Paris or Bust! by Jacqueline Diamond; Jill Shalvis Kate Hoffmann

Author:Jacqueline Diamond; Jill Shalvis Kate Hoffmann [Kate Hoffmann, Jacqueline Diamond; Jill Shalvis]
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-09-09T22:00:00+00:00

JODY AROSE EARLY, downed a bowlful of cereal and went about tending the animals with Freddy’s help. Usually Louise came by to fix breakfast and watch the boys, but Jody had given the girl the day off, assuming Callum would want to fill that role.

In their stall, Elsie and Half-Pint had settled into wary mutual toleration, she was pleased to note. At least one relationship was on track around here.

It was several hours later before Jody returned to the big house. In the play yard, Ben dug in the sandbox while Jerry swung as high as he could on the swing set.

Gladys, taking a break from her own chores, sat on the side patio sharing a cup of coffee with Callum. Designer jeans and a denim jacket highlighted his lithe body and, in the bright sunlight, he seemed to glow from within.

Usually, the forewoman treated male visitors the way she treated stray dogs, with casual tolerance punctuated by the occasional sharp command. It surprised Jody to hear her laughing freely.

Tall, with her light-brown hair pulled into a ponytail, Gladys looked like what she was: a woman who’d grown up on a ranch. The daughter of a foreman, she’d married a man who owned a small spread and treated her little better than a hired hand. When they split up, she’d taken their daughter and set out on her own.

Eight years ago, she’d persuaded Jody’s father to hire her as forewoman, despite the scoffing of some neighbors. She’d more than proven them wrong.

Without her, the Wandering I would never have survived the past year. And without her daughter, Louise, who’d graduated from high school early and was taking a correspondence course in medical transcribing, Jody didn’t know where she’d have found a baby-sitter for the twins.

She’d phoned Gladys this morning and explained about the boys’ father. In her usual low-key manner, the forewoman had accepted the situation with only a few questions. She’d no doubt intended to decide for herself whether she approved of the man. Apparently, she did.

Callum waved when Jody came through the door. “I can heat up some pancakes if you’re hungry.”

“No, thanks.” She poured herself coffee from an insulated pot and leaned against the railing. Even on a Saturday, there was too much work left for her to get comfortable.

“Gladys was telling me about the Curly Q,” Callum said. The spread, dubbed a “non-dude ranch,” took paying guests who pitched in with the chores. “I think I’ll drive over there later and conduct an interview for the magazine, if the owners are willing. I’ll take my digital camera.”

“I want to get one of those.” Turning to Jody, the forewoman explained, “Callum took some shots of the boys earlier and you could see the pictures right inside the camera. You can get rid of the bad ones, and e-mail the good ones to your friends.”

“I thought you hated computers,” Jody said. Although her friend used one occasionally for ranch business, she avoided them otherwise.

“That doesn’t mean I have to act like a mule about every kind of new technology that comes along,” Gladys answered.

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