They knew what they were doing, parenting-wise.
She didn't, no matter the number of parenting books she’d stacked on her nightstand, too tired to crack them open after a full day of work and evening of corralling thekids.
They joined the small crowd—all of whom seemed at home in boots and jeans and fancy cowboy hats. Megan bit her lip to hold back a warning as the kids clambered up the stairs of the bleachers, the shiny new boots she'd bought them upon their arrival in Taylor Hills ringing against themetal.
She scanned for three seats in the first or second rows, hoping that if they stayed low to the ground, it would mitigate any damage if the kids got excited and fell through. Nodice.
The kids were already halfway up the bleachers, heading for the mostly-empty toprow.
"Guys!"
But they either didn't hear her or were ignoringher.
Someone in the row next to her whooped, and she whipped around, expecting to see a bull rider or something dangerous come into the dirt-packedarena.
It was a tiny boy, no more than four, riding on the back of a...sheep?
The sheep was running around the arena, and the boy was jostled off after a few seconds. A booming announcer called out a time, and the crowdcheered.
Megan turned back to locate the kids, and her heart rate skyrocketed. Where werethey?
Wait.There.
Behind a man with a huge ten-gallon hat. Of course on the top row. She moved to join them and sat down on the metal seat. Heat seeped through her jeans and into herskin.
Another sheep-riding little boy entered the arena. This time, the sheep headed directly for the fence and knocked the little boy intoit.
Breath caught in her chest as the sheep kept going, but the little boy was caught by his belt and left hanging upside-down on the fence. His hat came off as his head knocked into therailing.
Was hehurt?
She was ready to jump up and rush for her car to get her medical bag when a lanky cowboy dressed as a clown sauntered across the arena and righted the boy. He set the kid on his feet and plopped his cowboy hat back on hishead.
The boy waved and the crowd wentwild.
Seriously?
These people werecrazy.
And Julianne and Brady were cheering along withthem.
Across the arena, several cowboys and cowgirls lined the arena fence. The men wore black felt hats while the women had on fancy sequined vests and white hats. Their hair was eighties-big, and Megan almost thought she could smell the Aqua Net fromhere.
She let her eyes scan for familiar faces. She wasnotlooking for Dan—but she found him anyway, behind some kind of chute, out of the way of most of the action. From this distance, it was impossible to know whether he'd seen her ornot.
She didn't know why she was drawn to him, other than the intense flare of attraction she'd experienced in the examroom.
And then he'd witnessed Brady's mini-meltdown at the gas station. Way to make a great impression on theguy.
Not that she had time for dating. She was a single mother now. And she had a thriving, busypractice.
She didn't havetime.
Next, the announcer called for the clover leafbarrels.
"Is this forgirls?" Julianne askedexcitedly.
The ten-gallon-hat man turned and gave her a winning smile. "It sure is. Maybe next time, you'll be down therecompeting."
