His Best Friendâs Baby
Widowed and pregnant, Laney Beckett wants nothing to do with stubborn rodeo cowboy Slade McKenna. But avoiding her late husbandâs best friend is nearly impossible now that Slade thinks Laney and her baby need his protection. Though Slade figures heâs too rough a man to settle down, his thrill-seeking ways have already cost him his childhood pal. Looking out for the manâs wife and child is the least he can do, especially when headstrong Laney doesnât know the first thing about running the familyâs ranch. For the sake of baby Beckett, Laney and Slade give friendship a chanceâ¦but could they become a true family?
Cowboy Country: Surprise babies lead to unexpected love in Texas
âIâve come to take you to the doctor.â
Slade clenched his jaw. âItâs only a five-minute drive, but I donât know how long it takes you to doâ¦whatever it is that women need to do to be ready to go out.â
Laney laughed. He raised a brow, but she only shook her head.
What had he said that was so funny?
Women. Heâd never understand them, and frankly, he didnât even want to try. Especially this one.
If it werenât for Brodyâs baby, heâd be out of there so fast Laneyâs head would spin. It was asking a lot just for him to be in the same room with her, but for Brodyâs kid, Slade would grit his teeth and try to get through it.
âIâm a wash-and-wear kind of girl,â she informed him, tossing her hair over her shoulder with an animated flip of her hand, which to Slade felt like a major brush-off. âIâll be ready in five. And Iâm going to ignore the fact that you just tried to order me around again.â
His gaze widened on her and he hoped he wasnât gaping.
âBut donât do it again.â
DEB KASTNER is an award-winning author who lives and writes in beautiful Colorado. Since her daughters have grown into adulthood and her nest is almost empty, she is excited to be able to discover new adventures, challenges and blessings, the biggest of which is her sweet grandchildren. She enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to music, singing in the church choir, and attending concerts and musicals.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; And there shall be no more pain, For the former things have passed away.
âRevelation 21:4
To the Texas Tenors: John Hagen,
Marcus Collins and JC Fisher. Iâm incredibly grateful for your beautiful music. My Texas Tenors playlist has accompanied me through many tight deadlines, and this book is no exception. Thank you!
Chapter One
âI miss you, buddy.â
Slade McKennaâs throat burned and he swallowed hard. He shook his head and grunted at his own foolishness. He wasnât in the habit of talking to those whoâd passed on. Thankfully, no one was here to witness the rarity.
Stirrup-high Texas grass brushed across his boots as he rode the fence line in search of bent posts or breaks in the barbed wire where the Beckettsâ cattle might get free. Mending fences kept his mind off the bad stuff.
Mostly.
He wasnât the kind of guy who expressed emotion, verbal or otherwise, but right now his feelings were digging as deeply into his side as spurs, no matter how hard he bucked and resisted to throw his grief.
His best friend Brody Beckett was gone. Forever.
Dead.
He could hardly bear to think the word, much less say it aloud, especially when Brodyâs absence was such a stark, bitter reality. Checking the fences on his parentsâ ranch property had been Brodyâs chore since he was old enough to sit straight on a horse, and as his best friend, Slade had often accompanied him in his rounds. When they were both little tykes, Slade and Brody had spent many hours out here on the range together, where the lowing of cattle, the gentle Texas wind and the creak of saddle leather were the only sounds to break the sweet silence.
That, and the howling and hollering of a couple of ornery young boys whoâd rather have been wrestling than wrangling.
Riding and roughhousing with Brody. Those were some of the best memories Slade had. And all of Brody he had left to take with him now.
Memories.
Slade pulled his mount up, clenched his jaw and concentrated on pushing his thoughtsâand the painâaway.
His black quarter horse mare Nocturne shifted sideways and pricked her ears forward. Slade was suddenly alert and completely attuned to both his mount and his surroundings. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the area for the prospect of danger, thankful for the shadow of the brim of his black Stetson against the glaring sun.
He knew his horse as well as he knew his own thoughts. Nockâs muscles twitched underneath him. He tightened the reins and squeezed his knees to encourage his horse to remain steady. The hair on his arms stood on edge from the crackle of tension in the air and he strained to listen to the sound of movement within the silence. He didnât know what was wrong, but he had no doubt there was something out there on the Texas prairie. Nocturne wasnât easily spooked.