Page 62 of Kayla's Cowboy

Flora came into the living room shortly afterward, glancing silently at Kayla’s red eyes and tearstained cheeks. “Would you like some lemonade?” she asked.

“That would be wonderful,” Kayla answered.

“Same here,” Jackson added.

When the housekeeper returned, she handed a tall, frosty glass to Jackson and another to Kayla, along with a damp washcloth. Kayla used it to wipe her face and press against her eyes.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Take it easy,” Flora ordered sternly. “We’ve all had that sort of day. God knows, I have.”

The two women shared a smile full of understanding. Flora had edges that stuck out everywhere, but while Jackson didn’t know her entire history, he knew she’d had hard times herself.

“I’m going into town for groceries,” Flora told Jackson briskly, as though embarrassed by her rare display of softness. “Anything special you want for dinner?”

“I could stand throwing steaks or chicken on the grill, but I don’t know about Alex.”

“He’s covered. Stuffed manicotti,” she said before stomping from the room. A minute later her car drove past the window, toward the main ranch gate.

“Flora is an interesting addition to your household,” Kayla remarked.

“She’s an odd character. I hoped she’d feel like part of the family, but I’m not sure that’s ever happened.”

Kayla shrugged. “Maybe there should be a family designation that doesn’t have to be defined by comparison to anything else. We should make up a word for it.”

“Better yet, we could submit the idea to DeeDee,” Jackson suggested. “I’m sure she’d come up with something.”

“Except it would probably be much longer than necessary. I suspect she’s going to become a linguist and invent an entirely new language. She’s already learned Klingon, from Star Trek.”

“She actually speaks Klingon?”

“Fluently. It drives Alex crazy since he’s the bigger Trek fan.”

Jackson grinned and gulped a mouthful of lemonade. It was nice having a comfortable conversation with Kayla. He still hoped they could be friends, but he’d never felt toward a buddy the way he sometimes felt around her, so he’d have to find a way to deal with that.

* * *

MORGAN’S FAVORITE PLACE in the world was Halloran’s Meadow. Whenever the weather was warm enough she went there to read or sit and think, sometimes even to yell her lungs out. When she was little she’d talked to a particular quaking aspen on the north side of the meadow. The idea had come from a book her father used to read to her, and later she’d given it up, but she still thought of it as her tree.

And the waterfall was a blast.

By midsummer the stream that fed it wasn’t going very strong, but she always felt happy when she dashed through the cascade of water. The summer before she’d even tried skinny-dipping, but she’d felt silly and hadn’t done it again.

“I got my swimsuit under my clothes, but do you guys need to change?” Morgan asked when they reached the meadow.

Alex shook his head. “Not me, I have my trunks on under my jeans.”

“I need to,” DeeDee said.

“There’s an open spot inside those trees you can use.” Morgan pointed to the grove of quaking aspens.

DeeDee dismounted and tethered the horse the way Morgan had taught her, then raced toward the trees. “Wait for me,” she called over her shoulder.

It was weird having DeeDee around all the time, especially since Morgan’s friends ditched their younger brothers and sisters every chance they got. She’d suggested trying it a few times, but Alex didn’t want to. He said that he and DeeDee usually didn’t do that much together in Seattle, but it was different in Montana—something to do with the family-spirit thing that was important to his mom.

It was okay. Morgan didn’t really mind bringing DeeDee along, and for private stuff, she texted Alex or sent him a Facebook message. DeeDee might be a pain some of the time, but she was fun and seemed to think Morgan was awesome. Nobody had ever thought she was awesome before, so it was kind of cool.

Cory lolled on the grass as they waited for DeeDee, a big doggy smile on his face. Morgan had hated leaving him behind when they’d gone to Yellowstone but had finally admitted he wouldn’t have liked being tied up all the time.

The next few hours were the best she could remember having at Halloran’s Meadow. Oddly, she’d never brought her friends there—never even thought of it. But it was different with Alex and DeeDee. When she was with them, it was easier to forget her other problems.

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