Renegade Father

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Book: Renegade Father Read Free
Author: RaeAnne Thayne
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face, but turned obediently back to the house. He took a few steps, then turned back. “Hey, Uncle Joe,” he said, raising his voice to be heard over the howling wind, “Nick told me a new joke on the bus today. Wanna hear it?”
    He gave an inward groan. Colt’s stepson told even cornier jokes than C.J. “Sure,” he said. “Lay it on me.”
    â€œKnock knock.”
    Great. A knock-knock joke. His favorite. He winced but gave the requisite answer. “Who’s there.”
    â€œImpatient cow.”
    â€œImpatient cow wh—”
    â€œMOOOOO,” C.J. cut him off before he could finish his part of the joke, then started giggling hysterically. “Get it? The cow’s too impatient to wait for you to say ‘who.”’
    No matter how many times Annie tried to set him straight, C.J. always insisted on overexplaining his jokes. Joe smiled anyway. “I get it. That’s a good one.”
    C.J. giggled again, then with a final wave of a mitten, he trudged through the blowing snow into the house, pausing only long enough to greet Annie’s best cow dog, Dolly.
    Joe watched until the boy climbed the steps to the back porch and closed the back door behind him.
    He rubbed a fist over his suddenly aching heart. Damn, he would miss the little rascal. And Leah, too, even with this new frosty attitude of hers. He loved bothof them as much as if they were his own kids instead of his brother’s.
    The future stretched out ahead of him, a bleak and solitary landscape, without Leah’s smart mouth or C.J.’s corny jokes, or that soft, hesitant smile of Annie’s that transformed her from an ordinary woman into someone of rare beauty.
    What was he thinking to move hundreds of miles away? He would hate Wyoming without them. He should call Waterson and tell him the deal was off, that he’d changed his mind about the whole damn thing and wasn’t coming after all—
    He caught himself. He wouldn’t do anything of the sort. He had to leave, and soon. If he didn’t—if he gave in to the low throb of desire—Annie would run from him faster than a mule deer caught in the crosshairs.
    He had already screwed up her life enough by forcing her into his brother’s arms. He refused to screw it up any more.

Chapter 2
    â€œS hut up, you little brat. It’s none of your business whether I do my homework or not.”
    â€œLeah, that’s enough. C.J., stay out of this. It’s between me and your sister.”
    Annie stirred the spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove with one hand and pinched at the bridge of her nose with the other, futilely trying to squeeze out the killer headache that had formed with Joe’s announcement in the barn two hours earlier and had since swollen to enormous proportions.
    Thorny tendrils of pain converged behind her eyes, then snaked out in every direction throughout her head, threatening to crush the life out of any coherent thought she might have.
    â€œWell, he is a little brat,” Leah snapped. “I’m sick and tired of him always butting in where he doesn’t belong.”
    â€œThis discussion is about you, young lady. This isthe third phone call I’ve received from the school this month. You’re seriously in danger of flunking algebra if we don’t do something about it.”
    â€œWhat do I care?” Leah studied purple fingernails resting on the kitchen table, her mouth set in heavy, sullen lines. “Mr. Sandoval’s a dork.”
    â€œHe’s a concerned teacher who cares enough about you and your grade to call me and inform me you’re still not turning in your assignments.”
    â€œSo what?”
    â€œSo you lied to me, for starters. You told me you’ve been finishing all your work in study hall.”
    â€œAlgebra’s stupid.”
    â€œI like math,” C.J. piped in.
    â€œThat’s because you’re stupid,

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