The Rancher's Second Chance (Martin's Crossing Book 3) by Brenda Minton Page A

she wasn’t surprised to find a tiny pair of cowboy boots.
    “She’ll look cute in these.”
    He shook his head. “He. I kinda like the name Lyle.”
    She didn’t know what to say, and he was looking at her so intently, so seriously, she couldn’t laugh.
    “Lyle? For a girl?”
    “For a boy. After Lyle Lovett. You know he’s from Texas, right?”
    “So is George Strait.”
    “I guess you got me there. You could name him George.” He grinned as he eased into city traffic. “So have you called your folks?”
    “I’ve talked to them, I just...” She glanced out the window at city traffic and the Austin skyline. “They’re going to be disappointed.”
    “Maybe, but they won’t be devastated. Your parents are good people.”
    “Yes, they are. But they wanted so much for me.”
    They drove in silence for a few minutes.
    “You keep talking in past tense. You know your life isn’t over, right?” Brody reached to turn down the radio. “You’re having a baby. People do it every day. They still have careers. They still get married and have good lives.”
    “I know. It’s just that...” She brushed a hand across her cheeks. “I used to sit on the bed with my mom and we’d talk about what I wanted for my life. We talked about weddings, about being a nurse, about the home I’d have someday.”
    “You can still have those things.”
    “What about Lincoln?”
    He gave her a quick look. “Do you still want Lincoln?”
    The question made her head feel fuzzy. Did he think she wanted to spend her life with a man who had beaten her? A man who didn’t want the baby she carried? As the thoughts spun through her mind she realized that Brody didn’t have to think highly of her. She hadn’t given him reason.
    She’d shattered him when she’d broken up with him. She hadn’t expected that to happen. For some reason she had thought Brody, like her, wasn’t interested in settling down just yet. He was chasing a world title. She wanted a year of just being young and chasing her own dreams. “No, Brody, I’m not interested in Lincoln. I just need to figure out how to keep him from hurting us.”
    “I think you’ll have to get a restraining order. Tomorrow you can talk to Jake’s lawyer.”
    Of course the Martins had connections. They were ranchers, but they were businessmen, too.
    “Okay. Brody. Thank you for everything. I’ll make it up to you.”
    “I don’t need you to make it up to me, Grace. You knew when you decided to come to Martin’s Crossing that I wouldn’t turn you away. I’ll do everything I can to help you, but I don’t need you to make anything up to me. What’s done is done.”
    Yes, what was done was done. Her aunt Jacki had encouraged her to find herself, to experience life before settling down. Now Grace wanted a do-over.
    The thought of a do-over was disconcerting with Brody Martin sitting next to her. He was her past. She doubted he would be her future.

Chapter Five
    B rody woke up early Saturday morning, way earlier than he’d planned. He put on a pot of coffee, swallowed a couple of pills and then headed to the barn, moving slow but better than when he’d first woken up. The walk did him good, getting the kinks out and loosening up his joints.
    The last person he expected to see at the barn this early was Duke. He assumed his older brother would be having breakfast with his wife-to-be and their daughter. Or he’d be at the restaurant serving the breakfast crowd. Instead, Duke was tossing bales of hay on the back of the truck.
    “What are you doing up and around so early?” Duke asked as he tossed another bale on the growing pile.
    “It isn’t that early. Sun’s up.”
    “Yeah, guess it is.” Duke pulled off his work gloves and tossed them through the open window of his truck. “I’m taking these over to Jake’s place. Want to ride along?”
    “Doesn’t Jake have his own hay?”
    “Yeah, he does. But Breezy talked him into getting a couple of llamas. I don’t know