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Elizabeth stared at the table, ignoring him.
“We love having little Jenny around. She reminds us about how lucky we are to have you and the kids come to our house.” Tom looked at Brady. “Right, Brady?”
“Right, Grandpa.”
“Do you have a bottle prepared?” Carol asked.
“Yes.” Elizabeth bent down to the diaper bag and brought out a bottle for Jenny.
Carol fed the baby, cooing to her, smiling and obviously enjoying every moment of it.
“If you ever need a babysitter, Elizabeth, keep me in mind.”
“Thank you, Carol, but I don’t think I’ll need a sitter.” She had no intention of going anywhere without her children. Besides, where would she go?
“You never know,” Jack said.
What was that supposed to mean? She was about to ask when the waitress appeared with their meals.
Elizabeth had had enough of this lunch and she hadn’t even eaten yet. Still, she forced herself to eat, not wanting to hear any more of Jack’s comments. He watched her throughout the meal as closely as she did Brady, only he made her uncomfortable.
She couldn’t endure the ride back to the ranch with him.
“Tom, may Jenny and I ride back home with you and Brady?”
Jack heard her. “Aw, come on, honey, that’s mean. That would leave me all alone.”
“I’ll ride with you, Jack,” Brady said as he ate his ice cream for dessert.
“Good. I didn’t want to ride alone. Thank you, Brady.”
She couldn’t very well forbid her son from riding with him. Especially not when the boy was so proud of his thoughtful gesture.
She sat back and drank her coffee.
When they finally got up from their meal, Jack picked up Jenny’s carry-all.
“I’ll take Jenny,” she protested.
“Don’t worry. I’ll carry her to Tom’s car.”
Then he reached out to take her hand with his empty one, but Elizabeth sidestepped him. Instead she called out to her son. “Brady, be sure to wear your seat belt.”
“I will, Mommy.”
Carol said her goodbyes to Elizabeth, adding, “Feel free to rest today, Elizabeth. I’ll be there tomorrow and I can pick up the slack.”
“Thank you, Carol. It was so nice to meet you.”
After they got in the car, Tom thanked her.
“For what?” Elizabeth asked.
“For being nice to Carol. She’s a real friend.”
“She seems very nice.”
“She is. I’d marry her if I thought I’d be around long enough.”
“I think you should marry her no matter how much time you have left. It’s clear she cares about you. And she wouldn’t be alone if she married you.”
Tom seemed to give that some thought. “That’s true, and I could leave her enough money, even if I keep the ranch for Brady.”
Elizabeth realized this was the perfect opportunity to bring up her concerns. “Tom, I don’t think you should worry about Brady. Jack—”
“You’re right, Elizabeth.” He nodded as he looked at her. “I can’t forget about little Jenny. She wouldn’t be happy with her grandpa.”
He wasn’t getting the point. “Tom, I can take care of my children.”
“Yes, Elizabeth, you can. But I need to think about their future.”
In Jack’s pickup the two males were bonding.
Brady had numerous questions about Jack’s life as a cowboy. “Can you ride ahorse and shoot a gun?”
Jack laughed at the boy’s version of a cowboy from the Wild West. “Yes, I can,” he said. “Would you like to ride with me one day?”
“Can I?” His eyes were big as saucers.
“If your mom says okay.”
Brady practically squirmed with excitement.
“Now it’s my turn to ask you a question,” Jack said. “Do you remember your apartment before you came to the ranch?” At the boy’s nod, he continued. “Did you always have enough to eat then?”
“Oh, yeah. Mommy always made me eat.”
“I’m sure she did. But did your mommy eat?”
Brady gave it some thought, tapping his finger against his head in the exaggerated gesture of a child. “Sometimes. But sometimes she didn’t eat anything. Like when she had Jenny in her belly. She said she didn’t want to throw up.”
Just as he suspected, Jack thought. “That must’ve been hard. It’s a wonder Jenny is all right.”
“I asked Mommy if Jenny made her sick, but she said no.”
“I think I’d better keep an eye on your mommy. Would you mind?”
