Chapter Two
Something behind Hayden caught Evie’s eye.
She smiled.
It was a happy smile, a loving smile.
The same smile she gave me earlier when she ran into my arms.
That didn’t happen to Hayden every day. Women embracing him, that is. Now that he had time and perspective on that greeting… It had been…nice.
Hayden scoffed and took a sip of coffee, tracking Evie as she went to join a group of older women at a yellow picnic table near the front windows.
He recognized one of the women as Evie’s mother.
He hadn’t seen her since the rehearsal dinner for his canceled wedding.
There were more lines on her face now, but Nellie’s short blond hair was still as bright as Evie’s.
Someone tugged on his hand.
“Me and my mama love cowboys.” A little blond girl in a pink tutu stood next to Hayden, staring up at him adoringly with bright blue eyes. “We love cowboys because they’re brave and true. And you’re a cowboy.”
“Uh… Thanks?” Hayden tipped his cowboy hat back.
The little girl beamed at Hayden as if he were her superhero. “Do you have a horse?”
“Wouldn’t be a cowboy without a horse,” Hayden replied, smitten enough to give the kid a small smile.
“If I was a cowboy, I’d ride a unicorn.” The kid tugged her pink tutu up and down by the hem as if excited. “A bright, shiny yellow unicorn. I’d call her Sparkles and feed her cake. I’d ride her every day, even to school.”
“Uh…” As an adult, Hayden hadn’t been around kids much. He had no idea what to say. It didn’t seem appropriate to tell the girl unicorns were a myth. The closest thing to a yellow unicorn was a hornless palomino, an animal that didn’t eat cake.
She’s setting her heart on something she can’t have, angling for disappointment. Like Evie.
A glance at Evie showed her talking in a low voice to her mother. She used to be good at hard conversations and handling emergency situations. Emphasis on used to. She’d panicked under pressure today.
Evie wants to marry me to stay in town? Ridiculous.
He didn’t like to think about who Evie would have latched on to for the ruse if they hadn’t run into each other. He perused the room, taking note of a few rough-looking cowboys.
I’m a safer choice than those fellas. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna marry her.
Next to him, the little ballerina twirled around and would have fallen if Hayden hadn’t caught her arm. “What’s your horse’s name?” she asked.
“Red.”
The tyke pursed her lips, pondering this information. Finally, she stared up at Hayden and said, “My daddy has a red car. It’s sparkly.”
“Does it have a unicorn horn?” Hayden deadpanned.
“No.” She giggled. “It’s a car.”
Hayden realized his coffee cup was empty.
He still had paperwork to go through at the ranch.
Lots and lots of paperwork. Stacks and stacks.
His grandfather had never seen the value of putting his records on a computer.
As executor of the man’s will, Hayden was charged with a monumental task: dividing the massive Bennett ranching operation back into five properties, each to be inherited by one of Clyde Bennett’s grandsons.
The ranches were scattered across the valley and included Rolling Thunder Ranch, once owned by Hayden’s father before he died.
But Hayden couldn’t legally separate the land until the property taxes were current.
And given the low bank balances he was contending with, livestock would have to be sold.
Too bad the stock records were out of date.
Hayden had no clue as to the size, age, gender, and quality of the herd.
His little admirer circled the table, running on her tiptoes, pink tutu bouncing as mightily as her short blond curls. She stopped at a small play area with wooden puzzles, wooden toys, and dog-eared children’s books.
No one was in line for coffee. Hayden got up and bought a second cup, adding a kitty cat cake pop from the bakery case to his order.
Coffee and cake pop in hand, Hayden turned just as Evie returned to their table.
Her blue-eyed gaze met his. It contained no blame. No resentment. Just…a deep sense of despair.
Hayden had planned on giving the little girl the cake pop before heading out the door. But the expression on Evie’s face hit him like a lariat around his rib cage, slowing him to a stop.
Acting on instinct, Hayden reclaimed his seat on the green bench, indicating Evie do the same. And when she did, he handed her the cake pop. “I bought this for that little girl running around here, but I think you might need it more.”
Evie accepted the pink kitty cat cake pop with a grateful smile. “Does this mean you’re considering my proposal?”
He nearly dropped his hot coffee. “No.”
“Well, then…” Evie admired the cake pop before locating the little girl he’d intended to buy the treat for. “I can’t accept this. The first rule of being a parent is to give kids first dibs at sugar.”
“She’s… yours?” She’d mentioned a child, but he hadn’t been able to envision his Evie as a mother. Now, Hayden blinked, suddenly seeing the resemblance between the pair—all that golden hair, those big blue eyes, that perky little nose and bubbly personality.
