Page 1 of A Gift for the Hopeful Cowboy

CHAPTER ONE

Fresh, crisp, deep-fried, and delicious turkey. The smell was absolute heaven. Pippa looked forward to Thanksgiving more than nearly every other holiday—mostly because, as it did this year, her birthday occasionally coincided with it. The biggest eating day of the year fell on her birthday, and she got to share her culinary expertise with all her friends and family members.

No one dared take this opportunity away from her. Especially when it was her birthday.

She stood back and admired the beautiful golden skin of the bird she’d prepared. It couldn’t have come out better if she’d watched it every second of its cooking process.

Pippa waved over her brother, but Luke wasn’t paying attention. He was deep in conversation with his wife. It was crazy they’d been married for almost a year. Still, in the honeymoon phase, they were so cute. Allie was expecting, though they were choosing not to find out the baby’s sex.

A small twinge of longing fluttered through Pippa’s stomach. She’d dated plenty of guys, but none of them quite seemed right.

Allie would have told her she wasn’t really dating a guy if she went on less than three dates with him. Well, the joke was on her. Pippa was good at figuring these men out. By date three, she knew whether they would be a good fit.

Surprise, surprise.

No one could keep up with her. Running the restaurant was hard work. She’d known that truth going into it. And not one single guy bothered trying to take advantage of the time she could give them—even if it meant sitting in her restaurant and chatting while she did prep work.

Pippa heaved a sigh.

Great, there went her good mood. Today was supposed to be a happy day, and all she could think about was how jealous she was of her brother and her best friend for finally figuring everything out.

She turned back to the turkey, completely forgetting why she’d wanted Luke to come over in the first place. The turkey looked divine, and she’d hand-picked and prepared every side to perfection.

There was only one thing left for them to do—wait on her other brother and his family to show up. Brent was notorious for being late to these things.

That was what she was going to talk to Luke about.

“Hey,” she shouted between cupped hands. Both Luke and Allie glanced in her direction. “Did you tell Brent when he was supposed to come? The food is going to get cold and you know I refuse to serve anything subpar.”

Luke nodded toward the window. “I think I saw some movement. I bet he’s here. He’s trying to get everyone inside. You know how hard it is to wrangle our niece and nephew.”

Pippa glanced toward the front door as it opened. She stood behind the kitchen island while everyone from Luke’s little family to her parents visited in the living room near a television playing a football game. She shot one last look toward Luke and hurried to grab the turkey and place it at the table in the dining room.

“Food is almost ready.”

“Ooh! So that means we’re not late. Did you hear the news, Jackie? We’re right on time.” Brent winked at his wife and held up a pie where Pippa could see it. “Where do you want this?”

She gestured with a distracted hand toward the fridge. “If it needs to stay cold, put it in there. If not, find a place on the counter.”

She hefted a ceramic bowl filled with buttery mashed potatoes, nearly dropping it as she came face to face with someone she hadn’t seen in what felt like a lifetime. The bowl slipped and the gasp barely left her throat when none other than Rob Clifford lunged forward to keep the bowl from slipping out of her hands and hitting the floor.

Pippa’s heart shuddered. Her pulse shifted into high gear, and she lost the ability to speak. She stared wide-eyed at the man she considered one of her closest friends. They’d spoken not even a week ago.

“What are you doing here?” Pippa demanded.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Rob drawled, taking the bowl from her hands. “Is that any way to speak to the guy you traveled so far to go to prom with?”

She placed a hand on her hip, overcoming her shock. “You begged me to fly up to Rocky Ridge. If I recall, you said it was gonna be me or the frog you rescued from science lab.”

He chuckled, his laugh warm and inviting—and full of memories she’d worked very hard to keep buried. They’d made a pact. Just because he was standing here in front of her, on her birthday, didn’t mean he was here to confess some undying love for her.

Now, wouldn’t that be crazy?

Pippa shook off the thought and forced a smile. Flinging her arms around him, she gave him the hug he didn’t deserve, then pulled back and whacked him with the back of her fingertips. “You didn’t say you were coming. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me when we were on the phone last week.”

Dishes loudly clinked a little way from where they stood, and Rob glanced in that direction. Then he brought his smile back to her. “Actually, I was going to make it?—”

“Come on! The turkey’s getting cold. I thought you said everything was almost ready,” Brent teased.

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