Kissed by a Cowboy by Lacy Williams

Author:Lacy Williams
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: oklahoma fiction, family, cowboy, christian fiction, western romance, inspirational romance, friendship, contemporary romance
Publisher: Lacy Williams

"College catalog. I've almost convinced him to enroll for the fall."

Maddox shifted to look into her face. "You're kidding."

He didn't seem particularly happy about it. The lines around his mouth had tightened even more.

"Hey, Katie's friend!" The voice came from a little cluster of folks near the back porch, and then a woman walked up to their table, waving off one of the last slices of watermelon that Maddox tried to slide across to her.

Haley froze, then forced a smile to her face. She recognized the woman from high school but couldn't remember her name, either. She shouldn't have been surprised to be called, "Katie's friend," even after all these years. Apparently, Haley would always be the tag-along in this town.

"Can I buy a quart today?" the woman asked.

"We hadn't planned to sell any until next week."

Maddox snorted. "Olivia's been running that machine night and day. I bet I could find a quart for you to take home. How much are you willing to pay for it?"

"You gonna auction off some ice cream, Mad Dog?" a man Haley didn't know asked, wandering closer from the crowd around the porch.

Maddox looked at Haley, something brewing behind his eyes.

He stood up, using the table for leverage, then bellowed, "Livy!"

The girl darted out of the crowd, beaming and wearing the apron Haley had made her.

She approached, and Maddox whispered something to her. She squealed and ran off to the kitchen.

While she was gone, Maddox started clearing off the picnic table. Haley helped, but when she asked what he was up to, he half-grinned and said nothing.

A few minutes later, Livy climbed on top of the picnic table, and Haley realized what Maddox and Livy had planned. They were auctioning off five quarts of the gourmet ice cream. Immediately, a crowd gathered around.

Olivia's eyes were shining, but Maddox looked slightly pained.

Maddox started, "Okay, we've got—" Olivia murmured something to him—"Chocolate covered strawberries, folks. Who'll give me fifteen bucks for this quart?"

It had been one of the most popular flavors of the day, and Haley wasn't surprised to see several hands go up.

Maddox got the bid up to thirty before his voice boomed, "Sold, to the gal in the yellow shirt." Within a few minutes, the rest of the quarts were auctioned and, with some cheesing up to the audience and Olivia chipping in about the ingredients she'd put into each different ice cream, sold for top dollar.

Handing out the prized ice cream, Olivia was bouncing with joy.

Haley watched from the edge of the yard, swelling with pride for Livy. All the work they'd put into this event had been worth it. And when Maddox's eyes met hers, that pride was replaced with something entirely different.

#

The party was winding down when Haley brought Maddox a bottle of water. He'd been sitting at the same table, though finally, he'd been left alone for a little while. He grabbed the water, twisted off the cap, and downed it. "Thanks."

"You looked thirsty."

He was wiping his mouth with his sleeve when Rob Shepherd, one of the loan officers from the bank, moseyed by.

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