Pole Position (Country Roads 2)

“Don’t say anything,” Colt warned.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say.” Brant’s gaze shot toward the sofa bed. “I could get used to that kid, you know?”

“You could?” Colt asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t know anything about raising a child. Neither do you, and I can promise you one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I sure don’t wanna live with your ass,” Brant teased.

“Same here.”

“And a child needs two parents.”

“Who said anything about being parents?”

Brant folded his arms over his chest. “We don’t have any guarantees we can find her a suitable home in Morristown.”

“I’ll make some calls when we get back. We’ll find someone. We’ll search high and low until we find a family for that little girl. In the meantime, we can be the friends that kid deserves to have. You know, kind of like the big brothers she never had.”

* * * *

The next morning, Colt fixed pancakes while Brant packed their sack lunches.

While their backs were to Princess, she slipped into a chair, taking a seat at the small kitchen table. “Good morning,” she said, yawning.

“Well good morning to you, too,” Colt said.

Brant set the first stack of shortcakes in front of her. “Hope you’re hungry. Colt claims his pancakes are the best breakfast money can buy.”

“Do I have to pay for them?” she asked innocently.

“No,” Colt replied, grinning. “These are on the house.”

“Good,” she said, yawning again. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“There are more where those came from, so dig in,” Brant told her.

“What time is the ride this morning?” she asked.

“There’s a big snow coming in,” Brant said. “One of the other riders said they’re leaving the park in an hour.”

“Oh,” she said, shoving a big bite between her small lips.

“Uh, Princess.” Brant began to carefully choose his words and then his attempt went all to hell. “Colt has something he wants to ask you. Don’t you, Colt?”

Colt shoveled a few pancakes on two more plates. They sat down at the table together, leaving their own meals untouched.

“How would you feel about moving to Tennessee?” Colt asked gently.

“I’ll have to talk to Ralph about it,” she replied in a hurry. “We don’t know anyone who lives in Tennessee.”

“You do now,” Brant pointed out.

The child’s lips formed a tight line. “That’s true. I sure don’t know anyone around here anymore.”

“We’d like to help you find a mother and father, someone anxious to adopt a little girl like you,” Colt explained.