Page 19 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

She nodded. “I appreciate all that you’re doing,” she said quietly.

He switched gears. “I never did tell you a good memory.”

“That’s right.” She was grateful to have another direction in which to channel her thoughts.

“There was a guy in our class who walked with a limp. Jimmy Maloney. Kids made fun of him.”

“That’s terrible,” she grimaced with moral outrage.

He chuckled. “Yep, you thought so then too. You heard some guys making fun of him in the cafeteria—a few of the football players. Cody Kittrell started walking behind Jimmy, mimicking him. You were sitting at a table with the cheerleaders. You jumped up and tromped over to that table full of football players and gave them a tongue-lashing so severe that it curled their toenails.”

Surprised laughter rose in her throat. “You make me sound so fierce.”

“Oh, you were. You ate nails for breakfast.” His lips twitched. “Without any milk.”

She smiled. “Ha ha. Funny guy. Where’d you get those lines?”

“I might have lifted them from SpongeBob SquarePants.”

“The cartoon?”

“Yep. I’m a closet cartoon watcher.” He winked. “Don’t tell my siblings. I’d never hear the end of it.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” She made a zipping motion over her lips. It occurred to her that she didn’t know how many siblings Jaxson had, only the ones that he’d mentioned. “So, are Zoe and Ramsey your only siblings?”

Jaxson laughed. “Not hardly. There are six of us.”

“Six?” she sputtered. “That’s a lot.”

“That’s what people tell me.” He shrugged. “For me, it’s normal.”

Her head swung back and forth. “Wow. Where do you fall in the lineup?”

“Second to the oldest. There’s Zoe, Me, Ramsey, Noah, Cash, and Mason.”

“So, you just have the one sister?”

“Yep, and she’s meaner than all the rest of the boys put together.”

Lemon looked down at her clothes. “Well, she must not be too terrible. After all, she did let me borrow her clothes.”

“Actually, Zoe’s great,” he said with a note of affection.

“She’s getting married soon, right?”

“In December. This is her second marriage. She’s finally marrying the guy she should’ve married from the get-go. Briggs is a great guy. He and Zoe were childhood sweethearts. Briggs is the ranch veterinarian.”

Lemon nodded, taking it all in.

“Zoe has two kids, a boy and girl—Milo and Madison. They all live at the ranch. Right now, Zoe and the kids are in the main ranch house.”

“That’s right. I remember you talking about that with your dad yesterday.” She glanced around. “You moved into this guesthouse to give Zoe and her kids more room.”

“Yes, that’s right. See you’re remembering already.”

She grunted. “My memory is crystal clear of the recent events. I just can’t remember anything past yesterday.”

His eyes met hers. “What’s it like?”

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