Page 38 of Protective Cowboy

“Orange juice, please!” Jayden replied, his eyes wide as he stared hungrily at the growing stack of pancakes.

“Autumn, is milk okay for you?” Matt asked.

“Sure.” She moved over to the fridge. “What will you be having?”

“OJ,” he replied.

She filled the glasses, then took her place at the table.

Matt joined her, and they dug in. The pancakes were fluffy and perfect, generously studded with deep purple blueberries, and the applewood-smoked bacon was mouth-meltingly crisp.

“What are your plans for the day?” Autumn asked after a few minutes.

“I have to work. My shift starts at ten,” Matt replied. “How about you two?”

“Uncle Spring’s giving me and Abby and April riding lessons,” Jayden announced proudly. “He says that he needs extra cowboys and cowgirls on the ranch, and that we can help him out as soon as we’re good enough in the saddle.”

Autumn glanced at the kitchen clock and wondered if Phillip was awake yet.

After yesterday, she knew Mom and Dad wouldn’t let him linger on their property. She only hoped she wouldn’t to run into him when she dropped Jayden off.

Then she remembered something else and cursed herself. Crap.

“Matt, I’m so sorry, but I have to ask you for another favor,” she said, hating to impose on him. “My car’s still parked at Mom and Dad’s place. Could you give us a lift over there? Then you could go to work and I could drive up to the grocery store in Livingston, if you want to give me your shopping list.”

Matt didn’t hesitate. “Sure, no problem. Do you have any other plans today?”

“Not really,” Autumn said. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come back here later to edit my photos and schedule this coming week’s social media posts for The Yummy Cowboy Diner and Reviving Snowberry Springs.”

“Make yourself at home,” Matt said. “I’ll write down my Wi-Fi password for you. Hey, before you head to Livingston, how about we head over to Jenna’s Java for coffee after we drop Jayden off and retrieve your car?”

“I’d love to,” Autumn said. “But I don’t want to make you late for work.”

Matt shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a short commute to the police station.” He winked at her. “Besides, Jenna’s is the perfect place to make our first public appearance as a couple, don’t you think?”

He was right. The bakery was always bustling on the weekend. People put their names and cell numbers on The Yummy Cowboy Diner’s wait list for weekend brunch, then strolled across Town Square Park to Jenna’s Java for coffee while waiting for a notification that their table was ready.

One appearance together at Jenna’s, and everyone would think she and Matt were an item again. If they haven’t already heard the story from Donna and Chris, she thought.

“Okay, sounds like a plan,” she agreed. She raised her glass of milk in a toast. “To new beginnings.”

“New beginnings!” Jayden said, enthusiastically grabbing for his juice. “Does that mean we can stay here?”

Matt clinked his glass against hers with a warm smile. “Sure, you guys can stay as long as you like. This place feels kind of empty when it’s just me, you know?”

Not for the first time, Autumn wondered why someone as thoughtful and kind as Matt was still alone. As far as she knew, he wasn’t dating anyone. Mom had made a point of mentioning it last winter, right after Autumn and Jayden moved back home.

“Hey, Matt,” she began tentatively. “I was thinking, if you’d like, I could cook dinner for us tonight after your shift finishes.”

“Sounds great.” He grinned at her. Then his smile turned teasing. “As long as it’s not honey-mustard spaghetti.”

Autumn laughed. “My family’s never going to let me forget about that,” she said wryly. “How about chicken pot pies? Brock gave me the recipe he uses at the diner. It’s one of the most popular lunch specials there.”

“I know, and I love those chicken pot pies,” Matt said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

∞∞∞

Bob and Priscilla Snowberry, alerted by Autumn’s phone call, stood waiting for them on the porch when Matt rolled into Snowberry Springs Ranch a short time later.

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