The Cowboy's Family

“What are you up to today?” He pulled off leather gloves and shoved them in the back pocket of his jeans.

She didn’t have an answer. The girls were holding her hands and she was staring into the dark eyes of a man who had been hurt to the deepest level. And survived. Those eyes were staring her down, waiting for an answer.

She was on his territory. She’d never felt it more than at that moment, that territorial edge of his. He protected the ones he loved.

“I saw the girls and I realized you might not know about our church picnic Wednesday evening. Instead of our normal service, we’re roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.”

It wasn’t a lie, she had forgotten to remind him. He seemed to need reminding from time to time. He had a degree in ministry and yet church seemed to be something he forced himself to do. She got that. She had done her share of avoiding church, too.

He’d actually been in youth ministry until eighteen months ago.

“Sounds like fun.” He glanced at his watch.

“I should go. Listen, if you need anything, any more help around here…”

“Right, I’ll let you know.”

She should have known better than to think he’d want to talk. A momentary glitch in her good sense had made her believe that he might want a friend. But then, he probably had friends. He’d grown up here.

“See you two Wednesday.” Time to walk away.

Kat grabbed her hand. “Come and see my frog.”

“Kat, you don’t have a frog.” Wyatt reached for her but Kat pulled Rachel the other direction and two-year-olds were pretty strong when they had their mind set on something.

“I have a frog.” She didn’t let go and Rachel didn’t have the heart to tell her no. She went willingly in the direction of an old log.

“Is that where your frog lives?”

“There are millions of frogs.” Kat dropped to her knees and pushed the chunk of wood. Sure enough, little frogs hopped out. Actually, they were baby toads. She didn’t correct the toddler.

“Wow, Kat, there are a bunch of them.” Rachel kneeled next to the child. “Do you have names for them?”

Kat nodded. “But I don’t ’member.”

“I think they’re beautiful. I bet they like living under this log.”

Kat nodded, her eyes were big and curls hung in her eyes. Rachel pushed the hair back from the child’s face and Kat smiled. A shadow loomed over them. Kat glanced up and Rachel turned to look up at Wyatt. He was smiling down at his daughter. The smile didn’t include Rachel.

He had a toe-curling smile, though, and she wanted her toes to curl. Which was really just plain wrong.

“Kat, we have to go, honey.” He got hold of Molly’s hand. “I have to finish feeding and you two need to be getting ready to jump in the truck.”

“We’re getting a pony.” Kat patted Rachel’s cheek with a dirty hand that had just released a toad back to its home under the log.

“Are you?” She looked up and Wyatt shook his head.

“We’re picking up a bull.”

“I see.” Rachel stood and dusted off her jeans. “I could stay here with them, Wyatt.”

She had offered the other day and he’d said no, so why in the world was she offering again? Oh, right, because she loved, loved, loved rejection. And to make it better, she loved that look on his face when his eyes narrowed and he looked at her as if she had really fallen off the proverbial turnip truck.

He took in a breath and she wondered why it was so hard for him to leave them. “No, they can go with me.”

“But we could stay, and Miss Rachel could help us draw pictures.” Molly bit down on rosy lips and big tears welled up in her eyes. “I always get carsick.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“That’s a thought.” Wyatt picked up his little girl. “Molly, you’re going with me.”

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I’ll see you later.” Rachel brushed a hand down Molly’s little back.

Yes, driving up here had been the wrong thing to do. She leaned to kiss Kat’s cheek and then she walked away. She had a life. She had things to do today. She definitely didn’t need to get tied up in the heartache that was Wyatt Johnson’s life.

She made it to her car without looking back.

Wyatt put Molly down and he held tight to Kat’s hand because he had a feeling that if he let go, she was going to run after Rachel. Molly was looking up at him, as if she was wondering why in the world he wasn’t the one running after her new favorite person.

He needed this as much has he needed to hit his thumb with a hammer. If God would give him a break, he’d get the hammer and hit his thumb twice.

He wasn’t going to run after a woman, not one who made more trouble in his life. And that’s what she was doing. She was causing him a lot of trouble. She was upsetting the organized chaos of his life with her sunny personality and cute little songs.

She was getting in her car and Kat was next to him, begging him to stop her. He stared at the preacher’s daughter in jean shorts and a T-shirt. Not for himself, for Kat. Man, he didn’t need this. He let go of his daughter’s hand and went after Rachel. Yelling when she started her car. Waving for her to stop when she put it in reverse.

The radio was blasting from the convertible. She loved music. He shook his head because today she was listening to Taylor Swift and a song about teen romance gone wrong. He really didn’t need this.

She had stopped and she turned the radio down and waited for him to get to her. This was proof that he’d do anything for his girls. He’d even put up with Miss Merry Sunshine for a couple of hours if it made Molly and Kat smile.

When he reached the car she turned and lifted her sunglasses, pushing them on top of her head. He realized that her eyes were darker than he’d thought, and bigger. They were soft and asked questions.

“The girls really want you to go with us. I thought it might help. They’ll be bored if this takes too long.”

She just stared at him.

“I’ll pay you,” he offered with a shrug that he hoped was casual and not as pathetic as he imagined.

She laughed and the sound went through him. “Pay me?”

“For watching them.”

She was going to make him beg. He shoved his hat down a little tighter on his head and then loosened it.

“You don’t have to pay me. It would be kind of fun to see that bull. Is it one they’ll use for bull riding?”

“Yeah, probably.”