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She looked toward the kids and then gazed back at him. “It wouldn’t be a date,” she finally said.
“Of course not,” he replied hurriedly.
“Because I don’t date.”
“Okay, then it would just be an evening of us all hanging out together,” he assured her. “Besides, I promise to ride all the scary rides with Henry.”
“Ha, you would be riding those rides with Jenny. She’s my little daredevil.” She stared at him for a long moment and then slowly nodded her head. “Okay, we’ll go with you as long as you understand it’s all about the kids and this has nothing to do with you and me having any kind of a relationship.”
“I completely understand.” Clay tamped down his elation. “What time should I be here to pick you all up?”
“Why don’t we make it around six? And we’ll want to stay until after dark. The kids always like seeing all the carnival lights.”
“That’s part of the fun. Then six it is.” He looked over to Henry and Jenny who were still seated on the porch. “We’re all going to the carnival together tomorrow night.”
“Awesome,” Henry yelled as he jumped off the porch and raced toward them.
Jenny was right behind him, her pretty little features lit with happiness. “Do you like scary rides, Mr. Clay?” she asked.
“I do,” he replied. “Scary rides are some of my favorites.”
“Oh, good, because Mommy and Henry don’t like them. They’re just two old fraidy-cats.”
“Then I’ll be your scary ride buddy.” Clay laughed as the little girl clapped her hands together and her blond ponytail danced up and down.
“And do you like funnel cake?” Henry asked.
Clay laughed again. “I love funnel cake.”
“Only after you eat something better for dinner,” Miranda said. “We’ll get hot dogs or something for dinner before any funnel cake is allowed.”
“Speaking of dinner... I’d better get back to the ranch before Cookie puts everything away,” he said. Cord Cully, aka Cookie, was the cantankerous old man who provided the meals to all the cowboys at the Holiday Ranch. “I’ll see you all tomorrow at six.”
Minutes later, as Clay headed for home, more than a bit of excitement danced through his veins. No matter what Miranda called it, tomorrow night he was going to have his first date with her.
Chapter 3 (#u7e64acc9-291d-56e4-a407-b3dea41f5e3b)
Okay, she’d had a weak moment. That was the only way to explain Miranda’s agreement to go with Clay to the carnival. When he’d told her he’d like to take them all and that there was nothing better than enjoying a carnival with kids, she’d thought she saw a whisper of loneliness in his eyes. And that, coupled with all his work with Henry, had made for a weak moment.
Throughout the day on Friday she fought the impulse to pick up the phone and call or text him and cancel the evening plans. It would certainly be the smart thing to do, but ultimately she hadn’t made the call.
It didn’t help that Henry and Jenny were so excited about sharing the evening with him. They’d not only talked about it all yesterday evening but now at five-thirty they had already parked themselves at the front window to wait for his arrival. If she’d canceled the plans with Clay they would have been bitterly disappointed.
There would be a lot of speculation when people saw them all together. People were definitely going to talk, but she was used to that. She had often been the topic of town gossip when she’d been married to Hank.
She now focused her attention on the bathroom mirror. It was supposed to be a little cool this evening so she’d opted to wear jeans, a light blue short-sleeved blouse and a white cardigan sweater.
She didn’t know if she was dreading or looking forward to the night. Certainly she was looking forward to seeing Henry and Jenny having fun. And it wasn’t as if she was really dreading spending time with Clay. She was just cautious...very, very cautious.
Every afternoon when he had arrived to work with Henry, she’d spent a long time hiding behind the curtains in the living room and watching out the window as Clay interacted with her son.
The first thing she’d noticed was how Clay’s shirt stretched across his muscled back and broad shoulders, and how his jeans clung to his butt and long legs. Yes, the man was definitely hot.
What was even hotter was how often he had praised Henry and how patient he was with the little boy. There was also a lot of laughter between the two during the practices. It was hard to dislike a man with those kinds of attributes.
For Henry and Jenny’s sake, she’d put up with Clay’s presence with them tonight, but there would be no more social activities between them in the future. The last thing she wanted in her life again was a party boy who loved the women. Been there...done that...and she never, ever wanted to do it again.
She left her bedroom and went into the living room to wait for Clay’s arrival. As they waited, the conversation revolved around cotton candy and funnel cake and fun rides. It had been a long time since she’d seen her children so excited about a night out and at least part of that excitement came from Clay’s going with them.
“There’s going to be a big crowd at the carnival, so it’s really important that we all stay together,” Miranda said. “That means no running off for anything. Do you both understand?”
The two of them nodded. She wanted to make sure they knew this rule before they got to the festivities. Jenny was especially guilty of often wandering off or running ahead.
