Page 11 of Claiming Her Cowboy Kiss

“No, I’m not.” Kyle laughed and shook Miles’s hand. “I did tour with That Little Texas Band once-upon-a-time.”

Maddy wasn’t sure why he wasn’t saying anything about his current negotiations with a major record label, but one exchanged look, and she kept quiet about it too. “He’s from Chestnut Springs. We’re here to get Brewster and meet my folks. Then I’m doing the art classes up there this summer.”

“Right, right,” Miles said easily. “The Texas Longhorn Ranch, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Kyle said. “You know us?”

“Everybody does,” he said. “Great concerts and good beef, from what I hear.” He radiated energy, and Kyle seemed to absorb it.

“Well, thank you. My brother and daddy will be pleased to know it.” He bent down as Brewster whined, and the dog cuddled right into his shins. He was a good judge of character, and he clearly adored Kyle already.

“Brewster’s gonna work the ranch up there this summer?” Miles asked.

“Yeah,” Kyle said. “We’ve got a lot of dogs, and they help a lot with the cattle.”

“He’ll be in heaven then.” Miles crouched too and said, “Come on, boy. Come give me a hug good-bye.”

Brewster wiggled over to Miles, who hugged the dog to his chest. Maddy sure did like watching them, and she was glad she could bring her pup out here while she worked. It was good for both Miles and Brewster, and she almost regretted taking the dog for the summer.

“You should get yourself a collie,” she said to Miles as he straightened.

“Yeah,” was all he said. Then he lifted his hand in a wave and turned to go back into the house.

Maddy faced the car and said, “Get in, Brews.”

The border collie barked once and ran around the car twice before he jumped in the backseat. Then he stuck his doggy head between the front seats, panting with the hugest smile on his face. Kyle laughed as he buckled his seatbelt, and Maddy tried to.

With this task done, though, she knew what came next: Kyle meeting her family.

She wanted to take him home; she’d been texting her parents and siblings for hours now. Everyone had questions about how long she’d been seeing him and how serious it was. She’d told her parents about Kyle, but as for her siblings, only Dave knew about him. Her sisters weren’t necessarily overbearing or cautious, but they could ask embarrassing questions and put someone on the spot in a single heartbeat.

“My sisters didn’t know about you until last night,” she said.

“Oh?”

“My momma and daddy did. Dave too.” She cut a glance at him. “They’re nice, but they can be a little nosy, especially Tammy.”

“I don’t mind nosy,” he said.

She nodded, not sure why she felt like her family needed to come with a warning. She hadn’t been expecting to say this.

“Any topics I should avoid?” he asked.

“Like what?”

“Well, for example, if I was gonna introduce you to Jesse for the first time, I’d tell you not to worry that he looks one breath away from stabbing you. He’s just sort of like that. Grumpy. You know?” He shifted in his seat. “Or Adam. He’s blunt and he never says more than necessary. It wouldn’t be, ‘Yeah, we’re going to lunch,’ it would be, “Yep, lunch.’”

Maddy giggled, but he was right about his brothers. “Okay, I see what you mean.” She thought for a moment. “Daddy loves the Colorado Rockies. He doesn’t like the Astros. So I’d avoid praising them, and if you know any of the Rockies players, you’ll be his new BFF.”

“That’s baseball?” he asked. He pulled his phone from his back pocket as she affirmed that she had mentioned baseball teams, and she found him adorable as he started researching the teams.

“My momma is pretty easy-going,” she said. “hse knows what buttons to push to make me mad, and she might do that.” She hoped not, but her momma was her momma, and Maddy knew she wouldn’t change simply because Kyle was there.

“Like what?” Kyle asked.

“Uh, let’s see.” Maddy exhaled. “I’m a terrible housekeeper, and she’s always coming over and then telling me how messy I am. That kind of thing.”

“You’re messy?”

---