Скачать книгу

was too young to understand how complex marriage was, how deep the commitment needed to be for both parties to make it work. He’d been twenty-four when he’d married Tory, and at that age he hadn’t understood it himself.

      “You can’t make demands like that Cody,” he said as gently as he could. “What you’re asking isn’t fair to either of us. Your mom has agreed to Judge Benson’s suggestion that you both come and live on my ranch. Let’s leave it at that.”

      Cody crossed his arms and nestled further into his chair. “If you won’t marry her, I’d rather go to juvie than live on your hick ranch.”

      “No!” Megan cried, turning to him. “Don’t joke about that.”

      “I’m not joking, Mom. I mean it. I need to know he cares enough about me to marry you. He should’ve done it fifteen years ago.”

      Luke winced at that. If he’d known about Cody, he would’ve married Megan. But she hadn’t given him that chance and he’d been robbed of knowing his son, of guiding him toward becoming a man. He looked at Cody. The kid was truly hurting. Hurting inside and hurting his mom in the process.

      Megan’s eyes held terror as she appealed to him. “Please…do something,” she begged. “He means what he says. He’ll go to juvenile detention and I’ll lose him forever!” Megan covered her face and turned away.

      Luke watched Cody’s reaction to his mom. Initially, the kid seemed upset that his mother was in so much pain, and then he got a grip on himself and set his mouth in a firm line—a look Luke associated with his younger brothers at a similar age, when they’d decided they were going to do something and nothing and no one was going to stop them. Cody glared back at Luke as though it was all his fault Megan was crying. All Luke’s fault that he hadn’t given him his name and his birthright. The love of a father and a family.

      Cody was fourteen now, far from being a man. Luke determined there and then that by the time Cody was eighteen, he’d have turned the boy’s life turned around, instilled in him what it was to be a responsible member of the community. A man. By then Cody would be graduating from high school and heading off to college. So what was sacrificing four years of his life for the betterment of his son’s? If he married Megan now, in four years, they could divorce, move on, find other partners. But in the meantime, Cody would have time and space to grow up and become a contributing member of society. If he went to juvenile detention, his son’s life could be in more danger than Luke would allow himself to imagine.

      Megan sat with her head down. She looked so vulnerable, so desperate to do the best for their son, but would she agree to such an outrageous proposal? Luke knew he was probably going to make the second biggest mistake of his life—but it might be the only decision that would save Cody.

      Sick with fear for his son, Luke got up and went to stand in front of Megan. She refused to lift her gaze to his, so he crouched down.

      “Megan,” he murmured, waiting until her head came up and she’d focused her sad, defeated eyes on him. Then he asked, “Will you marry me?”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4SA+RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABAfQAAAEBAAMAAAABAxcAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNiAoTWFjaW50b3NoKQAyMDE1 OjA4OjEyIDE3OjM1OjMzAAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAEAAQAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAXcoAMA BAAAAAEAAAlFAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAHrgAAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAH/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAGUD ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAH/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwDom6tb8B+RSLS2Q4QR2OiHkMe7EsbWNz3VwGAwXCBvqa73bH3V76a37fY96sYhxGY1 deTXY61ohz2kAxJ9Otzd23dVV6dT3fv1rQJ+rTHZCSBykIIkajxCObOllpNlNrSBLtjtJG36Pu+k 795//nGR1fqeA1pdjA0bRN11rwIa0BrY2O2N/wCE/f8A66pffCCbAIvQbSbf3QSAokGtTvFPeQ9+ 381v4rNzGSSWt04Cyv2255P2VuVlAfuNLW/59xr/AOoVS7r2a4EvxbWMHJddH3+1yqSlKUjKWpLc jARiIgaDZ0sTIuwsve1pNbhD2diFs39Xxq9KQbneP0Wj+0fc7+w1cdj9b9e0VV4xe8/u2tcf+kxH HVqX2Pqe11V1Ziyuwe4fd7dv8pOx5suMGMToe+vD4xW5MGLIYymNRpppxf3no

Скачать книгу