Page 57 of Need Me
Emily chuckled, then sobered. “I’m so glad Anna didn’t have to have ahysterectomy.”
“Me, too.” Brooke said. “Of course, I don’t think they’re going to want more after having an instantfamily.”
Emily justsnorted.
Brooke rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you’re right. They both want like ten kids. Not me. Two, three at themost.”
“I’ll make sure to tell Robert that,” Emilysaid.
“Robert? What’s he got to do with this?” Brooke asked. “Robert and I aren’t anywhere near close enough to be talking marriage, let alonebabies.”
“I predict that will come to pass. You and Robertdidcatch the bouquet at Kate and Ric’s wedding,remember?”
Brooke smirked. “That doesn’t mean that we’re going to getmarried.”
Emily said, “But that’s when you started crushing on him a littlebit.”
“Maybe, but he was more of a little distraction that day. I mean, Jamal and I hadn’t been broken up all that long.” She took a sip of wine. “No. I take that back. I think I would’ve noticed Robert even if I hadn’t broken up withJamal.”
“Really?Why?”
“Now, don’t get me wrong, Superman is one tasty man, but it’s his personality that really caught my attention the first time we met,” Brooke said. “He was so polite and respectful. He’s more laid back than the other guys and he has a dryer sense ofhumor.”
Emily said, “He does have a different vibe about him. A goodvibe.”
Brooke smiled. “You don’t have to sell him tome.”
TJ cried in the background and Emily said, “Time for me to put the little man down. Ty’s reading Hayley a bedtime story. I want more details about all this. Call metomorrow.”
“Okay. Kiss both the kids for me,” Brookesaid.
Emily promised she would and they hung up. Sipping on her wine, Brooke thought about Jamal. She hoped that he’d gotten the message. Before her blood pressure climbed any higher, she decided to put him out of her mind. There was no better way to do that than to call the new man in herlife.
* * *
“Son of a bitch,”Robert said pleasantly through between clenchedteeth.
Cletus planted his feet and refused to move. Robert had arrived home to find the mule eating the shrubs by the front door. He’d kicked down the top railing of a section of fence and had jumped over. Robert had been relieved that Precious hadn’t followed him out of thepasture.
He’d had to repair the railing and reinforce it because if Cletus sensed weakness in the same spot, he’d keep getting out at that location. Now, he was trying to get Cletus into his stall, but the mule had stopped at the barn door and wouldn’tbudge.
Yelling at mules never accomplished anything except to make them even more temperamental. That’s why Robert kept his voice mild and tried to coax Cletus with pats and kissing noises. He also knew better than to tempt Cletus with food because it would only make Cletus think that bad behavior would be rewarded. He’d become a repeat offender in notime.
Robert had been trying to cajole Cletus into returning to his stall for over ten minutes. Finally, he decided to teach Cletus a lesson. He dropped Cletus’ lead rope and went to the tack room for a ground stake. He hammered it into the dirt barn floor and tested it. The mule wasn’t going anywhere. Then he put half a scoop of sweet feed in Cletus’ foodbox.
Cletus headed for his stall, but the ground stake brought him up short. He brayed and looked at Robert for help, but Robert ignored him and walked out of the barn. Cletus blew through his nostrils and carried on, but Robert just stood out ofsight.
His cellphone rang and he almost ignored the call until he saw Brooke’s name on the screen. “Hi. Can I interest you in a misbehaved mule?” heasked.
Brooke’s pretty laugh made him smile. “Only if I can interest you in a pain in the ass ex-fiancé.”
A jolt of surprise ran through Robert. “You meanJamal?”
“Yeah. Maybe we could send them both off into the sunset together,” Brookesuggested.
“That could be arranged,” Robert said. “Did Jamal callyou?”
Brooke replied, “Pfft! I wish he’d only called, but he doesn’t have my new number. I changed it when I told him to leave. He had the nerve to show up at my doortonight.”
