Owen messed with their heads a little by using his remote key fob to lock the doors of the truck before they reached it. Not to be outwitted, they hopped onto the running board and climbed into the truck bed.
Halle elbowed Owen as they followed the twins. “I believe you’ve been outmaneuvered.”
“Pretty much.” He walked her to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Before she could step onto the running board, his strong hands closed around her waist and lifted her to her seat. “This, my dear Miss Garrett, is simply being maneuvered.”
She was speechless. All she could do was blush while she pulled her seatbelt on.
Owen herded the boys into the backseat and slid behind the steering wheel, grinning. It was unusually quiet in the backseat while he started the motor.
Then Cooper’s impish voice piped up. “Are you gonna be our new mom, Miss Garrett?”
Her lips parted on a squeak of astonishment. She darted an agonized glance at Owen, but he was staring straight ahead as he drove them down the driveway toward the highway. Even less helpful was the fact that he was laughing—silently—but still.
She dug deep into her faith-based upbringing for an answer that might suffice for a five-year-old. “The Bible says children are a gift from God, which means He gets to decide those sorts of things, sweetie.”
“Cool!” Cooper didn’t sound at all discouraged by her adultish answer. “I’ll ask Him about it in my bedtime prayers.”
Well, that royally backfired!
Owen started whistling cheerfully. When they reached the thrift store, he jogged around to open the passenger door for her.
She swatted his shoulder as he assisted her to the ground. “A little help back there would’ve been nice.”
“Why?” He gave her an innocent look. “I thought you handled the situation just fine.”
She drew a sharp breath. “Owen, your son is preparing to ask God if I’ll be his new mom! Then what?”
“It depends.” Owen smirked at her.
“Depends on what?” She wished he’d take this more seriously. “Children deserve answers to questions like that. Age-appropriate ones.”
“It depends on whether you want the job, darling.”
At her open-mouthed confusion, he spelled it out further. “If at any point you decide you want to help me raise two of the orneriest kids in Texas, just let me know. My answer is yes.”
For a moment, she couldn’t catch her breath. “That’s not funny,” she wheezed when she finally found her voice.
“Guess that’s why nobody’s laughing.” He led her to where the boys were waiting for them on the sidewalk in front of the thrift store.
She glanced away from him, wondering if he’d just unofficially proposed marriage to her. Her gaze landed on the thrift store’s display window. On the other side of the glass, her mother’s beloved chicken-shaped platters were on display.
“Owen!” She blindly reached for his arm. “Those are my mom’s dishes!”
He covered her hand with his as he followed her gaze. “Let’s go inside and get a closer look at them.” Once insidethe store, they discovered a few of her father’s cuckoo clocks hanging on the wall.
Owen bought it all. Halle tried to stop him since she had no money to her name, but he waved away her protests. “I want you to have them.”
“I-I’ll pay you back,” she stammered, trying her hardest not to break down in public. However, it was a very emotional moment for her.
“Why are you crying, Miss Garrett?” Ryder sidled closer to take her hand in his. “Do the chicken dishes make you sad?”
“Quite the opposite, kiddo,” she quavered. “They make me very, very happy.”
He shot a confused look up at his dad. “Grownups are weird.”
His words pulled a damp chuckle out of her. She hugged the box of her mother’s chicken platters on the drive back to the farmhouse.
When they stepped into the living room, Owen made her show him where the cuckoo clocks used to hang. Then he disappeared into the garage and returned with a stepladder, hammer, and nails. In no time, the cuckoo clocks were hanging in their original spots.
