Page 6 of A Family With the Cowboy

Mariah patted her shoulder. “So, you haven’t gotten to the kids’ reports yet?”

Laura shook her head. “There hasn’t been time. It’s no excuse, I know. I’ll make time tonight.”

Maria grinned. “Don’t beat yourself up. Moving to another town, taking over a class mid-term—none of it is easy. Well, you’ve been invited to his ranch. You should go and see him. It’s a beautiful place.”

“At least I now know why poor Luke looks so unhappy. With a grumpy father like that, anyone would be.”

Maria chuckled. “By the way, he’s the one who was checking you out in Grey’s Saloon the other night.”

Turning away before the heat creeping up her neck gave her away, Laura huffed. “So not interested, thank you very much. I’ve left something in my car. Excuse me.”

Maria’s laugh followed her all the way down the hall.

*

Hayden stopped infront of his mother’s place with screeching tires. He and Luke were late for dinner. Luke hadn’t done his chores. Again. Tired, irritated, and worried about his son, Hayden got out of his truck. He had to shout at his son. Again. The last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with his mother. She didn’t miss a thing, so she’d know right away something was wrong. It wasn’t as if she’d pester him. Oh, no, his mother was way too subtle and devious to do that. She’d smile and prod and ask questions ever so gently until she’d get everything out of him and/or Luke before the end of the evening.

As they walked toward his mom’s house, he noticed a moving truck and a car parked in front of the house next door. The house had been standing empty since before Christmas, so he was glad to see someone would be moving in next door to his mom again.

At seventy, she was still a force to be reckoned with, but she was getting older, whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not.

Before they’d reached the porch, the front door opened and the rest of his family filed out.

“I was wondering where you two were,” his mom said as she reached them. She held out her arms and hugged Luke. Hayden got a kiss on the cheek. “We are on our way to welcome my new neighbor and see where we can help before we have dinner. Hopefully, she’ll be able to join us. Such a lovely woman, I really hope...” She stopped speaking and gave Hayden “The Look,” as he and his siblings referred to this particular stare of their mom’s. “Something is wrong…”

“We’re fine, Mom,” he interrupted. “I saw the moving truck next door. I assume that’s the new neighbor you want us to welcome?”

His mother’s gaze roamed another second over his face before she turned to walk toward the neighbor’s house. “Yes, the Gearings’ house. Lydia moved to the senior citizen facilities before Christmas and the house has been empty since then.”

“So you’ve met the neighbor?” Willow asked as they all followed their mother.

“Yes, the real estate agent left the key with me over the weekend, and she picked it up. A stunning girl. Becket, maybe she’s the one to stop you from breaking any more hearts around town. Carol Bingley went on and on about poor Susanne this morning. Apparently, she’s walking around town, crying, because you’ve dumped her.”

“She wanted to look at rings,” Becket muttered. “You know how I feel about that.”

“That’s what happens when you take out a woman and wine and dine her for a few weeks.” Willow chuckled. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised every time.”

“If that’s how it works, how come you’re not getting married?” Becket asked Willow.

Willow glared at him. “You know why. It’s bad enough worrying about you lot. I can’t handle anyone else’s drama.”

Their mother smiled and patted Willow’s shoulder. “You’ve inherited your Irish grandma’s sense of knowing what’s going on in other people’s minds. It’s a blessing, not a curse.”

Willow pursed her lips. “It’s a curse, Mom, believe me.”

At that moment the front door opened, and two men stepped out.

“Thank you so much for all your help,” a woman from somewhere inside the house said.

The men greeted them as they left, but Hayden had frozen. He’d heard that voice before.

Luke inhaled deeply before he rushed forward. “Miss Anderson!” he called out, and the next moment, she appeared in the doorway.

She was wearing jeans and a snug T-shirt that lovingly hugged beautiful breasts. Her hair had been taken up in a bun, but most of it had escaped already. She was barefoot, with her toenails painted pink. A fist of desire so intense that Hayden lost his breath in one swoosh caught him in the solar plexus.

Luke grabbed her hand. “Grandma, this is my new teacher,” he said, and, beaming, he turned around to look at all of them.

Chapter Three

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