Serious Cowboy (Cowboys of Duncan Ranch #2)

Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Although their kiss had reignited the flaming embers of what they’d shared that summer, she and Aaron took things slow. Almost as if courting her from days past, Aaron took Joy out on dates that had her back at her apartment no later than eleven at night. Oftentimes, they choose to go out with Kara in tow, and their couple adventures became family-centric ones.

One example happened when they had Thanksgiving at his parents’ abode in Billings. Joy had felt amazed to discover that they lived in a lovely townhome built around a manmade pond frequented by ducks and geese. The backdrop was the Beartooth Mountains in the distance along with the cloudless dome of never-ending blue sky.

“Aaron, this is so beautiful,” Joy told him, lacing her fingers with his as they stood outside on the veranda.

The atmosphere was frigid, but with no wind and the sun out, being outside wasn’t a hardship. At least, not for long. She’d been reacclimating to the much colder winter temperatures she’d been raised in, but Kara hadn’t been as lucky.

In fact, as she stood at Joy’s other side, her teeth chattered. And that was despite her wearing what essentially amounted to a parka.

“Go on back inside, Kara,” Joy instructed her, shaking her head. “Your lips are blue.”

“I’m okay,” the little girl swore to her, but her maternal instincts wouldn’t allow it. Maybe it’d be different if she went sledding or did something more active, but simply standing around in the cold had Kara turning into an icicle in no time at all.

“I bet my mom would like some help with the cranberry sauce,” Aaron hinted.

“You mean getting it out of the can?” she asked him, and Joy blushed. She’d never been one of those traditional moms who created this gorgeous homemade spread during the holidays. She did good to buy an actual turkey breast and not burn it in the oven. Everything else came out of a box or a can.

But Aaron surprised her.

“Sure do. Why don’t you ask her if you can help? I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”

That left her daughter to brave going into a kitchen with an older lady she didn’t know, and although his mom seemed like the nicest person on the face of the Earth, followed closely by his dad, Joy expected Kara to balk. She didn’t, though.

“Okay.”

Maybe she really was freezing.

“We’ll get her back out here after lunch. The temp should climb a degree or two by then, and I’ll have Mom give her some stale breadcrumbs to feed the birds. Or maybe just the ducks. Those geese are hissy little cusses.”

And as if on cue, as he spoke, a pair of teenage girls tried to offer a large goose what looked to be popcorn. But instead of eating it, the giant thing ruffled its wings and chased after them, hissing like a ticked off alley cat.

“Yeah, Kara doesn’t need to be around that. I don’t want her developing a phobia around animals, especially since we’re in the middle of Montana where there are animals every where you look.”

“Could get her a pet,” Aaron suggested, and Joy had been considering it.

The friend Kara had recently spent the night with had both a dog—a corgi—and a cat—a Persian, as well as a pair of parakeets. Kara had been asking about going to one of the nearby farms the next time someone advertised having puppies or kittens to adopt.

“You mean like Roar?” Joy asked, quirking her lips up. Roar had been his hamster, and he’d been aptly named. She hadn’t seen a hamster since who caterwauled like that miniature creature had.

Aaron laughed. “Maybe.”

The meal had been a delight because Angie and Vance Hunter were the same kind and caring people they’d always been. They incorporated Joy and Kara into their holiday festivities as if they’d always been there, even encouraging the eight-year-old to decorate all the pies—pecan, peach, and pumpkin—with whipped cream.

Angie had hugged Joy close when they made to depart later. “It’s been so marvelous having you over again,” she murmured in Joy’s ear, the sentiment so genuine that her eyes burned. “And your little girl is so darling. You’re each welcome here anytime.”

“Thank you.” She’d forgotten how inviting Aaron’s parents had been. They were just the nicest people ever. “Thank you for including Kara, too.”

“Happy to.”

Kara’s ninth birthday was the seventh of December, and since she’d requested next to nothing since their move, when she asked for a slumber party, Joy willingly accommodated her. What she hadn’t anticipated was Aaron’s reaction to her having to disappoint him.

“I know Fridays are usually our date night, but I doubt you’ll want to be here this time.”

“Why not?” he asked her.

