Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Colton had taken out a hodgepodge of ingredients, and I wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but I couldn’t just sit here and think about how absolutely gorgeous my new boss—temporary boss—looked in nothing but a pair of jeans that rode indecently low on his narrow hips. Good God, those jeans!
While he went to get dressed, which he didn’t need to do on my account—he could walk around like that every day until the end of time as far as I was concerned—I decided to whip up lunch. There was leftover roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, ingredients that were perfectly in my wheelhouse. I started with pulled chicken sandwiches drenched in barbecue sauce, turned the mashed potatoes into a kind of potato salad, and then made corn and tomato salad. “Not too bad,” I said with a swipe of my forearm across my forehead. It hadn’t taken much, but it felt like a huge accomplishment.
The guys still hadn’t come down, so I went in search of plates and utensils and set the table. For two, not three, because three would just be presumptuous.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Colton’s deep voice scared a scream out of me, and I whirled around to see the most adorable sight in all the world: a big cowboy and his pint-sized doppelganger. They had the same crop of black hair, but the big cowboy had hazel eyes, and the little one had deep mossy green eyes.
“No,” I sighed and tried for a smile even though my heart raced like crazy. “I didn’t, but I was down here and doing nothing, so I figured I could help out. It’s nothing, just chicken sandwiches and two types of salad. Hi,” I said to the little cowboy.
“Hi!” He shouted the greeting dramatically and waved. “Who are you?”
“Hunter,” Colton admonished.
I laughed. “I’m Molly. Who are you?” I held a hand out to the little boy, and he laughed.
“I’m Hunter!”
“Hunter, huh? What a cool name. It’s nice to meet you, Hunter. Are you the kid looking for a nanny?”
He nodded and giggled some more, bending over so that Colton had to readjust to hold him upright. “Daddy says I’m too young to be a real cowboy. But soon,” he said with the authority of a grown man.
“You certainly look the part of a real cowboy.”
He smiled proudly and smoothed his little hands over the cowboy flannel. “I’m too small, and the bison will crush me,” he said in a tone that told me he’d heard that particular phrase a time or two.
“That could be a problem. Better wait until you’re big enough to wrangle them, right?”
Colton set Hunter down and smiled as he scrambled to the table, climbing up and reaching for a tomato. “You really didn’t need to do this, Molly.”
“Maybe not, but I figured with running a ranch and being a dad, you could use the assist.” I cringed inwardly at my use of the basketball term. “Sorry about that, my older brother played basketball, so since I was a little girl, we all spoke in basketball terms.” Oh my God, Molly, shut up! I snapped my mouth closed to prevent more words from spilling out.
Colton’s lips twitched, which only brought my attention to them. They were plump and pink, even hidden behind at least a day’s worth of stubble. “Thanks for the assist. Join us, and we can chat.”
I opened my mouth to refuse, but Colton was already on the other side of the kitchen, taking his seat. “Why don’t I join you guys for lunch?” I mumbled under my breath.
“Sounds good. Take a seat.” Colton rose swiftly and moved gracefully through the kitchen, gathering another place setting for me. “Sit.”
“Sit,” I mocked him under my breath. “So bossy.”
“Daddy is the boss,” Hunter said matter-of-factly.
“Oh. Right.” I scooped a little bit of everything for Hunter and then for myself. “I forgot Daddy is the boss.”
Hunter giggled again, somehow already managing a streak of barbecue sauce on his cheek. “You live here?”
“In Texas?” I shook my head. “I do now, but I’m from Louisiana. Do you know where that is?”
He shook his head. “I live here.”
“Right. Well, this place is pretty beautiful.” And for now, this view was all mine. “What about you, Hunter, what are some of your favorite things?”
His green eyes widened with excitement. “I like horses a lot, and I have a pony. His name is Peanut Butter.”
“What a cute name!”
“Yep. Daddy let me name him.” He flashed a proud smile that was contagious. “I wanna be a rancher like Daddy. Oh, and I love mac & cheese. It’s my favorite,” he said, drawing the word out into about seven syllables. “My mama went to heaven when I was little.”
My heart broke for the little boy and his father, but death was something we all had to learn to cope with, which meant we needed to learn to deal with that sadness. “I heard, and I’m sorry to hear that, but the best way to make it hurt less is to talk about the people in heaven so we remember them. Maybe you’ll tell me about your mama sometimes?”