Page 23 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

“We’ve met lots of nice Christian girls, right, West?” Jude smirked into the mirror.

“Sure. They’re a dime a dozen at the ranch.”

“Anyone special?” Mom sounded so expectant.

“Nope,” Weston answered just as Jude muttered, “Paisley Teele.”

Mom pivoted to face Jude. “You’re seeing Paisley? I did not see that coming. I always thought you might fall for Kaci Moore. You spend so much time together.”

Jude’s hands flexed on the steering wheel. “Kaci and I are just friends, Mom. I told you. Neither of us wants a relationship. Unlike Paisley, who definitely wants something from my big brother.”

Thanks, kid. Weston glowered at the mirror, but Jude didn’t look.

Mom swiveled again. “You and Paisley? I wondered when she packed that picnic for the two of you. She’s such a nice girl. So… bubbly.”

“So not my type,” Weston responded. “Besides, I’m not looking, either.”

Mom’s hands went in the air. “Why not? You boys aren’t teenagers anymore. Isn’t it time you married and gave me some grandchildren?”

Paisley said she wanted six kids.

“It’s not all about you, Mom.” Jude flashed an easy grin. “Although, you’re right about Weston. He’s a full two years older than me, and he really should think about settling down.”

“I’m settled,” Weston protested. “Since when does a guy need to be leg-shackled to be settled?”

“You complain all the time about your job,” Jude reminded him.

“Doesn’t mean I don’t like it.”

“Right, because you complain all the time. About everything. Get a life, bro. Mom thinks it’s all about her, but you think it’s all about you.”

“Jude, don’t antagonize your brother.” Mom tapped Jude’s arm. “I prayed you two would start getting along better as you got older.”

“We get along fine.” Jude’s jaw tensed.

Right. They got along fine so long as they didn’t spend a ton of time together. Jude working in maintenance in other parts of the guest ranch, far from the stables, was a good distance. Weston could still keep an eye on the kid and know he was okay, though he’d missed the bit about Jude and Kaci having talked enough to decide to be just friends. Was that really fine by both of them?

He’d been focusing too hard on avoiding Paisley to realize Jude was having relationship troubles of his own. But maybe Jude was telling the truth, and it seriously was okay.

“When are you going to see what a great catch Paisley Teele would be for you?” Jude asked blandly. “She’s certainly focused on you.”

The ball was back in Weston’s court, was it? “Don’t you think she’s a little over the top? Like, about everything?”

“She’s wonderful,” Mom gushed. “And she loves horses and kids. She couldn’t be more perfect for you.”

“She could be more perfect if she didn’t talk every single minute.” Hopefully, that wasn’t admitting to anything.

“Probably trying to fill the awkward silence that you wrap around yourself like a cloak,” Jude put in.

“Whose side are you on?”

Jude smirked into the mirror as the truck came to a stop at the bottom of the ranch road.

Yeah, that’s what Weston thought. Jude was on the side of anything or anyone deflecting attention from him in Mom’s presence. The guy should get back to raving about the pilot lessons Grandfather had signed him up for in Chicago over the fall months, when the flow of tourists eased.

“Marriage can be a really beautiful thing,” Mom said. “Your father and I had our challenges, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Well, Weston would, if he could. Yeah, his parents seemed to have reconciled in the months before Dad passed, but memories of Dad coming home drunk and rowdy were etched in Weston’s memory. It hadn’t all been stars, hearts, and flowers.

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