Page 10 of Rodeo Cowboy
“Get my knife too.”
“Chill, Uncle Sammy. I’ll burn the rope to release you.”
Chapter Three
AYLA
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“ITHINK EVERYONE ISstaring at us.” Willow sifts through baskets of colorful noise makers.
“They’re definitely staring at us.” I gaze at Bode, who is debating switching his cardboard hat for a pointed one.
“The old ladies in the corner are freaking me out.”
“Elderly,” I correct Willow to sound motherly in front of Sammy’s family. Seriously, they’re freaking me out too.
I make the mistake of glancing at the odd pair.
One of the women is an ordinary country bumpkin decked out in cowboy boots, a Stetson, embroidered western shirt, and denim pants. The other woman sways to the music in a shimmering silver tea dress. Her extravagant Kentucky derby hat looks like a regular feature at Churchill Downs. Neither shies away from staring at us, even when my eyes land on them.
“Meet Wilma and Faye Quylt.” Hope balances a plate of food on her protruding baby bump.
She has that motherly glow my sister, had when she was pregnant. The maternal glow I swore off.
“They are the two busybodies we’re keeping y’all shielded from. They stick their noses into every couple’s business.” Hope bites into an oozing caramel and chocolate square.
“You liked them sticking their noses in our business.” Her husband comes up behind her, wraps his arms around her middle, and kisses her cheek. “They brought us together.”
She shifts her face and catches his mouth in a quick kiss. “You don’t believe that for one second. We were doing just fine without them.”
Ford licks his lips. “Did you save some of that dessert for me?”
Hope laughs. “No. I’m eating for two. But there are lots left. Including peach cobbler.”
The two of them abandon us, but we’re not left alone. Lydia, Lena, and Harper are on babysitting duty.
