glad Kylie is okay. It sure was nice of you to come over here and look after Piper,” Jeanne said.
“That, it was. She can run you ragged at bedtime,” her father said sympathetically.
“Daddy,” Stacey said in an accusing tone.
“But she’s a cute one and we love her,” her father added.
“Of course we do,” her mother said. “Why don’t you join us for some hot chocolate before you leave? I can have it ready in no time.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Colton said, appearing a bit embarrassed.
“I want to,” Jeanne said. “Now sit down and relax, and I’ll have that hot chocolate for you before you know it.”
Colton sighed and sat down on the edge of the sofa. “Is there anyone who can say no to your mother?”
“Not for long,” Stacey said, laughing. “How was Piper?”
Colton nodded. “She did fine,” he said in a noncommittal tone.
Stacey read between the lines. “She was a beast, wasn’t she? I was afraid of that. Even though I’d fed her, she seemed unsettled.” Stacey sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“I wouldn’t call her a beast,” Colton said. “Now,” he added and chuckled, “amazing how something so small can get you so twisted trying to get her to calm down.”
“How did you get her calm?” she asked, curious.
“You mean after I gave her the bottle in your magic bag and changed the toxic dump of her diaper?” he asked.
“Oh,” she said, cringing.
“Yeah, I might need to take the kitchen trash out tonight before I leave,” he said.
Her mother entered the room with cups of hot chocolate filled with mini-marshmallows. “This will help you sleep better once you get home, Colton,” she said.
“I think Piper may have worn him out, so he may not need any help falling asleep,” Stacey said.
“Oh, dear,” her mother said, wincing. “She’s gotten so much better during the last month. Did she have a rough night?”
“I wonder if she sensed that I was in a tizzy about getting over to Toby’s house,” Stacey said.
“Well, I speak from experience. Babies can sense our moods. Especially their mom’s moods. At the same time, she may have just had a little tummy ache. Can I get you something to eat, Colton?”
“No, I’m fine, Mrs. Jones. Mrs. Fortune Jones,” he corrected.
Her mother smiled. “That was sweet,” she said. “But you’ve known me long enough to call me Jeanne.” Her mother looked at Stacey. “Now, what on earth made you think to call Colton to take care of Piper?”
“I was trying to reach Rachel and she didn’t pick up. I was hoping Colton could reach her,” Stacey said.
“Oh,” her mother said with a glance that combined intuition and suspicion. “Colton was definitely the man of the hour tonight, wasn’t he?”
Uncomfortable with her mother’s almost knowing expression, Stacey cleared her throat. “Yes, he was.”
Chapter Five
A couple days later, Colton went into town to get some special feed and pick up a few things from the Superette for his mom. He would almost swear his mother could sense when he was headed into town because she always seemed to have a list of items for him to pick up from the small grocery—well, the only grocery—in town.
Using the term town might have been an exaggeration. Colton may have lived his entire life in Horseback Hollow, but he’d traveled enough to know his birthplace was more about wide open spaces than tall buildings and city conveniences. The town was just two streets long.
Colton glanced at the list his mother had given him and picked up apples, bananas, onions, tomato sauce and pasta. He hoped that meant spaghetti was in his near future. He added a can of green beans to his basket.
“Hey. What are you doing here?” a familiar voice spoke up from behind him. He turned and saw Stacey standing in the aisle.
“Just picking up a few things,” he said. “What about you?”
“Formula and baby food for Piper,” she said. “I just took something to the post office for Mom.”
She glanced at his food items. “Spaghetti,” she said more than asked. “Are you cooking for someone special?”
Confused, he cocked his head to one side. “Someone special?”
“Don’t be shy,” she said with a coy smile. “Cooking for your lady friend. I have a great recipe for spaghetti sauce, but you need sausage and cheese,” she said.
He shrugged. “I haven’t ever fixed spaghetti before unless it was from a can.”
“Well, you’ve got to do better than that for a woman. If you’re cooking for two, you could add some delicious bread and salad and call it good,” she said. “And something chocolate. Women love chocolate.”
Colton opened his mouth to protest, but she didn’t let him fit a word in edgewise.
“I could help you,” she offered. “Why don’t I give you a cooking lesson? If you’re anything like my brothers, you’ve relied on your mother your entire life for your meals, so you never bothered to learn.”
That was a little insulting, he thought. But true.
“You sure you won’t tell me who you’re cooking for?” she asked.
“My lips are sealed,” he said. It was easy to keep that secret since his so-called lady love didn’t exist.
She gave a little huffy sigh. “Okay, well, I can still give you a few tips on your cooking. Is tonight okay?”
“I guess,” he said, trying to recall his parents’ busy schedule. He thought they were playing bridge tonight.
“Okay, I’ll see you around six, and I’ll help you fix a spaghetti dinner that will wrap your lady friend around your little finger. Make sure you pick up some sausage and fresh Parmesan cheese. I’m assuming you already have beef,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said. He lived on a cattle ranch. He darned well should have beef.
“Okay. See you later,” she said and strode away.
Colton stared after her, distracted by the wiggle in her walk and her cute backside. He gave himself a shake. Why had he agreed to a cooking lesson? Especially for the sake of his imaginary girlfriend? He swore under his breath. This was getting worse and worse.
* * *
Stacey
