Page 11 of The Texas Cowboy's Rescue

“When you finish mine, you can help Mr. Deke put his on his back. She’s really good at it,” she assured the man seated across from them. And Kenzie managed to maintain her attention on the little body in front of her. This hot potato was in his lap.

“I’m sure she is. But I’m ready to dive in right now and be ready when you can get in the water.” He stood, and after a couple of long strides, he executed a perfect dive off the side of the pool.

“Wow, Mama, did you see that? That’s what I’m going to do.”

“One of these days, yes. But you walk before you run, okay? Listen to what Mr. Deke tells you to do.”

“Can I go now?” Her daughter stood, impatience evident.

“Okay. Be careful,” Kenzie said, putting the lotion’s lid back on the bottle.

The words barely left her mouth before there was a splash as Brooke jumped into the water and then popped up quickly, pushing off the bottom. She did her paddle-stroke combo to where Deke waited for her at the opposite side of the pool.

“She’s a happy little mermaid.” Laurel Hawkes, wife of Jaxson, had exited the house and come out onto the patio. She was dressed in shorts and a bright-colored top and her hair caught up on top of her head in a tortoiseshell clip. Moving a chair closer, she sat down with a wave to the pair in the pool. “Why aren’t you in that lovely water? It’s another scorcher today. Best place to be is in air-conditioning or a pool.”

Kenzie grinned. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I am working in lovely air-conditioning but took a quick break from my writing when I saw you all out here. I really haven’t had much time to sit down and say hi to you.”

“I know. Life is crazy, it seems. But it’s good to have a moment now. So, how is it trying to be a movie mogul and a new wife at the same time?”

“Absolutely the best! Be careful, because my sister says that I tend to gush with happiness once you get me started. But it is the best. I don’t know why I tried so hard for so longnotto become a rancher’s wife. That was the silly me. Now, I am happy and amazed.” They shared the laughter.

“I am truly happy for you. Of course,weall knew that it was meant to be, and it just took you longer than the rest of us to figure it out.”

“And I realize that. My sister and husband remind me of that often. But what of you?” Laurel’s gaze swept to the far end of the pool, where Deke and Brooke were standing on the edge and he was instructing her in the proper form. Kenzie was glad they were far enough away that conversation could not be heard.

“What you see is it. Brooke is being given lessons on diving. Deke and I work together, so that is that. Besides, Brooke and I are doing well, being our own little family.”

Laurel nodded but gave her a shrewd look. “Doing well. You know, I remember the days of us all growing up together. I never quite decided, between you and your sister, who was the most stubborn.”

“Stubborn? Why do you think I’m being stubborn?”

“Maybe not stubborn so much as just determined. You and your sister struck out on your own destinies. Your mother turned down what would have been a major inheritance of lands when our grandfather died. Grandmother called her a stubborn mule for it.”

“I believe the term was not mule, but jackass,” Kenzie corrected. “And we might have thought the same thing. But it was her decision. She said we would be okay without any handouts from the Burkitts. And she was right. We did make it... both MaKenna and I went to college. And Mother went back to selling insurance and ended up meeting the man she would marry and move off to Florida with. I like to call it tenacity instead of stubbornness. Determination is a definite description. Brooke has the same in her—much to my horror at times.” Kenzie grinned with a shake of her head.

“Well, I’m just wanting everyone I know to be as happy as I am. You’re doing well on your own, but you could be doing even better if you would literally jump into the dating pool again. Just because you had one bad turn at a relationship doesn’t mean you aren’t a lot wiser now. And Brooke might benefit from a male influence in that little family scenario.”

“I realize you are still in that first year of marital honeymoon bliss, but I’ve had that honeymoon period before, and it was anything but bliss. But I know what you’re saying, and I do know all of you care about Brooke and me. That’s one of the reasons that made it an easier decision to come back home to Burkitt.”

“Why wasn’t it easier before?”

“My mom wasn’t here. I wasn’t sure how I would feel being back in the only home I had ever known in my life until I left for college and then got married. True, she is doing great in Florida and is living her best life, which she deserves. But it is different being there in the house without her... without MaKenna. But Brooke and I are making it into our place now, and it’s good.”

“Speaking of MaKenna... have you seen her? Do you have contact with her? It seems like she just disappeared the day she left here after graduation from high school.”

Kenzie took a moment, her gaze checking on the pair who were working without thought to her and Laurel. “I’ve seen her a handful of times. With the job she has, she’s been out of the country for a while here and there. It’s hard when you can’t really ask a lot of questions, and she can’t volunteer anything. But she does stay in touch when she can. Although it’s hard to explain, she just might find herself here before too long... or at least that’s what I hope. Especially during the holidays this year. But she can’t make any promises.”

“And it sounds like there is quite a story there, if my screenwriter radar hasn’t failed me. But it also sounds like you aren’t really able to share much, so we’ll just cross our fingers and hope she will indeed be able to come home soon... like you did. I know that would be a true shock for Matteo. As much as he throws his playboy bravado around, I think that his heart might be wherever your sister is... and we can only hope it’ll come back with her. But I’ve procrastinated long enough from the laptop. I’ll leave you three to it. Three has a nice ring, don’t you think?” She tossed in that last little bit with a huge wink and laughed at Kenzie. She threw a hand in the air toward the pair, who looked up quick enough to return it.

Kenzie shook her head. Matchmakers abounded in Burkitt and no place more so than at the Aces High. But she couldn’t help but be glad that her friends and family cared so much that she and Brooke were happy now. Her brief year of marriage to the wrong man had been a nightmare in itself. It had also been a learned lesson. It had helped her realize a strength she never knew she had before then. And she made a vow to never be such a fool again. She and Brooke had made a good life and that was the way it would be for the foreseeable future.

Her gaze traveled again to the pair as the sound of their laughter lifted across the water. She hadn’t seen her daughter so animated with anyone else. It was the mark of a good person that was exhibiting such patience and kindness in putting up with her exuberance... and hero worship?

Was that a good thing? Or was she just being the paranoid mom she had been accused of once or twice by her family and friends? Was that a slight pang akin to envy as she watched the pair? Couldn’t be. She might have easily jumped in the pool and tried to find the patience to teach her daughter to dive herself. She had tried once before, but two stubborn females had made for a short class. And maybe there was something in the fact that the pair in the pool at the moment might be doing each other a big favor.

So, she was an adult and she had a book to read. That would be her excuse and she’d stick to it. She forced her gaze back to the page, where she found herself reading the same sentences two or three times.

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