Secret Pressure (Rhinestone Cowgirls Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

together. It’d taken the Stone sisters some time to pick up and carry on, but would never be the same without parents who’d always been loving and kind. The sisters still mourned and would for many years to come.
    Jack had grown into a high-spirited toddler and, even as his looks became more like his father’s, so did his character. Stubborn, smart and full of a desire to explore. Jack loved the horses, the cows and the worn cowboy boots Violet had bought him. He was a cowboy in the making.
    Three years after her affair with Jobe, Ruby sat across from her sister, Sapphire, who was giving Jack a funny fish face. The boy was rolling on the floor erupting into belly laughter. No one could get the kid going as much as she could. Watching the scene, Ruby was filled with an unexplainable love for her son. She couldn’t imagine life without him, didn’t even want to consider how different things would be if he hadn’t been born—even if his conception hadn’t been under the best of terms.
    “You seem in deep thought,” Sapphire said, her dark eyes settled on Ruby.
    She shrugged. “Thank you for watching Jack tonight. Although, truth is, I’ve rethought this evening a hundred times. Maybe I should stay.”
    Sapphire tugged strands of her long ebony hair behind her ears, showing off sparkling sapphire studs that matched the twinkling in her eye. Before their mother had passed, she’d given each of her girls a pair of earrings that matched the stone of their name. Ruby never took her earrings out. They’d always been her favorite and somehow made her feel closer to her mother.
    “Being a mother doesn’t make you an old maid, Ruby. There’s nothing wrong with having fun, going out and seeing people. Living a little.” Sapphire nuzzled Jacks’ curls.
    “I’m too busy to have fun, at least the kind you’re talking about. Jack keeps me running. Not to mention, I’m starting a new book.” Ruby’s defense of her lack of a relationship had become second nature.
    “I do believe that’s called hiding.” Sapphire tickled Jack’s stomach. He then sat up, smiling so bright it could light up the world.
    “Hiding? From what?” Ruby huffed. Her sisters never stopped lecturing her on life passing her by. One would think the world was ending tomorrow.
    “Good question. From what? Maybe from your feelings for Jack’s father. You don’t think it’s obvious?”
    Ruby’s throat constricted. They’d never talked about her time back at Rhinestone Ranch, or who Jack’s father was. As close as she was with her sisters, there were some things Ruby wanted to hold close. Jobe was one. She often thought of her time with him as her own fairytale—a time when life was magical and ended with a gift. And would they understand why she walked away?
    The sisters were a year apart in age, like a step ladder. There wasn’t one memory of her childhood that didn’t include all of them. Growing up at The Stone Hedge Ranch, there wasn’t a day that went by that the four sisters weren’t out on the land, side by side, hanging with their father and the hands that were always patient and helpful with the young girls. Ruby could ride a horse and sit on a tractor before she could walk. Then they grew up, went away to college, yet they all came back to live at home. They supported each other, helped each other reach their goals. When their mother and father passed, they’d relied on one another for strength.
    “I’m not hiding from anything, especially anyone. But we’re talking about a cowgirl auction for Pete’s sake! Why did I ever agree to this?”
    “Because you love Violet and it’s for a good cause.” Sapphire wagged her brows. “She loves working with the children on her floor, cares for each of them. This benefit always brings in lots of help.”
    “She could have asked Crystal.”
    “She’s on a business trip.”
    “I love Violet, but I’m going to kill her.” Ruby stood and twirled. “How do I look?”
    Sapphire