with a sloping back, the perfect
place to sit with water up to her chin and soak, Grace decided. And after the
long distressing day, that was exactly where she wanted to be.
    Jack walked up
to stand behind her, and said, over the top of her head, "The tub's a
little high off the floor so if you want, Flo can help you get in and out for
the next two weeks."
    That's when it
dawned on Grace that Jack told Flo she'd be there for two weeks. "I only
packed for a week," she said. She wasn't protesting, just surprised Jack
hadn't consulted her first. Then maybe she shouldn't be surprised at this
point. Jack seemed to be a man who pretty much did things the way he wanted.
Period!
    "You won't
need much in the way of clothes since you'll be in bed," Jack said.
    "I can't
sit in bed for two weeks," Grace replied. "I'll go crazy."
    "Are you
interested in carrying our child to full term?" Jack asked.
    "I've been
carrying my child for almost eight
months now," Grace emphasized the my. "Of course I want to carry