Denim and Diamonds Read Free Page B

she located a wooden spoon. Then, as though suddenly finding the blanket cumbersome, the child lifted it from the floor and placed it in Chase’s lap.
    Letty could hardly believe her eyes. She’d brought Cricket home from the hospital in that yellow blanket and the little girl had slept with it every night of her life since. Rarely would she entrust it to anyone, let alone a stranger.
    Chase looked down on the much-loved blanket as if the youngster had deposited a dirty diaper in his lap.
    “I’ll take it,” Letty said, holding out her hands.
    Chase gave it to her, and when he did, his cold gaze locked with hers. Letty felt the chill in his eyes all the way through her bones. His bitterness toward her was evident with every breath he drew.
    “It would’ve been better if you’d never come back,” he said so softly she had to strain to hear.
    She opened her mouth to argue. Even Lonny didn’t know the real reason she’d returned to Wyoming. No one did, except her doctor in California. She hadn’t meant to come back and disrupt Chase’s life—or anyone else’s, for that matter. Chase didn’t need to spell out that he didn’t want anything to do with her. He’d made that clear the minute she walked into the kitchen.
    “Mommy, hurry,” Cricket said. “We have to bake cookies.”
    “Just a minute, sweetheart.” Letty was uncertain how to handle this new problem. She doubted Lonny had chocolate chips in the house, and a trip into town was more than she wanted to tackle that afternoon. “Cricket…”
    Lonny and Chase both stood. “I’m driving on over to Chase’s for the rest of the afternoon,” Lonny told her. He obviously wasn’t accustomed to letting anyone know his whereabouts and did so now only as an afterthought.
    “Can I go, too?” Cricket piped up, so eager her blue eyes sparkled with the idea.
    Letty wanted her daughter to be comfortable with Lonny, and she would have liked to encourage the two of them to become friends, but the frown that darkened Chase’s brow told her now wasn’t the time.
    “Not today,” Letty murmured, looking away from the two men.
    Cricket pouted for a few minutes but didn’t argue. It wouldn’t have mattered if she had, because Lonny and Chase left without another word.
    —
    Dinner was ready and waiting when Lonny returned to the house that evening. Cricket ran to greet him, her pigtails bouncing. “Mommy and me cooked dinner for you!”
    Lonny smiled down on her and absently patted her head, then went to the bathroom to wash his hands. Letty watched him and felt a tugging sense of discontent. After years of living alone, Lonny tended not to be as communicative as Letty wanted him to be. This was understandable, but it made her realize how lonely he must be out here on the ranch night after night without anyone to share his life. Ranchers had to be more stubborn than any other breed of male, Letty thought.
    To complicate matters, there was the issue of Cricket staying with Lonny while Letty had the surgery. The little girl had never been away from her overnight.
    Letty’s prognosis for a complete recovery was good, but there was always the possibility that she wouldn’t be coming home from the hospital. Any number of risks had to be considered with this type of operation, and if anything were to happen, Lonny would have to raise Cricket on his own. Letty didn’t doubt he’d do so with the greatest of care, but he simply wasn’t accustomed to dealing with children.
    By the time her brother had finished washing up, dinner was on the table. He gazed down at the ample amount of food and grinned appreciatively. “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had a home-cooked meal like this. I’ve missed it.”
    “What have you been eating?”
    He shrugged. “I come up with something or other, but nothing as appetizing as this.” He sat down and filled his plate, hardly waiting for Cricket and Letty to join him.
    He was buttering his biscuit when he