A Son for the Cowboy (The Boones of Texas 5)

She wriggled out of her shorts and top, kicked off her flip-flops and eased into the cold, clear water with a sigh. “This is perfect.”

The kids waded into the water with her, laughing and splashing each other until they were all dripping wet. Seeing them having fun, acting like kids, made the day that much sweeter.

“How long can you hold your breath?” Dot asked, disappearing below the water.

While the kids took turns, Poppy did her best not to keep checking the path. He’d get here when he got here—no point in rushing things. But the longer he took, the more anxious she grew. Finally, he was heading down the hill—and she groaned, ducking under the water. She should have told him no, should have made him leave. She let the water’s icy temperature cool her down. When she resurfaced, she focused all her energy on keeping a blank face.

Considering what a fine male specimen Toben Boone was, that took a lot of focus.

Toben’s cutoff jeans were uneven, but the length of muscled legs revealed was impressive. He wore a short-sleeved button-down shirt...hanging open to reveal far too much of him. His jeans rested low on his hips. The sharp cut and dip of muscles of his chest and stomach had her dipping beneath the water again.

When she came up, Toben was laughing.

“Did you hear that, Ma?” Rowdy asked.

She shook her head. “What?”

“Otis’s joke,” Rowdy said.

Otis had told a joke? She glanced at her nephew. He was smiling. So was Dot. Were they really having a good time? She grinned. “What joke?”

“What do you call a bear with no teeth?” Otis asked.

Poppy shrugged.

“A gummy bear,” Otis answered.

She laughed.

“Next time the water’s up, we could float down to the first bridge,” Toben said. “Not much current right now, but it sure feels good.”

“Your eye’s all messed up.” Dot pointed out. “Looks like it hurts.”

He nodded. “It doesn’t feel good.”

“What happened?” Otis asked.

Toben glanced at her. “I walked into something.”

Poppy frowned. The thing he’d walked into was sporting an angry bruise on his jaw. Mitchell had left before Rowdy woke up, claiming he had an early flight to Reno. Poppy suspected he’d left before sunup because he didn’t want to upset her son. She knew boys would be boys, but why would Mitchell and Toben exchange blows? What good would that do? Maybe Toben hadn’t changed. The Toben she remembered had either been picking up women or picking fights.

“Next time you should watch where you’re going,” Rowdy said, swimming to the flat rock.

Toben was still looking at her. “There won’t be a next time.”

She hoped that meant he and Mitchell had reached an understanding. If she was going to do this, raise Rowdy together with Toben, no one should be throwing punches.

“I’m jumping,” Rowdy said, leaping off the rock.

The water splashed, eliciting laughter all around.

Poppy smiled, watching them together. For the first time in days, the three kids were getting along.

“How deep does it get?” Otis asked.

“I’ll find out.” Poppy swam out. The water they’d been swimming in wasn’t deep. She could sit and the water reached her chin. But in the middle of the river, she had to stand on tiptoe in places. “Too deep.”

Surprisingly, none of them argued. They took turns jumping off the rock, splashing each other and spinning in the inner tube she’d carried down.