Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) Read Online Free Page B

manners by their momma.”
    “She’s
a doll too.”
    “I
think it’s sweet how they all wait for the guests to
get their plates before they get their own. It’s nice that they have their own
table, too, although I think it would be great if the cowboys ate with us.”
    The
first lady giggled. “You just want one of those hunky youngsters to simper all
over you, Marg.”
    “You’re
damn tootin ’, Liz. I may be old, but I ain’t dead!” They
both laughed as they approached the serving tables.
    “Brisket,
ladies?”
    “Yes,
please.”
    They
went through the line chitchatting away like two little chickadees roosting on
their nests. The two of them were too cute.
    Terri
looked down the long room and noticed the table with Nina sitting with a group
of men. Younger men, except one older gentleman Terri assumed was probably her
husband. The rest looked a lot like Joshua with one of them looking identical. Twins? Wow. She
glanced around hoping to see Jeff so she could avoid him, but he didn’t appear
to be present. Had she gotten a reprieve? She hoped so. Now if she could avoid
him for her whole two week visit, she would be thrilled. Somehow she didn’t
think she’d get so lucky.
    The
little boy who’d been in his truck sat next to Nina. He really was a cute kid. Jeff’s? Hmm.
    One
thing she had noticed yesterday when they’d run into the infuriating man, he
hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring. George had mentioned an ex-wife who was a
bitch, but he hadn’t remarried or anything? Why she’d noticed was beyond her,
but she had. Surely, she wasn’t attracted to him?
    Well
maybe she was, but it wouldn’t do any good. They were definitely on opposite
sides of the spectrum. Her an architect with a firm trying to take the
rangeland and turn it into housing developments and him a cowboy trying desperately
to hold onto his way of life. She really couldn’t blame him, but she was just
doing her job, the one she’d trained for all through college.
    The
door creaked open at the end of the dining room. Terri glanced behind her to
see Jeff come waltzing through the door looking like a cowboy of old. Dusty
cowboy hat perched on his dark hair, western style shirt molded to his broad
chest, dark worn jeans encasing his legs and dirty cowboy boots on his feet.
    She
quickly hid her face, turning toward the serving girl as she approached the hot
tables. Jeff walked right past her without paying any attention to the people
around him, although his cologne lingered.
    The
two older women sighed. “He’s so standoffish. What do you think is his story?”
    “I’m
not sure. He’s friendly enough when you talk to him, but he sure doesn’t give
anything besides polite conversation.”
    “He’s
the eldest you know.” She waved her hand. “Of all the boys.”
    Terri
continued to listen to their conversation as they made their way to the refreshment
table to get coffee, milk or lemonade.
    “He
runs pretty much everything around here, but I think he tries too hard.”
    “The
little boy is his from his marriage.”
    “He’s
a cutie.”
    “Yes
he is, but the father? Sad case of being burned by a woman.”
    The
women wandered off to a place to sit, while Terri kept her head down and moved
as far away from the family table as she could to avoid Jeff. She’d eat and
hole up in her room. Maybe she could find Joshua to ask about the things she
needed to know or one of the other brothers although she didn’t know their
names.
    Hopefully
he would be working most of the time so she could get her research done. She
bit her lip. She really needed to find out the answers to her questions.
Unfortunately, he seemed to be the best one to ask being the eldest.
    She
ate her brisket while she kept a keen eye on him. Not that he was such a
hardship to look at. He did have the cowboy thing down pat.
    He
touched Ben’s head and smiled at him before he leaned over and kissed the boy
on the head. Apparently, he cared a lot for his