“Because it’s Kara’s birthday slumber party, and she’s having not one friend over. She’s not even having two friends over, either. Oh, no, she’ll be having four girls staying overnight to celebrate.”

Joy had been planning it for her all week. She’d bought streamers, one of those helium balloon machines that allowed you to inflate the balloons at home, a huge sheet of chocolate cake, and four different flavors of ice cream. And that wasn’t even mentioning the special present she’d be picking up for her as a gift this year.

“Don’t you want any assistance with all that? Four girls plus Kara sounds like a lot.”

It would be a lot. But Joy had decided it was the least she could do. Her daughter tended toward the well-behaved even on a bad day, and the past couple of years had saddled her with plenty of those. Kara deserved to have some fun, and a slumber party fit that bill to a T. Yet having Aaron be there would be asking too much.

“Have you ever been to a slumber party, Aaron?”

“Well, no.”

“Then unless you’re keen to experience nonstop giggling, squealing that runs late into the night, and five hyper third graders high on excess sugar intake, I advise you to pass this one by.”

Joy was certain that would be enough to scare him off. It’d be enough to scare any other man off. But Aaron wouldn’t be dissuaded.

“If it’s that hectic, that would be too much for any one adult. I think I need to be there.”

“I can handle it.”

“I’m sure you can. But I’m still coming.”

Joy ended up being incredibly thankful that he was there. She’d never had to deal with a gaggle of young girls from this side of things before. If she’d tried to do it on her own, she might’ve wound up under her bed babbling nonsense by the conclusion of it. But, of course, Aaron saved the day. And the night.

He pretended to be a horse and let them ride piggyback, put up with all the noise, and never once lost his patience or raised his voice. He seriously was a dream man.

Lately, Joy had begun to ask herself how she’d missed what a catch Aaron had been back when they were younger. Sure, she’d been foolish and na?ve. That probably accounted for most of it. Maybe a bit blind, too. But sometimes, life worked out anyway.

She couldn’t be more grateful for it. Nor could she be more convinced that Aaron was the right man for her at this point. He always had been. Only a truly devoted man would put up with all that craziness on purpose.

It was after the blowing out of the candles, during the present opening and just prior to the cake and ice cream eating when Joy had Aaron bring out the big gift. Even if the gift itself was actually quite small.

In his arms, he carried a teeny-weeny tortoiseshell kitten, a pink bow around her neck.

Kara gasped. And when the rest of the girls had squealed in excitement, Aaron had used it as a teachable moment.

“Now, listen, girls. This little creature is a baby and has tender ears. You’ll have to be a lot quieter from now on.” They’d proceeded to whisper for a while. Even if the quiet didn’t last long. That’s why Joy relocated Katie Purry—Kara had taken a vote to name her—to the far corner of the bedroom.

Aaron even kept an eye on the girls as Joy set up all the various necessities of food, water, cat bed, and litterbox. All this would no doubt take some getting used to, but her daughter was worth it. She was more than worth it.

Joy felt half dizzy from the level of sheer exhaustion kicking her in the behind that night, but the girls were at last all asleep. She’d gone around covering those who needed it, and then kissed her now nine-year-old daughter on the crown of her head.

Afterward, she joined Aaron in looking at each individual girl as they laid in a jumble in a pallet she’d prepared in the living room with blankets and pillows. “Thanks for all your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You could have,” he countered with a soft chuckle. “But it would’ve been a nightmare.”

“Truth.”

“She’s super happy, though. You did good, Mama.”

Aaron had never referred to her in such a way before. Joy liked it more than she could express. But there was one sentiment she could express. And now felt like the right time.

“I love you, you know.” She stared into his eyes. Their gazes caught and held.

“You do?”

“I really, really do.”

“Well, I love you back.”

She smiled at him. “I know. So, why don’t you show me how much?”

He kissed her with as much emotion as he had when she’d first returned to Rocky Ridge, and she relished every second of it.

“I’m going to go,” he said between lip locks, and she merely nodded as she kissed him again.

“All right.”

They kissed over and over again on his way to the door, grinning at each other at the same time. She felt so much buoyancy filling her from head to foot. To know that even though he might be heading home, he’d be back. To feel all those pieces of her life that had been off kilter click into place. Joy knew this time she and Aaron would last forever.

She’d make sure of it.