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She giggled… which was a bit unexpected coming from the daughter of a rich oil tycoon.
The cute sound was enough for Charlie to seize her other hand. “I’ll show you!”
Cole shook his head. He couldn’t make West’s girlfriend watch Charlie and Pip. It wasn’t right. Before he could tell West to stop being an idiot and watch his own kids, his brother had turned to their old man to interrogate him. “How’s Momma doing?”
“Just lightheaded. She says she’ll be down for dinner.”
Cole’s stomach clenched. It sounded like she’d had another relapse while he was upstairs with Eva. He shouldn’t have argued with West in front of her.
“We can take over dinner,” Emily said.
She and Mimi, along with Cadence, all went to the kitchen like an army to see what they could do about taking over the meal. There was no doubt that they all adored their new mother-in-law in their own ways and would do anything to help her out.
They worked in sync. Emily and Cadence seemed like they already knew each other from Nashville. They talked a mile a minute, trying to catch up on everything that had happened since they’d parted ways. They talked a lot about that Lacy Lynch.
Cole squinted as he overheard every awful thing that monster had tried to do to his new sisters-in-law. Cadence had been fooled into believing that she was in love with the father of her babies until he’d turned psycho. Mimi’s eyes widened as she dug for more information. She finally declared that she’d rearrange Lynch’s face if he ever came near any of them again, all while they brought out mixing bowls and pots and pans.
In an instant, they had become a family.
Eva started to lead the kids out the door. “Show me this cute little puppy!”
“No, I’ve got it!” The words of surrender were pulled out of Cole like a horse fighting his reins. “It’s okay, I’ll take the kids.” His eyes went to West, who gave him an impatient wave to get lost. His annoying brother had won again, but it was better than throwing this all on the newcomer. He turned to his nephews. “Let’s go.”
“Yay!” Charlie hopped up with all the joy that the eight-year-old could muster. Pip grabbed Cole’s hand, not letting go of Eva’s, either. “Lizardman is waiting!” Charlie led them both out the door.
Wait, what? They wereallgoing?
Cole had walked into that one, hadn’t he? He’d be showing West’s girlfriend around the ranch, whether he liked it or not, and his brother hadn’t had to do a thing. Cole set his shoulders and marched out the door with his new entourage.
Chapter Five
Eva sat in the soft hay in the barn, holding Ballerina. She rubbed her nose into the puppy’s fuzzy white fur hiding the creature’s slender neck. “You were the one who named her?” she asked Charlie.
He nodded eagerly. “And Lizardman, too.”
And West had kept his son’s name for that other wriggly little pup, too. She thought it was the cutest thing ever. West always seemed to grimace when calling out Lizardman’s name in public.
Cole settled into the hay next to her, picking up a chirping chick. It ruffled its fluffy feathers as he settled the tiny bird into his arm—a very muscular arm.
Her cheeks went warm. She’d gotten front row tickets to feel those guns when she’d accidentally tripped him on the stairs. The guy was built with broad shoulders that seemed out of place in this stall made for tiny, cute things. And yet when he’d tripped, he’d gone down like someone had taken an ax to the base of a redwood tree.
She hid a laugh at the memory, not wanting to set him off again.
He’d been mortified when he’d knocked her over, and just like West did when he was flustered, he’d turned tail and tried to run. She’d get through his defenses soon enough. She was almost through his brother’s.
“Beep Beep.” Charlie called out the attendance. “Are you here?” The kids had decided to play school with them and the smaller animals in the barn. To Cole’s credit, he’d gone along with it.
A chick made a little noise, as if it knew its name was being called from the imaginary roll. Good thing too, because Pip was becoming impatient with the chicks who ignored their names. He threatened the principal’s office through his missing teeth more times than she could count.
So adorable! She could hardly wait for her turn.
“Lizardman?” Charlie called out.
The puppy lifted his head and wandered over to sniff at his striped shirt. “Please, take your seat,” Charlie said, though he had visibly softened from the stern teacher that he was trying to play. His hand fluffed his miscreant student’s floppy ears. “Sit, sit!”
Eva picked up her phone and texted West between Ballerina’s squirming paws: “Your kids are precious.”
“Eva?” Charlie called out…afterconsulting Cole, she’d noticed. The sweet kid had forgotten her name.
