A Cowboy to Call Daddy (The Boones of Texas 4)

His father was dating. That would take some getting used to.

So would accepting that he was falling in love. Especially since he wasn’t sure he believed love really existed.

* * *

EDEN SMILED AS Ivy chattered away about the shape of her pancakes, how many strawberries she was going to eat and that she preferred the long sausages to the round flat ones. Eden was too tired to eat. Instead she downed cups of coffee, hating the nervous knot sitting hard and heavy in her stomach.

What had she done?

During their divorce, Clark had used a slew of unflattering, unfeeling adjectives to justify his wandering eye. Words like cold, aloof, frigid and distant. The ice queen.

Not the sort of woman who would kiss a man in her nightgown. Kiss and kiss until her body was on fire. The want Archer Boone unleashed was unexpected. Powerful. Raw. She sucked in a deep breath, placing her coffee cup on the table with a thud.

It was a mistake. One she needed to learn from. Now she knew how dangerous he was—just how intense their attraction was. And kissing him? She couldn’t let it happen again.

Clara glanced at her, so she smiled at Lily, stroked Ivy’s cheek and tried to engage.

“No teeth,” Ivy was saying. “So they peck.”

“Chickens,” Clara offered.

Eden nodded. “Thank you.”

“Peck peck peck,” Ivy said, eyeing the crumbs on her plate.

“But little girls have teeth.” Eden smiled. “And hands and fingers to help feed themselves.”

Ivy grinned sweetly. “’Course, Momma.”

Eden laughed. “And what do they eat?”

“Corn,” Ivy said. “And cake crumbs. And cookies. And pie crumbs.”

Eden and Clara exchanged a knowing look.

“Lucky chickens,” Eden said, sipping her coffee.

Ivy nodded. “I want one.”

“I’m not sure they’d be happy in our house, Ivy.” Eden sighed.

“Let’s stay,” Ivy said. “I wanna be a farmer with Mr. Teddy.”

Eden saw her daughter wave then, all smiles for the handsome older man waving right back. He was on the phone, talking animatedly. But when his blue gaze met hers, his whole expression changed. It wasn’t the first time she’d caught him studying her. Like he was trying to figure something out. Maybe her sleep deprivation was playing tricks on her mind.

“What are your plans today?” she asked Clara.

Clara shrugged. “Teddy...Mr. Boone said he’d take us to the vet hospital. There are some kittens—”

Eden glanced back at Teddy Boone, but he’d turned back to the front desk. She supposed there was a family resemblance between father and son. But Archer was bigger. He didn’t smile as easily. Or talk as often. Archer had a thoughtfulness about him—as if everything he did was a clear, intentional choice versus an impulse.

That’s why she’d kissed him. Because he’d never kiss her. And last night, she’d wanted to kiss him more than...anything. Her insides turned molten at the memory of him crushing her against him, the strength in his hands and the startling heat of his touch. His groan. Her toes curled.

Her phone was ringing. Again. She’d already let her father go to voice mail three times this morning. They’d had a fight last night. She’d refused to give him editing access to several documents and he’d been livid. Chances were this was more of the same. She had no plans to listen to the messages, and clearly, he wasn’t going to give up so...

“Excuse me,” she said, carrying her phone onto the front porch. She rounded the corner and answered the phone. “Yes?”

“I’ve spent the morning on the phone, Eden.”