Read The Lies Uncovered Trilogy (Books 4, 5, and 6 of The Dancing Moon Ranch Series) for Free Online Page B

front of him after the shower, challenging him to have sex with her. No love, just sex because she'd learned something bad about her step-mother. It was a sobering thought, Sophie turning to booze and men to resolve her problems.
    "Why is she so angry?" Becca asked. "Dad didn't say, only that she'd had a falling out with her parents and took off in her car and drove straight here. I might have expected that when she was a teenager and going through a rebellion against house rules, but she's long past that, and things always seemed to be good between her and her folks."
    Deciding to ignore his father's rule that no one talk about Justine, and deciding Becca was an adult who would be discrete, he relayed to Becca what Sophie learned about Justine, and added, "Sophie's trying to come to terms with it but right now she's confused and vulnerable and needs me even though she doesn't realize it."
    "Actually, Rick, you need her to need you, because that might be the only way you'll get her," Becca said. "Take some advice from a big sister who cares. Find a woman who needs you because you make her feel things she's never felt before, and because she can't imagine life without you because you're the center of her world. That's the way I feel about Chase, and it didn't take a lifetime of knowing him to realize he was right for me. You have to ask yourself why, after knowing each other since you and Sophie were children, Sophie doesn't feel about you the way you feel about her. Maybe it's just not meant to be a romantic relationship."
    Rick said nothing because Becca was right. He just couldn't seem to let that reality sink in.
    ***
    The following afternoon, when Sophie stopped by Rick's folks to talk to his step-mother, Jayne, about working at the ranch, she was surprised to find Rick at the house. His truck had been parked at the barn, so she thought he was there, but when he opened the door to her knocking, he gave no indication he was glad to see her, but simply stepped back for her to enter, then returned to sit on the couch in front of the coffee table, which was covered by a spread of textbooks, notebooks and papers. But before he returned to his studies, he eyed her with curiosity, and said, "Are you going somewhere?"
    "No, just here," Sophie replied. "Your mother took me shopping." She turned in a slow circle to display her black slacks and modest white jersey top and olive blazer with rolled-back cuffs in a contrasting shade of darker olive. "What do you think?"
    For a few moments Rick said nothing, just sat staring at her, brows gathered, a look of disquiet on his face. Then his gaze roamed the length of her and he said, "What do I think about what? The outfit? Or my mother taking you shopping?" There was a definite edge to his tone.
    "Both," Sophie replied. Uncertain whether to draw up a chair and sit down or remain standing and wait to see if she was welcome, she braced her hands on her hips and opted for the latter. After a few moments, when Rick still said nothing, she said, "Well?"
    "The outfit's fine," Rick replied. "At least you don't look like a hooker, which is surprising since it was my mother who took you shopping."
    Sophie felt her temper rise. "Why do you turn everything your mother does into a negative? She was trying to be nice to me because you and I are friends and she wants to please you. Is that so hard for you to understand?"
    "Most of the things my mother does are hard for me to understand," Rick said. "Do you plan to continue staying with her?"
    "For a while, yes. I actually enjoy being with her," Sophie replied. "We went to a little deli for lunch and then we went to a salon and had facials, and your mother was everything you believe she's not. She was actually more of a mother to me than Justine, who would never have taken me to have a facial. She's also like a mother to Kenny, who's having a hard time at home. She's helping him get caught up on school work through a summer program, and she gives him