Free Chapter Friday: The Cowboy's Secret

Lucky is staring at a baby. The baby is crying. Lucky has no idea what happens next, and neither, for the moment, does anybody else.

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The Cowboy's Secret is Gallagher Brothers book 7. Read it free in Kindle Unlimited.

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Here is the whole first chapter. If it grabs you, the link to keep going is right below it.

Chapter one

Lucky was stunned, looking at the baby in front of him. Assuming that when a baby cried, the automatic response was to pick her up, he did so and held her uncomfortably, hoping Angelica would hear the baby and come back down. It felt like an eternity, but he knew it had only been a couple of minutes, when the mudroom door off the kitchen opened. Lucky squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, knowing it had to be Judge and wishing it was anyone else, knowing that he would never hear the end of this. Though, that was the least of his worries. Getting the baby to stop crying was his top priority.

"Why are you making the baby cry?" Judge asked, walking into the kitchen.

"I'm not making her cry. I don't know how to get her to stop."

"Of course you're making her cry. Look at how you're holding her. Have you ever held a baby before?" Judge looked at both Lucky and Hannah.

"No," Lucky said. "I was the youngest." He glanced at Hannah, noticing her shock at the situation. She seemed rooted to the spot.

"Give her to me," Judge said, washing his hands and then walking over to Lucky, picking Sammy up from his arms and laying her on his chest. "You want her to hear your heartbeat, not hold her like a sack of feed."

Within a few seconds, little Sammy quieted down, and Lucky just stared at Judge. Judge was the brother he argued with the most. They were opposites and usually didn't see eye to eye, but the way he was able to get Sammy to quiet down made Lucky vow never to say a bad thing about him again.

"How did you know how to do that?" Lucky asked, in awe of his big brother as Angelica walked back into the kitchen.

"Because I'm not an idiot," Judge retorted.

"Come on, Judge. Don't say such mean things in front of the baby," Angelica said. "Where is Sarah?"

"She's gone," Hannah finally spoke up.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Angelica asked.

"I mean she handed me this bag, said all the paperwork was in there, pointed to a suitcase by the front door, and said she had to get back to Wyoming. She said the baby is now my responsibility." He said it, but he still couldn't quite believe it.

"Did you know you had a baby?" Angelica asked.

"No, I had no idea\... I wouldn't hide something like this from you all."

Hannah grabbed the bag from the table, unzipping it and rifling through it. She pulled out a thick envelope and handed it to Angelica.

"This is the paperwork she was talking about. It might confirm if her father is really Lucky."

Angelica opened the envelope, pulling out sheets of paper and thumbing through them. "Well, there's a birth certificate that has your name on it, and then all her doctor records to date."

"Can you just put someone's name on a birth certificate? Maybe she did that, and she's not mine," he said, feeling panicked.

"You can, although you shouldn't. You need a DNA test. That will for sure tell you whether or not she's yours," Angelica said.

Lucky couldn't help but stare at Judge, who was now slowly walking around the kitchen, murmuring something in Sammy's ear. Lucky had never felt so out of control.

"Maybe I can call Lucia and ask her the best way to go about getting a DNA test here in Cottontail Junction," Chance said, walking into the kitchen in time to hear that last sentence. Lucia, his brother's fiancée, was a nurse practitioner. "I can't believe we have our first baby, and it's Lucky's."

"That's a good idea. She would know. Plus, it might be good for her to check out the baby to make sure she's healthy," Hannah said.

"But then what do I do in the meantime?" Lucky said, not acknowledging Chance's comment.

"Do you have any reason to think this woman would lie about Sammy being your baby?" Judge said. "I guess the first question should be, is it possible this baby can be yours? Wait until Mom hears about this."

"Let's not tell Mom until I know for sure Sammy is mine, and I don't know if she is, because I only dated Trish twice. I couldn't tell you if she was a liar or not. She seemed nice, and I couldn't see her being the kind of person who would just randomly pick a guy's name to put on a birth certificate. Yes, she could be mine. The dates were from when I went to Cheyenne to visit my buddy, Brandon."

"Well, making sure she's yours needs to happen ASAP, but in the meantime, you have a baby to take care of," Judge said.

"I don't know how to handle a baby," Lucky protested.

"Then I guess it's time you learn. Though we need a crib or something for this little sweetheart to sleep in."

"They have them at the feed store, just basic ones," Hannah said. "I've seen them."

"Then we should go over there right now and get one," Angelica said.

"I can go with you," Hannah said. "She has formula in the bag. Let's take a picture of it, and we can stop at the store to see if they have the same one. Changing her food all of a sudden might not be a good idea."

"Good point. Let's go," Angelica said and the two of them headed out.

Judge walked over to Lucky and indicated that he was going to hand over the baby.

"You saw what happened last time I held her. All she did was cry. I think you should hold on to her."

"I need to get back out and do the evening feeding. Someone needs to do it."

Nighttime chores were Lucky's responsibility and he hated putting that job on Judge, but Judge was right—even if this wasn't his child, someone thought she was, so she was his problem, not Judge's, until he got a DNA test.

Lucky took a deep breath. "Okay, just tell me what to do," he said, reaching out to Judge to take the baby. He couldn't remember ever being so nervous.

"Lay her on your chest," Judge said as he transferred her over so Lucky was holding her.

"I think Sarah said she's nine months old."

Judge grabbed the packet of paperwork from the table and pulled out some sheets. "Yep, pretty close. It looks like she's ten months. If she is yours, her mom would've gotten pregnant about eighteen, nineteen months ago."

Lucky nodded. It fit with the timing of his trip to Cheyenne, and he was feeling less nervous somehow. Sammy's quiet breathing was soothing.

"Lucky," Judge said, shaking his head. "What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?"

Lucky didn't answer. He didn't think Judge was expecting one. But if she indeed turned out to be his daughter, he had just landed himself in a heap of trouble that he wasn't sure how to handle.

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The Cowboy's Secret is Gallagher Brothers book 7. Get your copy here — free to read in Kindle Unlimited, or listen to the audiobook.  

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Surprise baby, secret sibling, or fake relationship? Pick your favourite trope.