At exactly six o’clock Miranda couldn’t help the unexpected butterflies that took wing in the pit of her stomach when Clay’s bright blue king-cab pickup pulled up in the driveway. She grabbed her purse and corralled the kids outside before he could even step out of his vehicle.
“Hey.” He greeted them with that smile that flashed his dimples and seemed to brighten the air around him. “Are you all ready for some fun?”
“Definitely,” she said, but her voice was drowned out by Henry and Jenny shouting with their excitement.
It took only minutes to get the kids settled in the back and her in the passenger seat. She was definitely ready for some fun. It had been a long week with her students stressed over finals and acting out in ridiculous ways.
“You look mighty pretty,” he said as he started the truck.
“Thank you.” He looked mighty fine himself, clad in jeans and a black long-sleeved polo shirt that clung to his muscles and enhanced his blond hair. He smelled good, too. The fragrance of minty soap and a clean, fresh cologne wafted from him and filled the interior of the truck.
“I hope you don’t mind, but when we first get there I’d like to find Halena and Mary’s booth,” she said. “My mother is helping them out tonight and wanted us all to stop by.”
“That’s not a problem. I always enjoy visiting with your mom, and Halena is usually a real hoot,” he replied.
As they traveled to the old rodeo grounds just on the outskirts of town, the conversation remained light. Miranda felt herself beginning to relax, although the butterflies continued to swirl in the pit of her stomach each time she glanced at him.
Of all the men in Bitterroot, why did Clay Madison have to be the one to give her butterflies? He was the antithesis of what she wanted in a man...if she’d been in the market for a man...which she wasn’t.
She was grateful when they reached the fairgrounds where the musical sound of the carousal battled with the barkers who urged people to throw a ball or flip a ring or toss a dart for a big prize.
The scents of cotton candy, sizzling hot dogs and freshly popped popcorn rode the evening air. The sounds and the smells made any deep thoughts impossible.
“Will you ride the carousal with me, Mr. Clay?” Henry asked as they walked toward the festivities. “I want to ride it and pretend I’m a cowboy riding the range.”
Clay laughed and threw his arm around Henry’s shoulders. “I’d be honored to ride with you, partner.”
It should be Hank throwing his arm around his son, Miranda thought, but Hank would rather wrap his arms around a bottle of gin. However, Miranda had long ago become resigned to Hank’s shortcomings and she tried to be both mother and father to her kids.
Still, she didn’t want her son to get too close to Clay. She didn’t want Henry to get hurt by any man. It was bad enough that Hank continued to disappoint his son on a regular basis.
Although she would love for Henry to have a good, strong male role model in his life, there was no way that man would be Romeo Clay Madison.
As they joined the throngs of people, she couldn’t help but remember all the reasons she was wary of Clay and his reputation.
“Evening, Clay,” Bonnie Abrahams said from their left as they walked toward Mary and Halena’s booth. Bonnie toyed with a strand of her long, bleached hair and batted her false eyelashes. “Miranda,” she added with another flip of her hair.
“Hi, Bonnie,” Clay replied with his easy smile. “Did you ever get that old car up and running?”
“Larry down at the garage fixed me up and it’s now purring like a kitten,” Bonnie said.
Clay turned to Miranda. “Bonnie has a sweet 1969 Mustang convertible. I tried to help get it running for her.” He grinned ruefully. “I can easily rope a cow, but I’m sure no mechanic.”
“Still, you know I really appreciated you trying to help me out,” Bonnie replied.
As they continued on their way to Mary and Halena’s booth, Clay was greeted by more women. “Is there any female in this town you don’t know?” Miranda finally asked.
Clay laughed. “I’m sure there are a few. What can I say? I spend a lot of time in town when I’m not working on the ranch. I hang out at the café or at the Watering Hole and so I meet a lot of people. And I’m sure I know as many men as I do women.” He flashed his charming smile. “I’m a friendly kind of guy.”
Thankfully, by that time they had reached Mary and Halena’s booth. The kids ran toward Miranda’s mother, who embraced them both in a group hug.
Mary looked first at Miranda and then at Clay, her beautiful features radiating more than a touch of surprise. Clay greeted her with a hug and then approached Halena and hugged her, as well.
“And aren’t you two a surprise,” Halena said. “Clay, you’d better treat her right. She’s a good woman.” Halena reached up and straightened her hat, a creation of pink and red silk flowers with a miniature Ferris wheel among the blooms. The Choctaw woman was known for her outlandish hats, among other things.
