Counting on Love (Contemporary Cowboy Romance) (Carson Hill Ranch series: Book 3) Read Free Page B

his father forward.
     

Chapter Four
    Later that afternoon, Amanda returned to the kitchen from retrieving Joseph’s tray. Without a word, she walked past Emily and stood in front of her, gesturing to the head cook to take the lid off the plate. Beneath the fitted cover, Joseph’s food had gone untouched. They exchanged a worried look.
    “Emily, you have to say something to Mr. Carson,” Amanda began. “As far as I can count, Joseph hasn’t eaten anything in at least four days. You have to speak up.”
    “I’ll do no such thing! I have a kitchen to run and a staff to supervise…”
    “So that’s it? You’re not going to say something just because you’re afraid of pissing off the boss? And we just let Joseph kill himself while you say nothing?” Amanda said accusingly. Emily faltered for a moment, then steeled her expression again.
    “If you’re so worried, Miss High and Mighty, why don’t you go say something to the old man? Huh? Afraid of ‘pissing off the boss,’ are we?” Emily sneered, turning Amanda’s own words against her.
    “You know he’d listen to you better than any of the rest of us. You’ve been here for ages. You stayed by his wife’s side when…well, that’s not important,” she muttered, looking down and shaking her head sadly. “The rest of us barely know him, but you speak to him almost daily about the household and the budget and stuff like that. He can’t do without you, and he knows it! Sure, he might be mad at you for a little while for telling him what to do with his own son, but he can’t get mad enough at you to fire you. Please, Emily!”
    Emily looked at Amanda’s worried expression, and looked around at the faces of the other members of the kitchen and household staffs. She shrugged, and silently shook her head.
    “Emily, it’s not just about you being the one to tell him. You’re worried, too. I know you are. You raised all six of those boys, filling in for their mama when she left them. What do you think she would want you to do right now? Her son is hurting and he needs help! Now help him! Make his dad see reason!” Amanda urged tearfully.
    The older woman wiped at her eyes with the edge of her work apron, then choked back a sob before putting her hand on Amanda’s arm. After giving her a tight hug, Emily nodded and went back to her work. Before turning away, she said, “I’ll find a way to speak to him tomorrow. I just have to figure out what to say to him.”
     

Chapter Five
    Casey and Miranda rode side by side, watching the herd carefully as they moved the cattle along toward a field about two miles away. Several other hands rode in a spaced apart formation, keeping an eye out for coyotes and wild dogs that might give chase.
    “I know you have something to say,” Casey teased with his famous comfortable grin, looking straight ahead but stealing glances at Miranda’s expression. “so you might as well say it.”
    Miranda shot him a playful look. “Oh, really? Married less than a year and you already think you can read me like a book?”
    “Well, am I wrong?” he replied, flicking a large biting fly off his horse’s neck with the end of his reins.
    “No, but that’s not the point. Now I’m not going to ask you just because I don’t want to give you the satisfaction of thinking you have me figured out. I have to keep some of my ‘mystery’ about me.”
    Casey leaned over his saddle dangerously close to sideways, grabbed Miranda’s elbow, and pulled her closer for a quick kiss on her neck. “I do have you figured out. I know that’s your favorite place to be kissed, for starters.”
    “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong,” she laughed. “It’s not even in the top three of my favorite places to be kissed.” She raised her eyebrows, hinting that there were far better places he could kiss her. Casey flushed for a second and laughed.
    “Okay, then, favorite places to be kissed when there are other people around,” he whispered, before