Parents Wanted!

He grimaced as if with remembered pain. “She...had a medical problem and died when Jessica was only a baby.” His gaze sharpened. “How about you? Your husband...?”

“An accident while jogging.” She looked away. “The car didn’t even slow down.”

“That’s really tough, Laura. Where were you living at the time?”

“Chicago.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Is that why you moved to Rawhide?”

She nodded, belatedly realizing she’d lost control of the interview. “W-when did you start your construction company? Did you—?”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” he said. “I want to know more about you. What did your husband do?”

“He was an attorney and don’t ask any more questions!” She glared at him, jabbing her pen point against the paper in her reporter’s notebook. “I’ve got enough for my story.” She closed her reporter’s notebook with a snap. “Thanks for your time and congratulations again on—”

“Laura!” Katy hurried up. “Would you do me a favor?”

Laura nodded. “Of course.”

Katy offered a couple of folded pages from her reporter’s notebook. “Could you take this back to the office and leave it on John’s desk? That’s where everything sent to Box 100 ends up.”

“Katy!” Laura stared at her. “You didn’t!”

“Didn’t what?” Matt looked from one to the other.

Katy looked pleased with herself. “I answered Prince Charming’s ad.”

“You what?” Matt looked clueless.

“Oh, Matt!” Katy shook her head as if in disappointment. “If you don’t know about the ad, you’re one of the few who doesn’t. It’s a Classified, from Prince Charming looking for a wife who is nice and pretty and who likes kids and animals.”

He looked aghast. “Some guy actually put in a Want Ad for a wife? I don’t believe it.”

“It’s true.” Laura backed up her friend.

“But there are women all over the place,” he argued. “Why would anyone have to advertise to find one?”

Katy glared at him. “Come on, Matt, say what you mean—that women are a dime a dozen.”

“You said that, not me.”

Laura had had enough. She stood up. “I’m going back to the office. Katy, give me your application, and I’ll turn it in.”

Matt shook his head disapprovingly. “What kind of man would run an ad like that?”

“I’m assuming that’s a rhetorical question,” Laura said. She turned to Katy. “Shall I pick Zach up here or at your place?”

“Don’t go,” Matt said quickly. “Before Katy busted in, I was about to ask what it would take to get a piece of that apple pie Zach told me about.”

Before Laura could respond, a honey-coated voice that could only belong to Brandee Haycox, local femme fatale, interrupted. “This I’ve got to hear.”

Matt wanted to groan but didn’t. He’d been enjoying Laura’s company before everybody and her sister busted in on them. Nevertheless, he stood up and gave Brandee a peck on the temple; after all, she was his date, at least technically.

“Hi, Brandee,” he greeted her. “Glad you could make it.” And only a little sarcasm crept into his tone, although she was four hours and eleven minutes late.

“Really?” Her thin brows curved up. Unlike most of the women here today, she wore a sundress instead of pants or jeans. Her feet were encased in spike-heeled sandals. She’d been dressing fancy since grammar school.

“Yes, really.”

She rolled her eyes. “You seemed to be having a great time without me.”

He had been having a great time, he realized. Finally he’d satisfied at least a little of his curiosity about Laura.

But chivalry made him say, “Nah. I was just doing my duty.”

At which point, Laura waved her notebook in the air. “I just interviewed Matt for tomorrow’s paper,” she explained.

“Why?” Brandee wanted to know. “Did he rob a bank?”

Laura almost smiled at that one. “No, but you’re getting warm. He just won Citizen of the Year.”

“Really? You did?” She threw her arms around Matt’s neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, then pulled back to scrub at the lipstick stain with one beautifully manicured fingertip. “I’m so glad because now I won’t feel so guilty breaking up with you!”

CHAPTER THREE

LAURA was looking straight at Jessica when Brandee made her stunning announcement. The little girl had slipped up to hover behind her father instead of joining the circle—eavesdropping, it was clear to Laura.

But the satisfaction on Jessica’s face now was eyeopening to say the least. The girl was overjoyed! Laura’s heart went out to her. She’d obviously felt threatened by her father’s girlfriend, rightly or wrongly. Did that mean she’d resent any woman who might enter Matt’s life, temporarily or permanently?

Not that it mattered to Laura, of course, except that Jessica so obviously needed a woman’s guidance. It would be awful if the right woman came along and the little girl rejected her.

Matt finally found his voice. “You’re what?” he demanded of Brandee.

“Breaking up with you, darling.” She touched his cheek lightly with one graceful hand. “I know I’ve chased you shamelessly for years but something’s come up.” Her smile sparkled. “I’m moving to Denver to manage a new health club Daddy just bought me.” A tiny frown line appeared between her perfectly made-up eyes. “I don’t think I could stand a long-distance relationship, do you? I was just waiting for the right time to tell you and this is it.” She beamed at all and sundry.

Katy said, “Ye Gods!” very softly.

Laura said, “This is personal. I think I’ll just run along and give you two privacy.”

Brandee waved such discretion aside. “No need. We’ve said all that needs saying.” She added belatedly, “Haven’t we, Matt?”

Matt blinked as if he were still trying to come to terms with her brush-off. “Yeah, I guess we have.” He took a deep breath, then grinned. “Good luck, Brandee. I hope everything goes the way you want it to.”

Her smile was radiant. “Aren’t you a sweetie! I’ll miss you, you good-lookin’ thing.” Another light kiss, this time on his mouth; then she turned and sashayed away.

They stared after her, then they stared at Matt. He still looked stunned. The silence stretched out uncomfortably until it was finally broken by Jessica.

“Ya-hoo!” She flung herself at her father’s back, catching him by surprise when she hugged him fiercely around the waist. “We don’t need her, Daddy! Just you wait and see—!”