Read The Rancher Takes a Bride for Free Online Page B

Lilly looked around the room at boxes nearly packed and empty walls and shelves.
    Her daughter nodded. “I’m finished.”
    â€œDid you have fun?” Oregon winced at the question. Lilly shot her a look of disbelief.
    â€œOf course I had fun. Just... I’m not sure what to call Duke. He used to be my friend. Now he’s my dad.”
    Oregon didn’t know how to respond, to the question or to the not-so-well-disguised anger. “Call him whatever feels right.”
    â€œYeah, okay. Anyway, he said to tell you to come over and eat lunch.”
    â€œThanks, honey.”
    Lilly shrugged and looked at the boxes, her back to Oregon and Breezy.
    Oregon hadn’t known what to expect when Lilly learned the truth about Duke. In her mind she’d played through several scenarios. In one, Lilly had been thrilled, loving both of them, accepting that they would both love her, even if they couldn’t be a family. In another, Lilly had rejected Duke and in the third, she had rejected Oregon.
    They paled in comparison to the truth. The truth was a child who watched both parents, wary and unsure of the future. Reality was a flash of pain in blue eyes, accusing and angry.
    Oregon had done this to her daughter. With her choices, first not to tell Duke and then to wait until now, when it felt too late.
    Breezy slid a knowing gaze from Lilly to Oregon and offered a sympathetic look. “I should go. The twins are due for a nap, and Jake said something about cattle he has to work. Marty is off today.”
    The door closed softly behind her, followed by retreating steps. Oregon watched Lilly as she eased around boxes, her eyes focusing on trinkets that had been wrapped and packed to go.
    â€œI’m sorry. I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again until you believe me. Or forgive me.”
    Lilly didn’t look at her, but there was a shudder to her indrawn breath that hinted at tears. “I know. You were young and afraid. Duke was no good. He wasn’t responsible. He forgot you, and then he left.”
    Lilly’s voice trembled as she repeated every word Oregon had said, tossing the words back at her, letting her hear the flimsiness of the explanations. She ached inside. She wanted to reach for her daughter but knew that Lilly would reject the comfort, and she didn’t think she could handle the rejection right now.
    â€œI made a lot of mistakes.”
    â€œYeah, I know,” Lilly said.
    Oregon chilled on the inside. “No, you don’t know. You weren’t a mistake.”
    â€œNo?”
    â€œNo, you weren’t.”
    Lilly shrugged, and her eyes narrowed a bit. “But the Bible says...”
    And there it was. How to tell a child she wasn’t a mistake when the Bible clearly said it was. She’d given herself to a man who wasn’t her husband. She’d had a child out of wedlock. The lesson had been taught at church, and Oregon had reinforced it at home. A young woman should cherish her purity.
    â€œYou weren’t a mistake. I was young and unhappy, and I made a mistake. But I have never regretted having you. You kept me sane. You kept me focused. I’m not sure where I would be without you, Lilly. I think I’d be lost. Physically and spiritually, probably emotionally. So you were not a mistake. I’m not sure how to connect something I did that I shouldn’t have and the gift you have been, but God is merciful, and somehow He knew that through my mistake something beautiful would happen.”
    Lilly edged around her to the door. “We should go.”
    Oregon closed her eyes, fighting tears that stung and the tight ache in her throat. “I love you.”
    â€œMom, I know you love me. And I love you. But I’m still mad.”
    Oregon sobbed, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She closed the distance between herself and Lilly, wrapping the girl in the embrace they both needed. Lilly tried to break away, but