“I know you do. And maybe Monty’s too young, and too freaked out about Tex, but from my perspective, he has the makings of a dream come true. You might need to give him some time, but?—”
“Too risky.”
Mari gazed at her. “It’s already risky. Tex has a serious crush.”
“I know.” Her chest tightened. “I can’t decide what to do about that.”
“How about asking Monty how he wants to handle it?”
“Oh.” The concept sent fizzy bubbles dancing in her stomach.
“Listen, I have to hit the showers or I’ll be late.”
“I know. I’ll go check the potatoes.” She headed for the kitchen.
“Like it or not,” Mari called after her, “you and Monty are in this together.”
Her breath caught. They were. And she didn’t hate the idea. Which was another red flag.
Chapter Nine
Monty remained standing so he could keep an eye on Speckles while he finished his second brownie. Graham kept his spot on the hay bale he’d brought from the back and Tex continued to occupy the battered old stool.
After cleaning the last crumbs out of the brownie pan, Tex pointed to himself, Monty and Graham. “One, two, three. Three cowboys.”
Graham nodded. “That’s a fact, kiddo.”
“I know.” His gaze swung toward Monty. “Do you gots a daddy?”
The unexpected question sent a jolt of emotion through his heart. “Yes. I mean, I did. He died.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.” Time was a funny thing. It could stretch, shrouding a past event in mist, or compress and throw it into sharp focus, like now. Maybe Graham’s presence had something to do with it, jumpstarting memories of the two friends cracking jokes, even in the dark times. Especially the dark times.
“Was he a cowboy?”
“He was. Best ever.”
“That’s the God’s truth.” Graham sounded like he had a head cold.
“I gots a daddy. He’s not here.”
“I noticed.”
“Mommy says he wants to be my daddy, but he’s not up to it.”
“That’s unfortunate.” He snuck a peek at Graham, whose jaw had turned to stone.
“It’s okay.” Tex shrugged. “He’s not a cowboy.”
“That’s for sure.” Graham’s scowl indicated he had more to say on the subject, but clearly Zinnia had taken the high road when explaining her ex’s absence to her son.
“Do you gots a mommy?”
“I do.” Might as well not get into the details of that. “She’s looking forward to meeting you at the birthday party.”
“How many days do I gots to wait?”
