Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum / Once Upon a Proposal: Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum

The two men exchanged handshakes. “Evan. It’s a good day for a ride.”

Evan gave a curt nod. “Yeah, it is.”

This wasn’t going well, Jenny thought, not knowing why. “Brian and Alex also breed quarter horses.” She filled in the silence as the two men stared at each other.

“Rafferty. Is that Rafferty’s Vineyard?”

Evan nodded.

Thank goodness, the Casalis were walking toward them, Cherry hurrying on ahead. Her limp was barely noticeable these days. How great was it that a kid could go from a wheelchair to walking in barely two years?

“Morning everyone,” Allison called.

“Hi, Mrs. C,” Gracie said.

Cherry grabbed the girl’s hand and led her toward Alex. “Dad, this is Gracie Rafferty. She’s my new friend.”

“Hi, Mr. C.,” Gracie said shyly. “Thank you for letting me ride with Cherry today.”

Smiling, Alex bent down to speak to the child. “It’s my pleasure, Gracie. Any friend of Cherry’s is always welcome here.” He went to the adults and hugged Jenny. “Jenny Collins, it’s been far too long between visits. The twins want to know when you’re coming to read them stories again.”

She liked Alex, especially since he treated his wife like a princess. “I figured since you were outnumbered by women as it was, you didn’t need another one giving you trouble.”

Alex laughed. “I like that kind of trouble.” He looked at Evan. “It’s good to see you again, Evan.”

“Alex. I appreciate you inviting us. My daughter has been looking forward to this.” So was he. The A Bar A Ranch was an incredible operation.

Evan glanced at Jenny beside the foreman, recalling how cozy they’d been earlier. So what? It didn’t bother him who her friends were.

“Come on, girls,” Alex called. “Let’s get our horses.”

The giggling twosome held hands all the way into the corral. Allison and Alex hurried after the girls and Jenny fell into step beside Evan. “Do you ride much?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll manage to keep up,” he told her.

“I only meant that since you work the vineyard, you probably don’t have time to ride.”

“I’ve done my share of cowboying over the years.” He nodded toward Perkins. “Is your boyfriend going with us?”

Without so much as a glance in his direction, Jenny kept walking. “Probably not.” Then she hurried on to catch up with the group.

Evan cursed. Why did it matter if Jenny Collins had a boyfriend? He had no time to care about what she did. Too bad she’d managed to get into his head anyway. How the hell did that happen?

CHAPTER FIVE

EVAN headed for the corral and spotted the line of horses saddled and ready to ride. Today was about spending the afternoon with his daughter.

“That’s Cinnamon,” Cherry said, pointing at a little chestnut filly. “She’s my horse. And there’s Speckles for you.” Gracie’s horse was a small black-and-white paint.

“Oh, she’s pretty.” Gracie looked back at Evan. “Daddy, is it okay to ride her?”

Evan knew his daughter was far from an expert rider. Brian came up beside the horse. “She’s real gentle. I saddle-broke her myself.”

“That’s reassuring, but I’ll be close by to make sure everything will be okay,” Evan said.

Brian smiled. “I would do the same if Gracie were mine. Your horse is Diego.” He nodded toward a large black gelding. “He’ll give you speed if you want, but he’s also good on the trail.”

“Did you break this one, too?” Evan asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

“I’ve worked pretty much every horse on this place.”

After Evan checked his horse, he found the foreman watching him.

“Since you’re wondering,” Brian began, “Yes, Jenny and I dated a while back. We’re still friends and I care about what happens to her.” His gaze locked with Evan. “I wouldn’t want to see her hurt. Her family has done enough taking advantage of her, so her friends look out for her.”

The meaning was clear and Evan nodded. “Too bad you blew your chance.”

After a long stare, the man walked off to help the other riders. Evan let out a breath. Where had that come from? He walked around the animal and checked the cinch. “Hell, I don’t have the time or energy to care,” he muttered.

Hearing laughter, he glanced at the pretty blonde on her horse. His body stirred as Jenny turned to him and smiled.

“Get moving, Rafferty,” she called. “We have places to go.” He suddenly realized that everyone was waiting for him.

Gracie waved him on. “Yeah, Daddy, hurry up.”

He mounted the horse and moved up with the group. “Okay, what are we waiting for?”

Gracie grinned at him. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

He felt his chest tighten, realizing his daughter hadn’t had much to smile about for a long time. He glanced at Jenny. Maybe he needed some help with that, after all.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at a creek. The sound of rushing water took them to an ancient oak tree arched over the water’s edge, forming a natural canopy. Large rocks and boulders were piled on either side along the winding stream.

Jenny had only been here once before, but she’d never forgotten it. She also knew that this was a special place for Alex and Allison. She glanced at the couple who were whispering between themselves.

She got the funny feeling that she was intruding, remembering all the stumbling blocks that the two had gone through to get to a happy ending. And they were obviously happy.

Would it ever be that way for her? She glanced at Evan. He was helping the girls down, but he caught her gaze. There was definitely something there. Did he feel it, too? No! This was not the man for her. Besides, it was too soon for him, and definitely not the time or place for her.

“Come on, Jenny,” Gracie called. “We’re going to eat.”

She climbed down and walked to the clearing where Allison had spread out a blanket on the ground. Alex brought over two cloth bags that had been tied to his saddle.

“I wonder what Tilda packed for us,” he said.

Tilda Emerson had been adopted into the Casali family years ago. The one-time housekeeper and bookkeeper was now Alex’s partner in Cherry’s Camp for disabled children. Best of all, she was a great cook.

Gracie and Cherry sat down on the blanket. Alex handed a bag to each girl. They found chicken salad and peanut butter sandwiches along with chips, fruit and soft drinks.