Page 11 of Wounded Cowboy
“Is it really so bad to have someone who cares enough to step in when they see you struggling?” Kelsey asked quietly.
“Struggling?” Indignation washed through him.“I amnotstruggling!” He realized he was yelling, and clamped down on his temper.“And I can take care of my daughters just fine without anyone’s help!”
“Of course you can,” Kelsey agreed quickly.“But sometimes it’s okay to accept help. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or incompetent. It just means you recognize you can’t do everything on your own.”
She sounds like one of those damned self-help books, he thought sourly.
“Grandma Abigail needs to mind her own business.” He frowned at Kelsey.
“Maybe. She seems a little, uh, controlling.” Kelsey’s full lips twitched in a tiny smile.“But I really like your girls and think spending the summer with them would be fun. Will you at least think about it?”
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if there was someone around during the day to keep April and Abby out of trouble.
Especially since his sisters were all busy working and Mom and Dad had just left on a long-overdue vacation to celebrate their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.
Then Spring shut down that treacherous train of thought.
“Thanks for the offer, but no,” he stated flatly.“Sorry you got stuck in the middle of this. I’m gonna have to have a talk with Grandma Abigail. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
Fuming, he escorted Kelsey out of the house.
Chapter 3
Battle of Wills
Despite simmering with anger over his grandmother’s underhanded tactics, Spring managed to keep his cool through dinner.
As he and the girls sat down to pizza and a salad, he told them about the tourists who’d tried to take selfies with the bison. And about their aunt Autumn catching Daisy escaping from the goat pen—again—by pushing the small portable shelter in the pen into position so that she could scramble over the top of the fence to freedom.
Spring had built that shelter three years ago, using wooden pallets.
“Daddy, can we have Ms. Kelsey over for dinner tomorrow?” April asked unexpectedly as Spring was reaching for the last piece of pizza.
He froze.“Um…”
“She’s really nice and I like her!” Abby declared.“And I betshe’dtake us to see the dinosaurs at the museum!”
Spring winced at the reminder that he’d let the ranch rob him of time with his daughters.
But it’s not like he had a choice about working so many hours, not with Mom and Dad currently boarding a cruise ship in Athens.
Someonehad to keep things running smoothly on the ranch, and Dad was trusting Spring to do it.
He sighed, remembering how happy he’d been last August, when Dad announced he was retiring.
I know our ranch will be in excellent hands with you at the helm, Dad had announced in front of the entire family. It was a lot to live up to, and Spring was determined not to fuck it up.
As soon as the girls were tucked safely in their bedrooms, he texted Grandma Abigail.
Can I come over? I need to talk to you about Kelsey Armstrong.
She replied within seconds.I’m in town right now, attending the Chamber of Commerce dinner. How about tomorrow?Lunch at my place?
Spring growled softly in frustration. The girls were safely asleep in their rooms, and he needed to ask his grandmother what the hell she was thinking to hire Kelsey-fucking-Armstrong behind his back.
Fine, he replied.
Bring the girls, she suggested.
