Kathie DeNosky
KATHIE DENOSKY lives in her native southern Illinois on the land her family settled in 1839. She writes highly sensual stories with a generous amount of humor. Her books have appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list and received numerous awards, including two National Readers’ Choice Awards. Kathie enjoys going to rodeos, traveling to research settings for her books and listening to country music. Readers may contact her by e-mailing [email protected]. They can also visit her website, www.kathiedenosky.com, or find her on Facebook.
This book is dedicated to the authors of Dynasties:
The Lassiters. It’s been a pleasure working with you and I hope to do so again in the near future.
And a special dedication to my good friend and partner in crime, Kristi Gold, whose sense of humor is as wicked as my own. Love you bunches, girlfriend!
At the designated time on the Fourth of July, Chance Lassiter and his half sister, Hannah Armstrong, approached the doorway to the massive great room in the Big Blue ranch house. “This seems wrong. I just learned two months ago that I have a sister and now I’m giving you away,” he complained.
“That’s true,” she said, smiling. “But since you and Logan are good friends, I think we’ll probably be seeing each other quite often.”
“You can count on it.” He gazed fondly at his five-year-old niece waiting to throw flower petals as she preceded them down the aisle. “I told Cassie I would come over and take her into Cheyenne for ice cream at least once a week. And I’m not letting her down.”
“You’re going to spoil her,” Hannah teased good-naturedly.
Grinning, he shrugged. “I’m her favorite uncle. It’s expected.”
“You’re her only uncle,” Hannah shot back, laughing. “You have to be her favorite.”
When he first discovered that he had a half sister from the extramarital affair his late father had some thirty years ago, Chance had experienced a variety of emotions. At first, he’d resented the fact that the man he had grown up believing to be a pillar of morality had cheated on Chance’s mother. Then learning that Marlene Lassiter had known her husband had a daughter and hadn’t told him had compounded Chance’s disillusionment. His mother had been aware of how much he missed having a sibling and he felt deprived of the relationship they might have had growing up. But in the two months since meeting Hannah and his adorable niece, he had done his best to make up for lost time.
Chance tucked Hannah’s hand in the crook of his arm. “Besides the standing ice-cream date, you know that all you or Cassie have to do is pick up the phone and I’ll be there for you.”
“You and your mother have been so good to us.” Tears welled in Hannah’s emerald eyes—eyes the same brilliant green as his own. “I don’t know how to begin to thank you both for your love and acceptance. It means the world to me.”
He shook his head. “There’s no need to thank us. That’s the beauty of family. We accept and love you and Cassie unconditionally—no matter how long it took us to find you.”
As they started down the aisle between the chairs that had been set up for the wedding, Chance focused on the red-haired little girl ahead of them. Cassie’s curls bounced as she skipped along and her exuberance for throwing flower petals from the small white basket she carried was cute as hell. Of course, like any proud uncle, he thought everything the kid did was nothing short of amazing. But with an arm like that there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she could play for a major league baseball team if she set her mind to it.
Approaching the groom standing beside the minister in front of the fireplace, Chance waited for his cue before he placed his sister’s hand in Logan Whittaker’s. He kissed Hannah’s cheek, then gave his friend a meaningful smile as he took his place beside him to serve as the best man. “Take care of her and Cassie,” he said, careful to keep his tone low. “If you don’t, you know what will happen.”
Grinning, Logan nodded. “You’ll kick my ass.”
“In a heartbeat,” Chance promised.
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Logan said, lifting Hannah’s hand to kiss the back of it as they turned to face the minister.
When the bespectacled man of the cloth started to speak, Chance looked out at the wedding guests. Except for Dylan and Jenna, the entire Lassiter clan had turned out in force. But his cousin and his new bride’s absence was understandable. Their own wedding had only taken place a little over a week ago and they were still on their honeymoon in Paris.
As Chance continued to survey the guests, he noticed that his cousin Angelica had chosen to sit at the back of the room, well away from the rest of the family. She was still upset about the terms of her father’s will
