Page 26 of Lost and Found Cowboy
She took the cards from him and stuck them back under the counter. “No homework. You don’t have to learn everything all at once. And you’ve already helped so much.”
He pressed his lips together to keep from arguing and shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t be tempted to pull the cards back out and study them. He had pitched in as a warm body today, but if he knew the recipes, then he could be an even bigger help the next day.
He liked helping people, especially gorgeous curvy single mom’s whose scent drove him to distraction.
But Mack had also found, in his life, that people seemed to like having him around more when he was helping them. No one wanted a stray kid around who just got in the way, but most everyone appreciated him if he was pitching in or making their life easier.
It was almost two, and Lorna had told him she liked to close then so she had time to clean up before getting Max from school at two-thirty.
Most of the customers had left for the day, and Mack was collecting trash and wiping down the tables in the lobby. One woman was reading a book as she finished a slice of coffee cake, and there was one guy who’d had his laptop open and his golden retriever sleeping on his feet under the table while he’d been working for the last three hours. He’d ordered food and two coffees though and must have been a regular the way he joked around with Lorna and ordered his ‘usual’.
The table in the corner held an older woman, who’d introduced herself to Mack earlier as Judy Fitzgerald, and her eight-year-old grandson, Dylan. They ordered hot chocolates with extra whipped cream and split a large slice of vanilla cake with white frosting and had been chatting and laughing while playing cards for the last hour.
Mack paused to check in on them as he passed their table. “You all doin’ okay? Can I get you anything else?”
“I think we’re good,” Judy told him. She looked to be in her mid-sixties, with a curly bob of blond and gray hair, but seemed young at heart in a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a pink sweatshirt that read ‘In my Grandma Era’ on the front. “Except I’ve just lost six straight games to this guy. It’s a good thing we’re only wagering gummy worms.”
The boy shrugged at Mack. He had a slight build, light blond hair, and wore small wire-rimmed glasses and a Spiderman T-shirt. “I can’t help it if I’m good at Blackjack.”
He laughed, assuming earlier that they’d been playing some kind of kid’s card game instead of the Las Vegas staple.
“I’m glad to have finally met you today,” Judy said. “I’ve known Duke for years, and he speaks highly of you. I know he’s excited you’ve moved out to the ranch with him.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I’m excited too. I really love it out there.”
Dylan was staring up at him. “Are you a real cowboy?”
“Yup. Got my own horse and everything.”
“I think I might want to be a cowboy when I grow up,” the boy told him. “Either that, or an astronaut.”
“Well, either one of those would be a fine profession. Although I believe one takes a considerable amount more training than the other and probably pays a lot more. But if you’re interested in rockets, you should talk to Lorna’s sister, Leni. She builds them for a living.”
“Rockets are cool,” Dylan agreed. “But so are horses.”
“Dylan’s been wanting to take horseback riding lessons,” Judy explained. “But we haven’t found a place yet that offers them.”
“If you want to ride a horse, you’re welcome to come out to the ranch anytime and ride one of ours,” Mack said. “We’ve got an older mare who’s a real sweet pony and would be perfect for a kid to learn on.”
Dylan’s eyes lit up. “Can we, Grandma?”
Judy frowned. “I’m not sure. How much would you charge for lessons?”
Mack waved away her comment. “I wouldn’t charge anything. Heck, I can remember being a kid and wanting to learn to ride a horse. It would be fun. Come out anytime.”
“Thank you,” Judy said. “That’s a kind offer.”
“I mean it.” He started to move to wipe down the next table, then turned back to them. “You know what? I hate those open-ended offers where the other person is never quite sure how toreally take someone up on them. So, let’s just set a time now. How about some afternoon this week? The shop is closed on Wednesday, so I should be at the ranch most of the day.”
Dylan bounced up and down in his seat. “Can we? Please? Please?”
Judy frowned. “I work on Wednesday. Icouldtry to take a long lunch hour, but you’ve got school.”
“It’s the second to last day, and we’ve got a sub this week,” Dylan said. “And she already said we’re going to be watching a movie every day after lunch, so I wouldn’t miss anything if you took me out early for just one afternoon.”
“We can do it sometime next week,” Mack offered. “I’ll be around.”
Judy studied her grandson then let out an exaggerated sigh. “Far be it from me, and a substitute teacher who thinks watching movies is teaching, to stand in the way of a dream to be a cowboy. I’ll take a late lunch and excuse you from school for the last hour and a half. Just this once.”
