Page 38 of Cowboy Wolf's Secret Baby

They cuddled together for a while and then he said, “Although I think Taryn would understand, I don’t think that she should find me here in the morning.”

“Maybe so,” Beth said.

They cleaned up and then he got dressed and headed back to the hotel. “What am I going to do?” he asked himself. “How can I keep going on the circuit, only seeing Taryn and Beth once in a while? On the other hand, am I ready to give up the rodeo? It’s become the only life that I know.”

13

Beth

Beth sighed heavily when her front door was practically ripped off of the hinges the next morning and someone stomped into the room.

“Mother.”

“What in the world are you doing?”

“Cooking breakfast,” Beth said as she flipped the French toast. “Did you know that French toast isn’t really French? People in the United Kingdom have been eating it for centuries. They call it eggy bread.”

“I didn’t come here to discuss breakfast foods with you,” she growled.

“No? I can’t imagine what else you would want to talk about,” Beth said, knowing exactly what was on her mother’s mind.

“You were with him last night.”

“Who?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know that wolf shifter spent the afternoon with my granddaughter at the fair, and then he came here last night. You slept with him.”

“You don’t give a damn about your granddaughter. But yes, she did spend the afternoon with her father. As for whether I slept with him or not, that is my business. None of yours.”

“I knew that I should have killed him. I did him a favor by putting the memory spell on him. You should have left well enough alone.”

Enraged, Beth turned to face her mother. “I don’t get you. You don’t care about either me or Taryn. You wouldn’t care if either of us died tomorrow. What is your issue with me seeing Conner?”

“He’s a wolf shifter. He is nothing but a filthy animal. We are witches. You have a legacy to uphold.”

Taryn is a wolf shifter,” Beth growled.

“Yes, but she is also a powerful witch. She could be very useful.”

“Useful for what? Taryn isn’t any more inclined to join your devilish cult of evil witches than I am.”

“We’ll see. Meanwhile, you should send your cowboy packing. You’re making a huge mistake by being with him. He’s no good for you, and he’s just going to hurt you.”

“It is my mistake to make, and I’ll decide what’s good for me and what isn’t. Stay out of my business and leave Conner alone.”

“You can’t say that I didn’t warn you.” Matilda laughed and walked back out the door.

“We need to find some kind of spell that would keep her from coming in that door,” Taryn said.

“She would just come in a window or down the chimney,” Beth said. “There is no stopping her when she wants something.”

“Is she going to hurt Dad again?”

Beth thought about assuring Taryn that Matilda wouldn’t do anything to hurt Conner, but she wasn’t going to lie to her daughter. She sighed heavily and said, “I honestly don’t know. He knows that she is dangerous, so he’ll keep an eye out for her.”

“She’s sneaky. She isn’t going to do anything while he’s watching. Grandmother will get him when his back is turned. It would be better if he just went home,” Taryn said.

“You’re probably right, although I have a feeling that he’ll refuse to leave if we suggest it to him.”

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