“Katie?” Evie called to her daughter. “Do you want a cake pop?”
Katie squealed and scurried over, her short, blond curls bouncing and her pink tutu skirt springing up and down, amplifying her enthusiasm. “I love cake, Mama.” She claimed the pop, nibbled off both small cat ears, and then giggled. “Chomp. Chomp.”
Bloodthirsty little thing.
Hayden grinned. “She’s just like you, Evie.” She’d been fourteen when he first began dating her sister, Violet. “Remember how you used to eat the heads off every one of the Peeps in the package at Easter?” She’d leave the bodies for the rest of the household.
Evie’s nose went in the air. “Everybody does that.”
“Nope. Just you.” Hayden chuckled.
“I did it to annoy you.” Evie didn’t sell that idea at all. Her tone turned brisk as she introduced Hayden to her daughter. “Katie, what do we say when someone does something nice for us?”
“Thank you.” Katie raised her arms in the air, rose up on her toes, and spun around and around like a lopsided ballerina until she reached Hayden’s side. Then she curled a finger, inviting him to come closer. When he did, she kissed his cheek and whispered, “I love cowboys. And I love you.”
Had the sun broken through the clouds outside? It must have. Hayden felt brighter, inside and out.
Katie scampered back to her wooden puzzle, earless kitty cat cake pop in hand.
“Did Katie just get out of dance class?” Hayden asked. That would explain the tutu.
“Nope. Katie’s four.” Evie stared at her kid with that happy, loving smile. “My daughter has a dress code all her own. I’ll let you in on the second rule of being a parent. It’s knowing when to pick your battles.”
“That’s true of life.” Hayden smiled. “What other kernels of wisdom do you have up your sleeve?”
“I could reveal all the secrets I’m keeping in exchange for a cake pop.” Eve was hitting her stride now, smiling and confirming that sugar was still the key to her heart.
Not that I’m interested in her heart.
Hayden lowered his hat brim and took a bracing sip of coffee. “Much as I’d like to sit and watch you and Katie devour cake pops one ear at a time, I’ve got responsibilities waiting for me at home.”
Not that he made a move to leave. He was feeling relieved, as if he’d run away from the circus and all its drama. A smart man didn’t bolt from a peaceful respite, no matter how much he had on his plate.
“Don’t let me keep you.” Evie’s smile fell, along with her cheerful tone of voice. “It’s not like we’re engaged or anything.”
“You’ll figure a way out of this, Evie.” She often did. But so did he. It was just that Evie always managed to smile infectiously through adversity, whereas he was more likely to become a grouch.
Which probably explained why he didn’t immediately head back to the ranch, choosing instead to finish his coffee in her presence.
*
You’ll figure a way out of this, Evie.
Eve soldiered a smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Hayden.”
“Mama.” Katie pranced over and handed Eve the bare cake pop stick. “There’s a lady outside with a cat on a string.”
Eve glanced out the coffee shop’s broad front windows. Sure enough, there was a middle-aged cowgirl sitting outside, enjoying the spring sunshine. A white cat wearing a white harness and leash sat on the table. “Well, now I’ve seen everything.”
“I want a kitty, Mama.” Katie sidled closer to Eve, resting her head on Eve’s arm.
“You want a kitty?” Hayden’s smile was small but sly, delivered over the rim of his coffee cup. “Do you want a shiny yellow kitty with a unicorn horn?”
Katie gasped, straightened, and gave Hayden an incredulous look, propping her hands on her hips in the know-it-all position. “Unicorns aren’t cats.”
“Who says?” Hayden gently teased, still flashing that small smile.
“Everybody.” Katie’s expression was fierce. “Unicorns are horses. Dragons are lizards. And fairies are butterflies. Tell him, Mama.”
“Go on.” Hayden smirked, but it was a friendly kind of smirk. A laugh-with-me kind of smirk. “Tell me, Mama.”
Was there innuendo in that remark?
Eve’s heart lurched in her chest. And she couldn’t think of anything to say except, “Katie’s right.”
“Yes!” Katie crowed, dancing back to the play area.
“Unicorns? Fairies? This must be another parental rule I don’t know about.” Hayden’s tone continued to promise mischief, the innocent kind he used to have with Eve. “And this rule probably involves Santa and the Easter Bunny.”
“You’ve got this down,” Eve managed to play along without letting her heart take over the tenor of her smile and turn it into something lovestruck. “You must have experience with kids.”
“Not really.” Hayden’s energy lowered in wattage as he slowly spun his coffee cup. “My brother Rhett has two girls, but I don’t see them much since I stopped working with him.”
“Did they come back for the funeral?”