Page 65 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

Hank asked, “Where isBrady?”

“He took Rachel and Jimmy into Bozeman to do some Christmas shopping. I think Rachel wanted to look at wedding dresses too,”Macksaid.

“Ahh. If I had a kid, I’d probably spoil him rotten,”Hanksaid.

“Are they engaged?” Madisonasked.

“Yep. They just got engaged,”Macksaid.

“That’s nice.” She swallowed andlookedaway.

“They went through hell recently. Their son Jimmy was really sick, but he’s getting better each day,”Hanksaid.

“That’s good,”shesaid.

“Ever have kids?” Mackasked.

She blinked as if surprised by hisquestion. “No.”

“You don’t have to be married to have kids. Brady’s proof of that,”Hanksaid.

“True.”

Madison stood. “I’ll start clearingdishes.”

As she hurried into the kitchen, Mack reviewed the conversation. He really didn’t know much about her. In fact, she seemed somewhat evasive. Although he didn’t want to spend too much time around her tempting curves, he did want to get to know her better. He couldn’t have a complete stranger running the B&B. He’d just have to make sure he only talked to her when other people werearound.

He pushed back from the table. “I’ll see everyone out in the back pasture. We need to get that fence finishedtoday.”

“Sure.”

“Soundsgood.”

Mack picked up his plate and walked into the kitchen. Now was as good a time as any to try to get to know herbetter.

She stood at the kitchen sink staring out at the snowy landscape. “I can’t believe how beautiful it is here. Nothing likethecity.”

“Doesn’t it snow inSeattle?”

“Sometimes, but notlikethis.”

“Did you grow upthere?”

She turned on the water and started to scrub theplate. “Yep.”

“What wasitlike?”

“Nothing special. Just aregularlife.”

Mack picked up a dish towel and held out a hand. “I’lldry.”

“I can use thedryingrack.”

“I’ll help clean up the kitchen.” He set the towel on thecounter.

“That’s not necessary. I canhandleit.”

He sighed. “Okay. If you need any help, let me know. We’ll be on the far side of the ranch today. I’ll leave a walkie-talkie for you in case you need tocallus.”

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