Cowboy Daddy

Cowboy Daddy
Carolyne Aarsen

Rancher Kip Cosgrove promised his dying brother he'd take care of his motherless young twins.So when the boys' estranged aunt shows up on the Cosgrove doorstep with a will and the law on her side, Kip digs in his boot heels. Nicole Williams is wonderful with the boys, but Kip is just as much their kin as she is. And until legal issues are settled, she'll have to abide by his rules.Which means visiting the twins at the ranch. Seeing how much he loves the boys. How much they love him. And maybe…staying forever.

“You’re a good man, Kip, and you’re an even better brother.”

She smiled. “I don’t know many men who would let their brother and two little boys move in with him when he already had a mother and a sister to take care of.”

Kip glanced over at Nicole, her soft smile easing into his soul. Then puzzlement took over. “Why are you telling me this? Aren’t you supposed to be making me out to be the bad guy?” His eyes skimmed over her face, then met her gaze.

She didn’t look away. “You’re not the bad guy.”

Kip didn’t reply, not sure what to make of her. Was she flirting with him?

“You just happen to be caught in a bad situation.” Then she looked away.

What was she doing? Was she playing him?

He wasn’t sure what to think. Then he glanced over at her. She was watching him again. That had been happening a lot lately, but this time as their eyes met, he felt a deeper, surprising emotion.

More than appeal. More than attraction….

CAROLYNE AARSEN

and her husband, Richard, live on a small ranch in northern Alberta, where they have raised four children and numerous foster children and are still raising cattle. Carolyne crafts her stories in her office with a large west-facing window through which she can watch the changing seasons while struggling to make her words obey.

Cowboy Daddy

Carolyne Aarsen

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

—Matthew 11: 28

To Elin and Annely, who have brought a new dimension of love to our lives.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

What in the world was this about?

“Housekeeper wanted.” The words were handwritten, and the notice was tacked up on the bulletin board in Millarville’s post office.

Kip Cosgrove ripped the notice down and glared at it, recognizing his younger sister’s handwriting. What was Isabelle doing? Where did she get the idea that he needed a housekeeper?

Kip crumpled the paper and threw it in the garbage can of the post office, hoping not too many people had read it.

He spun around, almost bumping into an older woman.

“Hey, Kip, how’s your mom?” she asked. “I read on the church bulletin that she had knee surgery.”

“She’s in a lot of pain,” Kip said with a vague smile, taking another step toward the door. He didn’t have time for Millarville chitchat. Not with two rambunctious five-year-old boys waiting for him in his truck parked outside the door and a sister to bawl out. “I’ll tell her you said hello.”

He tipped his cowboy hat, then jogged over to his truck. He had to get home before anyone responded to the advertisement.

“What’s the matter, Uncle Kip?”

“Are you mad?”

Justin and Tristan leaned over the front seat of the truck, their faces showing the remnants of the Popsicles he’d given them as a bribe to be quiet on the long trip back from Calgary.