Cowboy Daddy by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery [Mallery, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-01-28T05:00:00+00:00

Anne thought about the pictures of Ellen. In all of them she was wearing expensive designer clothes. It made sense that Jake’s late wife hadn’t taken the time to sew anything.

“I haven’t done it in a while, but I think I could whip something up.”

“Can you teach me crafts and stuff?”

“Sure. Next time we go into town, we’ll find a crafts store and I’ll get you started on counted cross-stitch. It’s easy and the results can be beautiful.”

“Cool.” She motioned to the piles of catalogs. “Can we do my room first? I saw something in Dolly’s room I’d like to do here. So can we?”

“If your father doesn’t mind.” Anne picked up a ring of paint samples. “Let’s ask him tonight and then get started in the morning.”

“You’re the best.” Laurel came up to her and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I’m glad you’re here with me. We belong together.”

Anne set down the samples and hugged her back. Despite her misgivings, it felt right to be here. She closed her eyes and concentrated on memorizing everything about this moment. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Jake standing in the doorway. From the look on his face, she figured he’d overheard Laurel telling her that she was glad Anne was here. A stark expression swept through his eyes, and she knew their fragile peace had once again been destroyed.

* * *

“Mom didn’t do much regular cooking,” Laurel said as she rinsed the green beans. “We had a housekeeper. Mom was really busy with her charity work a lot of the time. She didn’t have a job. Mom said it was important for people with money to give something back to the community.”

“That’s a good philosophy,” Anne said, and bit down on her lip to keep from screaming. While Laurel avoided mentioning Ellen around her father, she didn’t feel that same restriction with Anne. In the past hour, she’d included the word “Mom” in almost every sentence.

They’d finished their tour of the house. Anne had a brief impression of large rooms filled with small amounts of furniture. In Jake’s room, a king-size bed had dominated one wall. There had been a few scattered garments and his still-packed suitcase, but little else. Her guest room suffered the same fate. A bed, a small dresser and her suitcase. At least she had her own bathroom and some much-needed privacy. She adored her daughter, but she’d spent the past three days in close contact with Laurel and could use some breathing space.

Which probably makes me a crummy parent, she thought grimly as she searched for a casserole dish.

“They’re in here,” Laurel said helpfully, pointing at a shelf in the center island.

“Thanks.” She rinsed off the chicken she’d defrosted in the microwave. On the way to the house they’d stopped at a local vegetable stand for fresh produce, but everything else in the meal would have to be either canned or frozen.

Anne dug around in the pantry for a package of rice. “I can’t find the rice, Laurel.

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