A Family With the Cowboy (The Westons of Montana #1)

Chapter Two

L aura inhaled the crisp, cold air as she got out of her car. It was already Tuesday, her second week in Marietta, and she was excited to start the new day.

After only a week in town she’d met Carol Bingley, the town gossip, at the pharmacy and she’d heard about Carol’s friend, Betty, who was the police dispatcher. Even though she’d been warned, she had been quite taken aback by the way Carol questioned her about every single aspect of her life. Fortunately, the pharmacy had been busy and she’d managed to escape without answering the nosy woman.

She’d also met Janice O’Sullivan last week at Annie’s when Annie and Craig had invited their whole family so that she could meet them.

As Maria had predicted, Janice immediately wanted to know whether she had a boyfriend. Shaking her head, Laura grabbed her bag and the basket full of books from her car. It had been lovely to meet Vivian, Annie’s sister, her husband, Aiden, and also Riley, who was married to Mitch, Annie’s brother. She was, though, steering clear of Janice, however charming the older woman looked.

She liked men, yes, but the few relationships she’d tried had left her wary and weary. Men were either overbearing or clingy, neither of which she found particularly endearing or sexy. Dating would be okay, but getting involved with a man? Not so much.

And at least she now knew a few more people in Marietta.

The moving van with her furniture would be arriving tonight, she’d been told. Although she’d enjoyed her stay with Annie, she couldn’t wait to be in her own place. She’d only seen a picture of the house she would be renting before she’d arrived in Marietta, but when she saw the beautiful house, a traditional rustic style in stone and reclaimed wood, it was love at first sight.

According to the realtor, the owners were looking to sell, so one of the first things she wanted to do when she had time was to go to the bank.

She wouldn’t be able to do much unpacking before the weekend, but hopefully she’d be able to get at least one bedroom ready during the coming week.

Over the past weekend she’d picked up the key to the house the real estate agent had left with one of the neighbors…Arlene, if she remembered correctly. The older woman was very nice and friendly and had invited her to contact her at any time if she needed any help. If she couldn’t help, Arlene said, one of her four children should be able to. She’d probably meet the rest of the family in time.

The key had made it possible to move most of the things she had with her to the house the previous evening. The electricity and water had also been turned on and the house was ready for her.

This morning she’d had her last fabulous breakfast with Annie. Being served a hot breakfast before she had to go to work was definitely something she was going to miss dearly.

Hitching her bag over her shoulder, Laura walked toward her classroom. It was still early. She had about an hour before her second graders arrived, but she loved to get everything ready before they turned up. They were discussing multiple-meaning words this week and she had made several posters she wanted to put up.

After taking off her coat, she took The Lorax , one of Dr. Seuss’s books, from the pile in her tote bag and left it on her desk. She’d just finished reading it to the kids. They’d enjoyed the story, and she hoped some of them would realize how important it was to protect their beautiful environment. And maybe a few would also understand something about the consequences of mass production from the story.

Luke Weston, one of the kids in her class, especially seemed to love the stories she’d been reading to them at the end of each day. He always listened so intently, she’d asked if he would like to borrow the books. It was the first time she’d seen him smile. She’d told him he could have this one, too, when she’d finished reading it to the class.

Meeting the kids’ parents was important to her and she’d sent out letters last week, inviting them to come and see her after school. Most parents had responded, but she hadn’t heard anything from Luke’s mom or dad.

There hadn’t yet been time to sit down and read everything about the kids in her class. She’d been frantically trying to catch up on the work that still had to be done. As she’d discovered since her arrival, Mrs. Denton hadn’t been feeling well since before Christmas and it was clear the poor woman hadn’t been able to do much with the kids.

Hopefully, she’d soon know everything there was to know about all the children. Maybe then she’d be able to figure out why Luke Weston looked so unhappy.

Humming, she rummaged through her basket, looking for the book she wanted to read to the class this week. Frowning, she emptied the basket, but the book wasn’t there. It had probably fallen out on her way to school.

Grabbing her coat again, she rushed to the door, and while looking down at the buttons of her coat, she flung it open, already moving toward her car. But instead of moving forward, she was abruptly stopped by an unmoving object. She reached out to steady herself and her hands landed on a warm body. Familiar earthy tones of man and musk penetrated her befuddled brain.

Before she could figure out what had happened, big hands closed around her upper arms.

“What the hell?” the same voice rumbled.

Still stunned, she looked up, and up, not wanting to see what she already knew she would see. It was the cowboy from the previous Friday night. A frown appeared between his eyes as recognition slowly dawned on him.

Eventually, she registered her hands were still spread out over his muscled upper body. Quickly dropping them, she stepped back. “May I help you?” she asked, trying not to look as flustered as she was feeling.

Still frowning, he looked up at the number above the door. “You…you were in Grey’s Saloon last Friday night?”

Nodding briefly, she lifted her chin. “May I help you?” she asked again.

“Isn’t this Mrs. Denton’s classroom?”

“Mrs. Denton retired at the end of January. I’m the new second-grade teacher.”

His mouth opened and closed a few times. “Why the hell didn’t I know that?”

“Is there a reason you should know?”

“Hell, yes!” he said through clenched teeth. “My son is in this class.”

“Your son?”

“Luke. Luke Weston.”

Ah. Finally, many things made sense. “Well, Mr. Weston, if you or your wife had taken the time to read the letters I sent you last week, you would know that, one”—she ticked on her fingers—“your son has a new teacher, and, two, I would like to make an appointment to see both of you to talk about Luke.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“I would prefer it if your wife…”

“My wife, Miss Whoever-you-are, is dead. If you want to talk about Luke, you talk to me.”

