Page 17 of Taking What Was His

Jayden rolled his eyes and tried not to smile. “Be safe, be careful, be respectful, and love your mother.”

She held her hand out and fist-bumped her son. “Night, baby.”

“Night, Mom. Night, sir.” Jayden ran up to the door, which opened up.

Beth waved. “Call if you need me.”

“You got it,” the woman said and shut the door behind Jayden.

Beth rolled her window back up and turned to Roman and caught his smile. “What?”

“You’re a damn good mom.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you. I never get tired of hearing that.”

He reached out and smoothed his thumb over one of her cheeks. “You’re also extremely beautiful.”

She swallowed. “Thank you.”

He smiled and put the car in drive. He reached for her hand as he pulled into one of the busier streets.

“Are you sure BBQ is okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. Who doesn’t like a good rib?”

He chuckled. “Can I ask why you were late getting home?”

“I was helping a school with translating, and it took longer than I thought.”

She turned toward him and didn’t try to pull her hand from his. “How do you like the job so far?”

“It’s a hell of a lot more paperwork than I expected.”

She laughed.

“Sometimes I feel more like a father breaking up bickering children than I would like, but all in all, I really enjoy it.”

Her phone rang before she could ask another question.

“Hello.” A moment of silence. “Where’s Sandra?”

He listened to some mumbling.

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell everyone to leave him alone until I get there. It will just agitate him more.”

She turned to him. “I am so incredibly sorry. I have to go to the ranch and help with a horse. It won’t take long, but I would totally understand if you wanted to cancel tonight.”

“It’s fine, honey. Tell me how to get there.”

“Are you sure?”

He looked at her and smiled. “Yes, I’m sure. Talk to me. Why are we going to a ranch?”

“It’s where I work.”

“I thought you did translation?” Now that he thought about it, his brother had said something about horses the first time he’d seen her.

“I do, but it doesn’t happen often. It’s perfect, and if I have to go and help at the school or police departments, I have an assistant that can take over.”