“Nope, that’s okay.”
“I don’t think your mom had a very good husband.”
“Is that my daddy?”
“Yeah, buddy, that’s your daddy.”
“But my mommy said we needed him.” His expression turned serious, and he turned his little body toward Jack. “She said we wouldn’t have Jenny if we didn’t have him.”
The boy was right. And Jenny was worth it.
Jack shut his mouth and concentrated on his driving, laughing to himself at the irony. The rough-and-tumble cowboy had been taught a lesson by a three-year-old!
“Whose car is that?” Brady tore off his seat belt the minute the pickup came to a stop at the ranch.
“I don’t know.” Jack eyed the red Mercedes with Texas plates. “Why don’t you go on in and change out of your best clothes, son?”
Brady didn’t even give the woman getting out of the car a look. He was on his way to wearing his jeans.
Jack stepped over to the young woman, dressed in tight designer jeans and a fuzzy vest and high-heeled boots. Clearly she was not from around here. “Are you lost, ma’am?”
“Is this the Ransom ranch?” she said with a Texas drawl.
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, I’m looking for Mr. Tom Ransom.” She smiled at him and gave him a once-over. “Is that you?”
He took a step back. “No, it’s not. Here comes Tom now.”
“Too bad.”
When Tom’s car stopped in the driveway, Jack went around to the passenger side and reached in for Jenny.
“Who is that?” Elizabeth asked him.
“No one you need to concern yourself with. Go on in the house.”
Something in his gaze must have told her to believe him because she didn’t argue. “I’ll take Jenny up and change her before she naps.”
“I’ll be in in a minute.”
After she went in, Jack went around to Tom. “I think this lady is looking for you. I got a bad feeling about her.”
“Is it someone I know?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
Tom got out of his car. “You looking for me, miss?” he asked.
“Are you Reggie’s daddy?”
“Yeah.”
She stepped forward and shot him a smile. “Then, yes, I’m looking for you. You see, our Reggie is—was my husband.”
Chapter Five
TOM and Jack stared at each other, their mouths agape.
Tom recovered first. “I see,” he said in an even tone that belied the shock Jack knew he must have felt.
“It’s too bad we didn’t have more time together.” She drew in a sharp breath and fluttered a manicured hand at her chest.
“Well, it was kind of you to come pay me a visit. Why don’t we go in the house and get my housekeeper to serve us some cake. Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Jack?”
Jack couldn’t help thinking Tom was making a big mistake. The woman gave off some nasty vibes. But it was his ranch. “I guess.”
“I’m sure it’s a good idea. We have to offer something to this nice lady.”
Jack followed behind them into the house. Once in the kitchen he offered to get Elizabeth. He found her upstairs in Jenny’s room, patting the baby who lay on her belly in the crib. He touched Elizabeth on the arm and motioned to the door. She nodded and went out, pulling the bedroom door behind her after picking up the monitor.
“What is it, Jack?”
He could think of no way to explain the woman downstairs, so instead he said, “Tom wants you to come down and serve us all cake. Do you still have that chocolate cake?”
“Yes. But how could he want to eat again after that big lunch?”
“It’s for…our guest. And don’t be surprised when Tom doesn’t introduce you.”
She shot him a quizzical look but said, “Okay.”
In the kitchen Tom was sitting at the table, along with the young woman from outside. Elizabeth tried not to stare at her as she got out the cake and plates. She cut three pieces of cake and served Tom, Jack and their guest.
“Aren’t you going to have some cake, Elizabeth?” Jack asked.
“No, I’m not—”
“I think you should, Elizabeth.” There was something in Tom’s voice that intrigued her.
She sat at the table with a plate.
“I must say, you’re very kind to offer your help, Mr. Ransom,” the young woman said as she fluffed back her long, blond-streaked brown hair.
“Yeah, I’m a softhearted guy.”
She leaned in closer to Tom and added, “Actually, though, you’d do better not to let her join us. They can get above themselves, you know.”
“Oh, I don’t think Elizabeth would get difficult.”
Elizabeth said nothing, swallowing her anger with her cake.
