Page 17 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

“Let me ask the blessing,” Graham said. Without waiting for her response, he bowed his head and offered a quick grace.

Refreshing.

There’d been a lot of things about Paul that she hadn’t thought to question. She definitely should have.

Cadence took a bite of her taco salad. “This is really good! If this is a typical meal — and I don’t have to cook it myself — this is going to be an amazing summer.”

“Roommate notwithstanding?” Graham’s eyes twinkled.

“Yeah, even so.” She gestured with her fork. “This ranch is the best kept secret ever. And I’m going to make you get out of your shell and take advantage of it. What have you been doing in your free time?”

He stared at her blankly.

“You do have free time, don’t you?”

“Not really. We’ve worked nearly flat-out for the past two-and-a-half months trying to get this place in shape and enticing guests to give us a try.”

“You know what they say about Jack?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.” He forked salad into his mouth.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” She tapped the back of his hand. “Replace the name Jack with Graham. We wouldn’t want a dull Graham.”

“Really,” he said flatly then took a sip of water.

“Really. So, you’re going to play, and if your grandfather thinks you need to be in the office every daylight hour, I’ll have a talk with the man.”

“Will you now?” Graham gave her a quick glance.

“Sure will. You’re the only friend I’ve got here—”

“Don’t forget Paisley.”

Cadence rolled her eyes. “How could I? But we’re not friends yet. So, you’re stuck hanging out with me for now. What are the optional activities? Kayaking, horseback riding… what else?”

“Movies. Reading.” He pointed his fork at her. “You brought three boxes of books. You must like reading. It’s a perfect pastime.”

“I’ve read all those.”

“Then why’d you bring them?”

“They’re my security blanket, but I’m not going to need them. Not with all this wilderness waiting to be explored.”

“Wilderness has its downsides.”

“Name one.”

“I can name more than one. Mosquitoes. Bears. Rattlesnakes. Mountain lions. Need I go on?”

“Hmm, kayaking sounds better and better, unless that body of water out there harbors sharks.”

He chuckled. “You never know.”

Oh, she’d made him laugh. Go, her.

* * *

It was Sunday afternoon, and Graham couldn’t believe he was sitting in a flimsy little kayak on a pond. Weren’t these things tippy? He didn’t mind swimming when he did it on purpose, but he hated surprises. Especially unpleasant ones.

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