“Oh, it isn’t like that,” Miranda said hurriedly. “Clay has been helping Henry with baseball and he really wanted Clay to come with us tonight, but Clay and I...we aren’t together. It’s nothing like that.”
“Hmm, too bad. You make a good-looking couple,” Halena replied. “I’m still waiting for the man who will make me part of a good-looking couple. But you two really should be a couple.” She turned on her moccasins and began to straighten a rack full of colorful clothing.
“How’s business?” Miranda asked Mary, eager for a change of topic.
“As you can see, it’s a little slow right now, but tomorrow will be our big day,” she replied. “Still, it should pick up some in the next couple of hours or so.”
“We’d better sell a lot because I need some new hats,” Halena said.
Mary rolled her eyes. “My grandmother needs a new hat like I need a pet pig.”
“Can we get a pet pig, Mom?” Henry asked.
“Absolutely not,” Miranda replied.
“Can we get a dog?” he asked.
Miranda shook her head. “Not right now.”
“Then can we go get some hot dogs? I’m starving.”
She laughed. “That we can do.”
They said their goodbyes to Mary, Halena and Miranda’s mother, and then they headed for the closest place to get something to eat.
The crowd had grown while they’d been visiting. They were almost to the hot dog booth when they ran into Hank and Lori. “Daddy!” The kids greeted him by running to him and hugging him.
“What have we here?” Hank asked as his gaze shot from Miranda to Clay. Miranda could tell he’d been drinking, not only by the bleary look in his eyes but also by the gruff belligerence in his voice. “I warned you about this cowboy, Miranda. What in the hell are you doing here with him?”
“Hank, whatever issues you have with me...now is not the time,” Clay replied calmly. He looked pointedly at the two kids, who had crept closer to Miranda’s side.
Lori grabbed Hank’s arm. “Come on, Hank. You promised me a ride on the Ferris wheel. Let’s go take that ride.”
Hank grumbled beneath his breath and glared at them one more time, and then thankfully Lori managed to pull him away.
“Come on, kids. Let’s go get some hot dogs,” Clay said, breaking the tension with his easy grin.
Miranda smiled at him, grateful that he hadn’t gone all macho and added to what could have been a difficult situation with Hank. Within minutes Hank was forgotten as they all sat at a picnic table with juicy hot dogs and crispy french fries before them.
“So, what are we going to ride first?” Clay asked as they were finishing up the meal.
“The octopus,” Jenny said.
“The carousel,” Henry replied.
“And what would you like to ride?” Clay asked Miranda.
“I’m kind of like my son...nothing too fast or too scary. I think it would be fun for all of us to ride the bumper cars,” she replied.
His eyes lit up. “What do you say, kids? How about we all bump your mother?”
“Yes,” Henry replied and fist-pumped in the air.
“Don’t worry, Mommy. I’m on your side and I’m going to bump Mr. Clay really hard,” Jenny said.
Challenges were thrown down amid laughter and that seemed to set the mood for fun. For the next hour they enjoyed a variety of rides and then took a break for funnel cake.
“I love funnel cake,” Henry said with the lower half of his face covered in powdered sugar. “I think it’s my favorite dessert in the whole world. What’s your favorite dessert, Mr. Clay?”
“I like mud pies,” he replied, making them all laugh.
“I like to make mud pies,” Jenny said, and then giggled. “But I don’t ever eat them.”
“Thank goodness,” Miranda said with a laugh.
After the sweet treat it was time for them to ride the carousel. Henry chose a white horse with a lei of blue flowers around its neck and Clay climbed on the brown one next to him. Miranda and Jenny took the horses right behind them.
As the music began and the carousel started to move, Miranda was surprised to realize she was having fun...she was having lots of fun with Clay. He was a charming tease and made her and the kids laugh. Although any real conversation was tough with the music and the noise of the crowd, what they had shared had been so natural and easy.
It was strange; she didn’t believe he was consciously seducing her and yet she somehow felt seduced. She watched now as he leaned over his horse, as if pretending to spur it to run faster. Henry laughed in delight and also leaned over his horse.
That was part of his seduction, that he was so good with the kids. His enjoyment of them appeared to be one hundred percent genuine and it was obvious they adored him.
His beautiful eyes often lit with laughter and he had one of those smiles that made it almost impossible not to smile back.
She was appalled to recognize that she was even more sexually attracted to him than she had been. Of course, it had been almost two years since she’d been with a man. She’d stopped having sex with Hank almost a year before they had divorced.
Clay was a very sexy, handsome cowboy. Why wouldn’t she be sexually attracted to him? That certainly didn’t mean she was going to act on that attraction.
