Page 25 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

The bird’s beady eyes blinked. “Fuck! Fuck!”

Reid glanced around, wondering how the cussing parrot had gotten there. No one from either the Holiday Ranch or the Remington Ranch owned a parrot to his knowledge. It was too damn late to be calling around to see if they did. Which meant he would have to wait until the morning to figure it out. Until then, he’d just have to leave the bird where it was. Especially when he didn’t have a clue how to get it down from the tree.

Turning, he headed back to the springs. He pulled up short when Sophie and Sunny weren’t where he’d left them. Splashing had him glancing at the springs where he saw two bobbing heads in the water. One dark and one the color of a moonlit penny. He frowned. They shouldn’t be having a swim party when Sophie needed a stern lecture about what she’d done.

But then Sophie laughed and all thoughts of lectures disappeared.

When was the last time he’d heard her laugh? Had he ever? Of course, why would she laugh around him when he’d done nothing but make her feel like she was an inconvenience—something he wanted out of his life? He’d given her nothing to laugh about. All he’d done was dish out orders and punishment . . . and resented her for keeping him from his dream.

But she wasn’t responsible for her mother getting cancer. Or even for him becoming her guardian. He had made that choice. He had made it because his conscience wouldn’t let him do otherwise. Which was a shitty reason for becoming a guardian.

Sophie was his only kin. The only one left in his family. He should be happy to have her in his life, instead of blaming her for inconveniencing him. She was just a kid. A kid whoseentire life had changed overnight. Her mother had been sick and dying and, suddenly, this stranger showed up and started taking charge. No wonder he hadn’t heard her laugh. He hadn’t given her any reason to. He’d been an angry jerk who set down rules and didn’t give an inch. A jerk who was all work and no play.

He needed to change that.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a clue how to go about making a teenager happy.

Another peal of laughter rang out and he glanced at the springs where Sophie and Sunny were frolicking.

But, obviously, Sunny did.

Maybe it was time to stop being such a stubborn fool and ask for help.

The next morning,Reid got up early and made pancakes. He wasn’t what anyone would call a great cook, but pancakes were something he could handle. Once he had the stack of pancakes plated, he decided to add a chocolate chip face to the top one like his mama had done for him as a kid.

It wasn’t well received.

Sophie took one look at the grinning pancake and stared at him as if he’d grown horns.

“You don’t like pancakes?” he asked.

“No. I like them . . . it’s just a smiley face.”

He shrugged. “You don’t like smiles?”

She stared at him for a long moment before she shook her head and picked up her fork. She might not like the smiley face, but she seemed to like his pancakes. She finished the stack in record time and asked for seconds. He made a mental note to make pancakes more often—without the chocolate chip face.

On the way to school, he wanted to apologize for the way he’d been acting, but once again, he found himself tongue tied as he searched for the right words. It wasn’t until he’d stopped in the pickup line and she started to get out that he finally spoke.

“Look, Soph, I get that I’ve been a real jerk. And I’m sorry. I’m gonna try to do better.”

She stared at him again as if he was some kind of alien before she grabbed her backpack and jumped out. As he watched her merge into the crowd of teenagers, he thumped the steering wheel.

“Real smooth, Reid.”

Before he headed back to the ranch, he stopped off at the sheriff’s office. He figured if anyone knew what to do with a lost parrot, Melba would. As soon as he stepped in the door, she threw him a bright smile and held up one finger to indicate she would be with him after she finished the call she was on. He turned to sit down in one of the chairs in the waiting room and stopped short when he saw Sunny sitting there cuddling a little white-and-gray rabbit with one lop ear and deep brown eyes that matched Sunny’s.

She looked as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

“Hey. What are you do—” She cut off and her eyes lit up. “You came for Patsy Cline!” She jumped up and pulled him into a hug that had him sucking in a deep breath of her sunshine scent. Before his brain could completely register how nice it felt to be in the arms of a beautiful woman—even with a wiggling rabbit between them—Sunny stepped back and gave him a devilish smile. “Thank the Lord you came to your senses. Now I don’t have to implement my devious plan.”

He blinked. “What devious plan?”

“I was going to leave Patsy in a basket on your stoop. I figured once you saw her, you wouldn’t be able to resist her. I meanwho could resist this sweet ball of fur.” She lifted the squirming rabbit up to him.

He had to admit the bunny was cute. And the missing back foot did tug at his heartstrings. But he already had enough to deal with. He didn’t need to add to it. “I didn’t come here for Patsy Cline. I don’t have time for a rabbit.”

“Don’t worry. Sophie has already promised to take full care of Patsy. We already worked it out.”

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