Page 31 of Welcome Home, Cowboy
“Bigger every day,” Lawson agreed.
“Can’t talk like that to a girl once she gets my age.” Julie met his gaze anddamn,she was breathtaking even with the makeover Sabrina had given her.
“I have different ways of talking to a woman like you,” he said without thinking. Because if he were thinking, he wouldn’t be flirting with Sabrina’s sitter. According to Dr. Pierce, he shouldn’t be flirting with anyone at all.
“Can you stay for lunch?” Julie asked.
He started to say no. Needed to say no. But Sabrina was already climbing into his lap with cookie crumbs sprinkled around her lips as she cheered.
“I mean, you have to eat, right?” Julie asked, smiling.
Good. He’d made her feel better, which in turn made him feel like a million bucks. He’d been feeling more like a penny on tails lately. “Well.” He scratched his chin, finding a crumb that Sabrina had left behind when she’d landed a slobbery kiss on his face.
Julie laughed. “Need a tissue?” she asked.
He inspected the crumb and then licked his finger. “Those are good,” he said, making both of the girls in the room burst into giggles. Julie wasn’t a girl, though. She was a woman, one he’d be very obliged to spend time with if the circumstances were different. “Sharing a meal is nearly common law marriage in some places.”
Julie ran her hand along the carpeted floor. “I’m not looking for a commitment longer than half an hour.”
He nodded. “Then I guess my answer is yes,” he said, unable to argue. He’d just have a quick bite and leave. Easy. There was no reason to get skittish.
No reason at all.
—
Julie’s gaze kept flicking up to meet Lawson’s across the table. It was harmless. There was a child between them, supervising their every move. And they were both here for Sabrina. Not because of the man-woman, melt-the-clothes-right-off-you attraction buzzing between them.
Julie swallowed the last bite of her sandwich and got up to start the cleanup process. She carried her glass to the sink. When she turned around, Lawson was gone.
Sabrina shrugged. “He’s a Marine, you know.”
As if that explained her uncle’s disappearance. Julie guessed in Sabrina’s mind that explained her father’s current MIA status.
“Lawson?” Julie called, scanning the room. She heard movement down the hallway and went to check on what he was doing.
“I have to get back to work,” he said, walking toward her. In his hands he was carrying a pair of women’s boots. “They’re Beth’s. She won’t mind. Looks like you two wear about the same size.”
Julie’s brow furrowed. “Um…” She glanced down at the sparkly flip-flops on her own feet. They showed off the pedicure she’d given herself the other night. Her toes were painted a soft lavender color. “Thanks, but—”
“My turn to show you what relaxes me.” He held the boots out to her. “Beth won’t mind if you borrow them. Ask her for a pair of riding pants, too.” He kept walking past Julie.
“Excuse me,” she called after him, confused about what he was ordering her to do. She didn’t take orders from men anymore.
Lawson turned to face her. “I want to take you horseback riding this afternoon, Julie. I want to show you the world through my eyes. Show you what kicks my heart into overdrive and calms me like only Mother Nature can. Would you come with me?”
Her lips parted. Lawson’s order now sounded more like an invitation—one she couldn’t refuse. “Okay.”
Chapter 9
Lawson arrived at the stables earlier than the time Julie was expected to be relieved from babysitting his niece. He typically helped Beth with the chores here, either in the mornings or evenings. It wasn’t a big hardship. This was the work he’d grown up doing. The work he loved. He also loved flying helicopters, but that dream was slowly crashing and burning—literally. The longer he stayed on the ground, the more he wondered if his piloting career was over for good.
Lawson watched the side door to the house expectantly, feeling a little like Stalker Mel. He’d seen Beth return home ten minutes earlier, and knew Julie would be coming out any minute. The side door to Beth’s house opened, and his heart kicked into gear.
Julie headed down the steps, wearing a tight-fitting pair of Beth’s riding pants and the boots he’d picked out for her at lunch.
“Hey,” he said as she approached.
She whipped her head up to face him.
