There were times Delilah did or said something that caught him off guard—and utterly charmed him.This was one of those times.
Maggie stepped aside so the kids could go first on the trail and fell into step beside him.“Now she’s done it.Cody will talk about dinosaurs all day, every day.”
Braden didn’t look at her.He figured keeping his eyes on the path was the safest way to go.“Dinosaurs are cool.”Cool?Did he just use the word cool?
“If you tell Cody that, he’ll be your friend for life.”Maggie’s laughter was soft.“Or that you’re a fan of the Hawkins Sisters.Either way, you’d score big brownie points.”
“If you’re not a fan of the Hawkins Sisters, you’re not a real rodeo fan.”His gaze darted her way.Dammit.Nope.She was prettier than ever.He went back to staring at Cody’s and Delilah’s backs.
“That’s what I’ve heard.It’s been a while since I’ve been to a rodeo.”The hint of regret in her voice had him looking her way.
“Oh?Why’s that?”Was he allowed to ask about her?He knew this was supposed to be about the kids, but the kids were talking—probably about dinosaurs.It’d be more awkward for the two of them to follow along in silence, wouldn’t it?
“Work.”She reached up to tuck one of her waywardcurls behind her ear.“I travel a lot—well, I used to travel a lot for the International Health Initiative.They’d send me wherever a need was identified to help out women and children’s health.Mostly developing or conflict riddled countries.”Her green gaze bounced from him to Cody’s back.
“That sounds important.”And, likely, entailed a lot of work and stress.How did she manage that and Cody?But something had jumped out at him.“Past tense?Meaning you don’t anymore?”
“No.”She cleared her throat.“Not for a while, at least.It’s all sort of…up in the air.”
“I guess it’s nice to be home, though.It’s got to be hard traveling with Cody being the age he is.”Since he’d discovered he had a daughter, he rarely let her out of his sight.He couldn’t imagine leaving her for work.
“I love my job.I like helping people and…” She broke off.“It was hard—on him and on me.What about you, Braden?”
He liked it when she said his name.Dammit.“Work, you mean?”He waited for her to nod.“Family ranch.”He chuckled.“Nothing too fancy.About the only traveling I do is when it’s time to sell or buy livestock or ranching equipment.”
“Ranching isn’t easy.Cooper Ranch isn’t all that big, but it’s a lot of work for my dad and brother to manage.Not that they’d have it any other way.”She smiled up at him.
Braden tripped over his own foot—but caught himself.“Rock in the way,” he muttered.If Miles or Hayes had been there to see that, he’d never live it down.“That’s ranching for you.It gets in the blood.It’s not a job—”
“It’s a way of life.”Maggie shook her head but she was still smiling.“I grew up hearing that.Do you have siblings?”
If he kept admiring her smile, he’d trip again.He’d beenlucky not to land on his face last time.Since he didn’t want to push his luck, he tore his gaze from hers.“Two brothers and a sister.”
“Right, you mentioned that at the school.Sorry.”
“No problem.And you have a brother?”
“Twin brother, actually.”She muttered something under her breath.
From the corner of his eye, he saw it.A flash of something on her face.It was that look that had him saying, “I didn’t catch that last part.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”She sighed and looked up at him.“Am I just fortunate or do all brothers like to pick and tease and be a pain in the rear?”
“Pretty sure that’s an unwritten universal law.My brothers like to give me grief on a daily basis.”It had only been a couple of days since his brothers had been grilling him about why he was humming.“Is Cody an only child?”
She nodded, her gaze shifting to her son’s back.“And Delilah?”
“Oh, yeah.I can’t imagine trying to do this with more than one.”He was only slightly teasing.“Poor Delilah’s gotten a raw deal in the parenting department.”He risked a glance at Maggie—to find her studying him.But the moment her eyes locked with his, there was a shift.Even the air around him seemed to change.He didn’t know which way was up.His heart was hammering in his ears.The pressure in his chest was damn near painful now.And the hollow ache in his stomach was turning into something that felt an awful lot like want…
“I’m hungry,” Delilah announced.
“We brought plenty of snacks.”Maggie’s cheeks seemed redder—but she hurried forward before he could be certain.“There’s a clearing over there.”She pointed.“Will that work?”
It was when the four of them were sitting on rocks and enjoying snacks that Cody Cooper said, “You two should date.”
Braden inhaled part of the apple he’d been enjoying.
“Cody.”Maggie’s cheeks went fire-engine red before she reached over to pound on his back.
