Redneck Romeo (Rough Riders 15)

“Jessie and Georgia are sweet. You’ll get along with them just fine.”

Why did men always say that? Since it was rarely the case?

Dalton turned on a rutted gravel road. Several ranch buildings came into view including an old wooden barn and a newer pole barn. The house looked different than she remembered.

“Do you know I was never in your house when we were kids?”

He turned off the ignition. “I never brought any of my friends home. Not that I was embarrassed by the house, but the thought of how Casper might act to my friends in the house.”

“It looks nice.”

“It’s a helluva lot nicer now that Brandt and Jessie live here. Casper wouldn’t spend the money to fix the place up.”

Rory squinted at the license plate of the car in front of them. “Is your mother here too?”

“Yep. She probably brought Landon. I haven’t seen him since he was the ring bearer.”

As they walked up to the front door, Rory shivered.

Of course, Dalton caught it. He moved in front of her. His warm, callused hands cupped her face. “Hey. If you’re not all right with this we just stop in for fifteen minutes and say we have other plans. That ain’t a lie. I do have big plans for you tonight, Aurora.”

He snared her mouth in a kiss. A perfect kiss.

A squeaking hinge sounded behind them.

“Seriously? Making out on the steps? Get in here.”

Dalton’s lips curved, ending the kiss. He faced Brandt. “You remember Rory.”

Brandt rolled his eyes. “Of course I remember her. Glad you could join us. Come on in.”

“Thanks.” She tried to tug free of Dalton’s hand but he held on firmly as he led her inside.

They were immediately surrounded by kids and adults.

Rory considered crawling into the coat closet until a small boy jumped out of it with a loud, “Rowr!” She screamed. Which caused the boys to laugh as they raced away.

“Sorry about that,” Jessie said. “Scaring the bejeezus out of everyone is Tucker’s latest thing. We hope he outgrows it. Soon.”

“By then Wyatt will’ve learned to do it,” Dalton said.

“Dalton McKay, bite your tongue,” Jessie warned.

He merely grinned.

Tell exited the kitchen, in conversation with his mother. His gaze moved between Dalton and Rory. “Nice to see you, Rory. Glad you could make it.”

“Where’s Georgia?” Dalton asked.

“She’s feelin’ queasy so she laid down. I need to check on her.”

Joan McKay threw her arms around Dalton. “Hello, son.”

Dalton stepped back and grabbed Rory’s hand. “You remember Rory?”

“Of course.” Then Joan hugged her. “How are you?”

“Good.”

“Dalton told me all about you. He was—is—thrilled you’re living around here again.”

Rather than demand to know what else Mr. Thrilled had said, Rory nodded.

They stared at each other. Awkward.

Then Joan smiled. “Landon, come and say hi to your Uncle Dalton and his girlfriend.”

A lanky, dark-haired boy of about eight stood beside Joan.

“Wow, kid. You’re like twice the size you were last time I saw you,” Dalton said.

He smiled shyly.

“Do you remember me?”

“Uh-huh. I used to go to your house when I was little. We’d build stuff with Legos. We’d dig outside in the dirt and you let me play in the mud. You had a cool dog.”

“Milo. He liked you too, except for the time you smacked him with a Tonka truck. Took quite a few dog treats for him to trust you again.”

“I have a dog now. His name is Dixon.”

“I’m currently without a dog, but Rory, here, has an awesome dog named Jingle.”

Landon stared at her. Then his eyes—the same beautiful McKay blue as Dalton’s—lit up. “Hey! I remember you.”

“You do?”

“You were at Uncle Dalton’s wedding.”

“Good memory, kid.”

“I was scared to walk down the aisle. You told me to pretend people were staring because they were trying to figure out my secret super power and to be very serious so as to not give it away.”

Rory grinned. “It worked. You made it down the aisle without a hitch.”

“Which is exactly what happened to Dalton. Ironic, huh?” Tell said.

“Hilarious.” Dalton put his hand on Tell’s chest and shoved him.

Tell shoved him back.

“Boys,” Joan said. “No fighting in the house.”

For the next hour as they chatted in the living room, Rory tried to discreetly watch the interactions between Dalton and his brothers. It looked seamless. Like he’d just slipped back into the family dynamic, but the set of Dalton’s shoulders gave away his tension. Besides that, there seemed to be affection between them, although as grown men they showed it by ragging on each other endlessly.

The kids ran in and out, which drove Rory crazy, but everyone took it in stride. She realized her life growing up an only child and her life now as a single woman with unmarried, childless friends didn’t allow for much experience with kids, let alone rambunctious boys.

Jessie and Joan headed to the kitchen to get supper ready and Rory followed them.

“Rory, dear, you don’t have to help.”

“I know my way around the kitchen better than I can sort through talk about cows, ranching and other McKay family members.”

“I appreciate the help.” Jessie handed her a stack of plates and a basket of silverware from the dishwasher. “Here you go. The placemats are on the sideboard.”

Rory had just put the last fork in place when a little person wearing a helmet smacked into the back of her legs. “Ouch.”

“Jackson McKay,” a female voice said sharply. “You apologize to Rory right now.”

A muffled, “Sorry,” came from inside the helmet. Then he ran off.

“Sorry about that,” Georgia said. “Terrible twos are not a myth.”

“Are you feeling better?” Rory asked.

“Some. I get woozy at night for some reason instead of in the morning.”

Rory’s gaze briefly dropped to Georgia’s belly. “When are you due?”

“About four months, so I’ve got a ways to go. How are you? I was surprised to hear you were back here, working for…?”

“The Wyoming Natural Resources Coalition.”