Her Surprise Cowboy Groom by Cathy McDavid

Author:Cathy McDavid
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-02-02T20:50:13+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

“I WANNA GO HOME, DADDY,” Daisy said, her tone plaintive.

“She pushed me,” Addie complained.

The girls’ boredom with fishing had increased to the point they were bickering nonstop.

“All right.” Max rose with some reluctance. “Miss Laurel’s thirty minutes are up, anyway.”

“They are?” Laurel retrieved her phone and glanced at the display. “That went fast.”

Too fast, as far as he was concerned. He waited, half hoping she wouldn’t check her messages. She did. He kept his mouth shut, not complaining. She’d risen to the challenge and then some, lasting an extra five minutes.

Gathering the gear, he carried everything to the golf cart. Laurel brought the cooler and her pole, handing both to him.

“Feeling refreshed?” he asked.

“Yes,” she admitted. “But I’ll be a wreck by the time I get back to Bellissima, obsessing the entire drive there about everything on my to-do list.”

The girls chatted away during the return ride to Happy Trails, filling the companionable silence between Max and Laurel. Her phone rang the moment they arrived, and she answered it without hesitation.

Max waved to a few of the overnight guests enjoying the amenities. He stopped to answer an elderly couple’s question and, once he’d parked, a family of four approached. The wife asked Max if the girls wanted to play beanbag toss with their children. At the girls’ eager squeals, and the wife’s promise to supervise them and Jelly closely, Max agreed.

Laurel spun to face him, disconnecting her call. “I need to leave. I have a minor crisis to resolve.”

Her voice had changed. The light and relaxed quality from when they’d been fishing creek side had been replaced with an undercurrent of tension.

“Say goodbye to Miss Laurel,” Max called to Addie and Daisy.

While the family patiently waited, the girls ran over to give Laurel a hug, which she returned with exuberance. “Have fun,” she told them. “See you soon.”

Jelly lavished her with kisses and received a head scratching in return.

Max liked seeing his daughters not only accepting Laurel as someone new in their lives but genuinely liking her. And—who was he kidding?—he envied the attention she gave them and pictured what it might be like to receive one of her hugs.

“I’ll walk you to your van,” he said after the girls returned to play with their new friends, Jelly racing ahead.

“You don’t have to,” Laurel insisted.

“Happy Trails’ policy. The owner sees off all guests.”

“You just made that up.”

“I’m the owner. I can make up rules on the spot.”

“Hey, how’s your honeymoon tent coming along? I forgot to ask earlier.”

“I haven’t started on it yet,” he admitted. “The final construction and preopening kept me too busy.”

“I’m planning a trip to that store I was telling you about. Not before your soft opening. Soon, though. The first week in July. I can pick up the rug and pillows for you. That is, if you trust my tastes.”

“Or I can come with you.” He waited for her reaction, which didn’t take long.

“Okay. I was going to combine it with another errand, but I’ll reschedule that one for another day.

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