It was her turn to open and close her mouth a few times. Inhaling deeply, she put out a hand. “I’m sorry, Mr. Weston. I’m Laura Anderson and I’m your son’s new teacher. Do you have a few minutes?”

He ignored her hand. “No, I don’t have a few minutes. I have a ranch to run. I’m here to tell you not to give Luke more books to read. He’s neglected his chores, something he’s never done before. I caught him in the barn yesterday afternoon, reading a damn book!”

The way the big man was carrying on, you’d think his son was committing a federal crime. No wonder poor Luke looked so unhappy.

“You should be pleased about that, not mad.”

“I’m not…” he bellowed before he caught himself. Rubbing his face, he turned on his heel. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Mr. Weston,” she called out. “We really should talk.”

He stopped and glared at her over his shoulder. “You wanna talk to me? You come and see me.” And off he stomped.

Completely stunned, she stared after him.

“What on earth have you done to Hayden Weston?” Maria asked from behind Laura.

Laura threw up her hands. “I have no idea. He stormed in here this morning, looking for Mrs. Denton. He didn’t even know his son had a different teacher. And I’ve been sending letters to them, trying to see him or his wife…”

Mariah inhaled sharply.

Laura grimaced. “I’ve just heard his wife died. I didn’t know…”

Mariah patted her shoulder. “So, you haven’t gotten to the kids’ reports yet?”

Laura shook her head. “There hasn’t been time. It’s no excuse, I know. I’ll make time tonight.”

Maria grinned. “Don’t beat yourself up. Moving to another town, taking over a class mid-term—none of it is easy. Well, you’ve been invited to his ranch. You should go and see him. It’s a beautiful place.”

“At least I now know why poor Luke looks so unhappy. With a grumpy father like that, anyone would be.”

Maria chuckled. “By the way, he’s the one who was checking you out in Grey’s Saloon the other night.”

Turning away before the heat creeping up her neck gave her away, Laura huffed. “So not interested, thank you very much. I’ve left something in my car. Excuse me.”

Maria’s laugh followed her all the way down the hall.

*

Hayden stopped in front of his mother’s place with screeching tires. He and Luke were late for dinner. Luke hadn’t done his chores. Again. Tired, irritated, and worried about his son, Hayden got out of his truck. He had to shout at his son. Again. The last thing he wanted to do was have dinner with his mother. She didn’t miss a thing, so she’d know right away something was wrong. It wasn’t as if she’d pester him. Oh, no, his mother was way too subtle and devious to do that. She’d smile and prod and ask questions ever so gently until she’d get everything out of him and/or Luke before the end of the evening.

As they walked toward his mom’s house, he noticed a moving truck and a car parked in front of the house next door. The house had been standing empty since before Christmas, so he was glad to see someone would be moving in next door to his mom again.

At seventy, she was still a force to be reckoned with, but she was getting older, whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not.

Before they’d reached the porch, the front door opened and the rest of his family filed out.

“I was wondering where you two were,” his mom said as she reached them. She held out her arms and hugged Luke. Hayden got a kiss on the cheek. “We are on our way to welcome my new neighbor and see where we can help before we have dinner. Hopefully, she’ll be able to join us. Such a lovely woman, I really hope...” She stopped speaking and gave Hayden “The Look,” as he and his siblings referred to this particular stare of their mom’s. “Something is wrong…”

“We’re fine, Mom,” he interrupted. “I saw the moving truck next door. I assume that’s the new neighbor you want us to welcome?”

His mother’s gaze roamed another second over his face before she turned to walk toward the neighbor’s house. “Yes, the Gearings’ house. Lydia moved to the senior citizen facilities before Christmas and the house has been empty since then.”

“So you’ve met the neighbor?” Willow asked as they all followed their mother.

“Yes, the real estate agent left the key with me over the weekend, and she picked it up. A stunning girl. Becket, maybe she’s the one to stop you from breaking any more hearts around town. Carol Bingley went on and on about poor Susanne this morning. Apparently, she’s walking around town, crying, because you’ve dumped her.”

“She wanted to look at rings,” Becket muttered. “You know how I feel about that.”

“That’s what happens when you take out a woman and wine and dine her for a few weeks.” Willow chuckled. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised every time.”

“If that’s how it works, how come you’re not getting married?” Becket asked Willow.

Willow glared at him. “You know why. It’s bad enough worrying about you lot. I can’t handle anyone else’s drama.”

Their mother smiled and patted Willow’s shoulder. “You’ve inherited your Irish grandma’s sense of knowing what’s going on in other people’s minds. It’s a blessing, not a curse.”

Willow pursed her lips. “It’s a curse, Mom, believe me.”

At that moment the front door opened, and two men stepped out.

“Thank you so much for all your help,” a woman from somewhere inside the house said.

The men greeted them as they left, but Hayden had frozen. He’d heard that voice before.

Luke inhaled deeply before he rushed forward. “Miss Anderson!” he called out, and the next moment, she appeared in the doorway.

She was wearing jeans and a snug T-shirt that lovingly hugged beautiful breasts. Her hair had been taken up in a bun, but most of it had escaped already. She was barefoot, with her toenails painted pink. A fist of desire so intense that Hayden lost his breath in one swoosh caught him in the solar plexus.

Luke grabbed her hand. “Grandma, this is my new teacher,” he said, and, beaming, he turned around to look at all of them.