The Cowboy's Mistletoe Christmas by Jessie Gussman

Author:Jessie Gussman [Gussman, Jessie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jessie Gussman
Published: 2019-11-18T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“So, my parents commandeered my room, your parents commandeered your room, and there’s one room left.” Angela was on her knees beside the bathtub, because there was no way after visiting the farm today that she was going to allow the girls to go to bed without a bath.

“And Mr. Swanson is making out like a bandit since we’re all paying for a room.” Mack stood in the doorway holding towels. “Who would have thought that being a boardinghouse owner in the middle of North Dakota would be such a lucrative endeavor?”

“I don’t think he’s looking to make money. I think he’s just lonely since his wife died and his children never visit.” Her parents and his parents were waiting downstairs. Once the children were bathed and put to bed, they wanted to talk. She’d managed to get out of it earlier when she explained she’d been on a farm and needed a shower. Then she’d slipped out of the house and walked to the diner while her parents were greeting Mack’s parents. They couldn’t be anything other than Mack’s parents because the man looked just like Mack, only with gray hair and maybe a couple inches shorter.

They made a great distraction, though.

“He should have had more children. Maybe he’d have been inspired to add another bedroom on.” He shifted the towels.

Angela tried not to look at him. What she’d overheard in the restaurant had hurt. It’d been justifiable, but still. It hurt. Even though there was that embarrassing text that he didn’t answer, that told her as sure as anything how he felt, it still hurt.

She wished she hadn’t heard.

“You can have the extra bedroom,” Mack said. And there again, she was positive that he truly wanted her to have it. He wasn’t a jerk. She’d figured that out pretty early in their relationship. He just wasn’t into her.

“No. That’s what I was trying to say.” She rubbed the no-tears shampoo into Holly’s head. It smelled like summer and apples, and she had a sudden urge, that bordered on need, to bake an apple pie. “I think it’s better for me to share a room with the girls. I can even sleep in the bed, there’s plenty of room on it.” She hesitated with a cup of water, ready to rinse out the shampoo. “You probably can’t. Not only are you too big, but it’s probably not a good idea.”

She shrugged a little. She certainly wasn’t accusing him of anything. It was just the way the world worked today.

“It hardly seems fair that they’re my nieces, but you have to share a room with them.” His voice was pitched low enough that the girls wouldn’t hear it over their chattering and splashing.

Angela finished rinsing the shampoo out of Holly’s hair. “Okay, kiddo. You’re done. Uncle Mack will dry you off and get your kitty jammies on.”

She held Holly’s hand as her slick little body clambered out of the tub. “You smell like sweet apples and clean soap.” And not like cow manure anymore.

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