Page 21 of Claimed By the Cowboys
I hadn’t realized it, but I had already shot to my feet, arms poised in the air, half a breath away from terror.
Dakota winked one of those big blue eyes at me in a silent assurance ofdon’t worry, we do this all the time.
I nodded slowly, not wanting to contradict my boss but unable to let go of my mother-hen tendencies. I did my best to fix my face, but apparently my face was still doing some scolding.
Having caught wind of my apparent concern, Zeke gently placed Maisie back down onto the blanket. “Don’t you worry your pretty head, Miss Piper,” he chimed in sweetly, pulling the white straw ten gallon hat from his crown of golden waves. “I know that me and the boys look real rough and tumble, but we’re always extra careful with our Maisie Rae, even if it don’t look like it.”
I kept my eyes down as I rustled up a couple of plastic plates, cutlery, and folded paper napkins to serve up lunch.
Dakota, following Zeke’s lead, pulled his hat from his head and laid it over his heart solemnly. “I swear it, we’ve never come close to dropping her!” That earned him a scowl from Zeke, who clearly didn’t think the mention ofdroppingMaisie had instilled any more confidence.
“Heck, I bet that Zeke and I could toss you around just as easy!” Dakota added quickly before thinking better of how the words would sound, the implications.
All three adults blushed deeply, Maisie blissfully unaware as she unstacked four plastic cups for everyone to enjoy a glass of lemonade.
“Thank you, Maisie!” I took the opportunity to change the subject, pouring glasses of lemonade for each of us.
“Piper taught me how to make rice crispy treats!” she blurted in her high, sweet voice.
“Did she now?” Dakota raised his golden brown brows, clapping his hands together once and rubbing his palms together excitedly before I passed him his lemonade.
I gave the boys each a parchment-paper-wrapped sandwich and served myself some of the cold salads before passing the plastic containers down the line to Dakota and Zeke.
“I have never had such a wonderful kitchen helper!” I confirmed proudly.
Maisie continued to munch happily on her strawberries, so I tucked the little paper parcel containing her crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the blanket between the two of us.
I had to school the distaste from my face as I watched Dakota and Zeke absolutely inhale their food. Thank goodness they were doing something to break that dreamy, steamy heartthrob vibe, because I’d been ready to swoon. Watching the two of them completely tear apart their sandwiches, shoving big forkfuls of potato salad into their mouths before they had finished their mouthful of sandwich made me cringe.
“If Maisie hadn’t been so good at showing me where everything is kept, it would have taken a long time to figure out the kitchen and the pantry.” I continued to hold up my end of the conversation over the hushed sounds of everyone else eating.
Without thinking, I turned toward Maisie, finding her little blue eyes trained on her dads chowing down. She did her very best to emulate them, shoving a handful of strawberry pieces into her little mouth before she jammed in a bite of PB&J in, her cheeks rounded like a little chipmunk’s.
“Gentlemen.” I cleared my throat and raised my eyebrows, demonstrating my own, more restrained picnic manners before nodding ever so subtly at Maisie mimicking their every move.
Both men straightened and began chewing with their mouths closed, doing their best to mirror my more polished manners.
Maisie, a quick study, fixed her loud and messy eating after a few moments.
“Really, though, Miss Maisie is quite a good helper in the kitchen. Before you know it, it’s gonna be her cooking and baking up a storm in there!” I confirmed happily, my heart swelling as I watched Maisie carefully balance a lemonade cup in both her hands, offering it up to Zeke.
“I wanna know how you made those cookies out of chow mein noodles!” Zeke licked his lips at the memory of thehaystack cookies I’d had Maisie help me make last week. “I could destroy an entire jar of those all by myself if you let me.”
“I don't know.” I batted my eyelashes playfully. “That might have to stay a secret between me and Maisie. How else are we gonna make sure all of the boys at Blackwood Ranch behave if they don’t have the promise of sweet treats to keep them in line?”
“Haystack cookies!” Maisie yelled out triumphantly, jumping up from the blanket and running in a circle around us in the grass, giggling. “Miss Piper, I wanna make haystackcooooookieeeees!” she cried through her fit of laughter, clearly struck with the afternoon zoomies.
“Speaking of haystacks,” Dakota sighed after finishing off the last of his lemonade. “As much as we’d love to stick around and spend the afternoon with two beautiful girls…” He batted his lashes at us, and I couldn’t help but blush. “Zeke and I have stalls to muck, hay to toss, and some fences to mend.”
“Piper wants to see the horses!” Maisie blurted out suddenly.
“Does she now?” Zeke leaned down to place his empty lemonade cup on the blanket, a grin stretched across his face.
Of all the things for Maisie to have picked up on. I swear, with kids her age, you could never tell if they’re off in their own world or if they are making a detailed catalog of every word you say.
Before I could respond, Maisie was back in the center of the blanket, hands clasped politely in front of her as she made my case to the boys.
“She grew up where they don’t have horsies, and when she went to the fancy-pants ranch, she didn’t get a chance to see ’em.” Maisie explained my pathetic state with great sympathy for a four-year-old.
