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Jared’s head snapped in the direction Eve was staring. He looked from the growing line of kids over to the stables and then his shoulders relaxed and a slight smile reappeared. “Saved by the Baroness.”
It took Eve a moment to understand. No one in the family had ever referred to her grandmother as the Baroness. That woman was the family’s saving grace and this was no exception. At a quick clip for any woman, never mind one of her years, she was on course to intercept Mary. “Gotta love that woman,” Eve whispered.
Jared’s gaze shifted to her, his smile brightened, his eyes twinkled, and he winked at her. “The acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
It took Eve a few seconds to process the implications. Another moment of silence, and kids waiting on line, more kids happily bouncing inside, Jared crossed over the entry to the play house and circled his arms around her waist. For a split second, the intensity of his gaze almost had Eve losing her breath.
“For what it’s worth.” He tugged her closer to him. “I love you.”
Every second seemed to tick by in slow motion. Jared picked one heck of a time, surrounded by crowds of strangers, to tell Eve that he loved her.No. It was more than love. He loved his family and friends. He wasin lovewith Eve Baron. Debating if he should step back, pretend he hadn’t said a word, and get back to tending to the munchkins clamoring to bounce around inside with the other children imagining themselves anything from an astronaut to an acrobat, or pull her in tight and do his best to kiss her till her toes curled.
All set to retreat, he loosened his hold when Eve blinked at him, then easing up on her tippy toes, whispered against his lips, “And I love you.”
There was no resisting the temptation. A line of kids as long as the Rio Grande wasn’t enough to stop him from tugging her fully against him and pressing his lips ever so gently to hers.
Oblivious to the adult behavior, a little boy tugged on Jared’s belt loop. “Is it my turn yet?”
Chuckling softly, Jared let go of the woman he loved and returned to his position on one side of the bounce house entry. “Let’s see about this.”
No matter how much he tried to focus on the kids coming and going, he couldn’t stop looking over at Eve and grinning like the danged Cheshire Cat. She loved him too. Really loved him. He was totally shocked that he was still rooted in place and not floating in air. When Chase and CJ showed up to relieve them, he was truly surprised at how quickly the time had passed. Like a teen on a first date, the opportunity to simply hold her hand on their way to the corrals and the calf chase had made him feel like king of the world.
Before they got to their destination, he dipped left and tugged her into the shadows of the barn. “I’m sorry, but I can’t resist.” Once again, his arms gently around her waist, he let his lips meet hers. The kiss was soft and sweet and lasted longer than he’d expected, but not as long as he would have liked.
A few more feet and they’d reached the portable bleachers that had been set up for the event. Young children were lined up along the fence line. Bright pink ribbons were tied around the necks of several young calves. The first was released and the little munchkins took off after him. The kids ran circles around the cow, or did the cow run circles around the kids? Jared wasn’t sure, but he and Eve were laughing heartily at the group. Finally, one of the cow hands stepped in to help corner the playful calf as one of the taller boys grabbed hold of the ribbon pulling it loose.
The crowd erupted in cheers and another calf and group of children entered the arena and started the song and dance all over again. Not till the third group with young Jake in the mix came out for their turn, and a loud gasp sounded at his side, did Jared realize the nurse had wheeled Mary up beside them.
“Jake is too young.” Mary’s hand slowly reached out to touch his sleeve. “You have to get my boy out of there.”
They hadn’t told Mary very much of what was going on. Though she’d grown more aware of her grandson’s lack of time in the kitchen, she hadn’t quite connected the dots of how much Jake had learned about enjoying life on a ranch.
Carefully squatting down on his heels, Jared let go of Eve’s hand and took hold of Mary’s. “He’s going to be just fine, Mary. He understands being careful even when he’s having fun.”
Her eyes wide, he tried not to wince at the purse in her lips as she tried to speak. Sometimes the words came easily for her, but the more upset she was, the more likely she was to stammer or freeze.
“Mary. I promise you. It’s okay.”
By the time Mary’s eyes shifted from his to the children running about, Jake had already proved him right. They’d caught a last-minute glimpse of him assuredly trotting after the animal and cutting him off at one side, grabbing a hold of and pulling the pink ribbon until he held it up in the air gripped tightly in his hand as the other kids and calf wandered away.
“See?” The warmth of Eve’s hands gently settling on his shoulder made him smile as much as Jake’s great performance. “He’s going to make a great cowboy. If he wants.”
Mary looked from Jared to Eve’s hands and frowned ever so slightly as her gaze leveled with his.
Reaching over his shoulder, he squeezed one of her hands and smiled at Mary. “What can I say, I’m irresistible.”
With her other hand, Eve smacked his shoulder lightly, then giggled. “Maybe a little.”
The interaction brought the first real smile to Mary’s face since setting eyes on her grandson after waking up in the hospital. “Good. Very good.”
His gaze drew up to meet Eve’s then drifted off to the events wrapping up around them. As far as he was concerned, everything was better than good. It was perfect.
Chapter Seventeen– Epilogue
“Only at the Baron household can a simple birthday feel like a world class event.” Siobhan Baron shook her head at her brother.
“Well,” Craig smiled, “you gotta admit, we are sort of world class.”
His kid sister smacked him on the arm—hard. “Such an ego.”
