LITMIR.BIZ

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crossed Dani’s face and she leaned down to check on the boy. “Are you okay, honey?”

      He nodded. “Just hot. And thirsty.”

      “Fine, Cole. But just for a minute.” She took the boys’ hands and led them over to the bench. They both climbed up and sat, swinging their legs. Dani pulled a bottle of water from her bag and offered it to them.

      “Who’s this you have with you?” Cole asked.

      She hesitated for a moment. “These are my sons. Cameron and Colin.”

      Her what? Cole nearly had to pick his jaw up off the sidewalk He was as confused as could be right now. Dani had painted herself as a single woman without a care in the world aside from her career. One would have thought the topic of having two children might have come up while they’d talked the other night. Was this why she’d glossed over part of her time in New York? And if so, what was she hiding? He crouched down in front of the boys, knowing he had to play it cool. Dani had little patience for him right now. “Hi, guys. I’m Cole. Now which one of you is Cameron and which one is Colin?”

      The boy in the red-and-white-striped shirt thrust his hand up into the air. “I’m Cameron.”

      “So you must be Colin.”

      In a blue-and-white-striped shirt, Colin seemed more reticent than his brother. He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

      Cole peered up at Dani, who was beaming at the boys. “I guess there were a few things we didn’t have a chance to talk about the other night.”

      She cleared her throat. “A few things.”

      Cole straightened to his full height. Dani was flat-out stunning today, but he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by the way she looked in that sundress with the skinny straps, all glowing skin and luscious lips. “How old are the boys?”

      She took a step away from her sons. “Uh. Four. About to turn five.”

      Cole turned and looked at them again, doing the math in his head. Like most brothers, they were horsing around, poking and prodding each other. Cole was no expert, but they looked ready to go to school. He wasn’t buying the idea that they were four, but he couldn’t ask them in front of their mom. “You putting them in kindergarten this year?”

      “No. One more year of preschool. They’re not quite ready yet.”

      “I see.” He took another glance at them. Their coloring was just like his own. Hair color? Remarkably similar. It was even thick like his, not fine like most young children’s. “Your relationship with Taylor Blake must’ve been a lot more serious than you let on.”

      “I don’t really want to talk about it, Cole.”

      If he wasn’t standing in the middle of a packed sidewalk, Cole would ask Dani all sorts of questions. He might even ask for a paternity test. But he had to be glad that she wasn’t kicking him in the shins right now or calling him names. After the other night, he did not think a calm conversation with Dani would be possible, but here they were. He was prepared to do anything to preserve the peace.

      But were these boys his? Was it possible that Dani had been pregnant when she packed up and left for New York? They’d had no contact whatsoever, except for a letter Dani sent six months after she left, asking if he wanted to talk. Unable to open that door and wanting to protect her, he hadn’t responded.

      He looked at the boys again. There was a feeling deep in his gut that was saying they could be his. Even if that might not be the case, he had to have the chance to get to know them better. They were one half a woman he still cared for very much.

      He crouched down one more time. “Do you boys like horses?”

      Colin, the quieter of the two, jumped right off the bench, nearly knocking Cole back onto his butt. “I do.”

      Cameron nodded eagerly. “I do, too. Do you have horses?”

      “I do. I have longhorns, too. I even have chickens and goats.”

      “Do you have a real farm, Mr. Cole?” Cameron asked. It was incredibly adorable how polite these two boys were. Dani had done a good job.

      “It’s a ranch. A big one. Would you like to come see it some time? Maybe tomorrow?”

      Dani stepped forward and placed her hand on Cole’s shoulder, digging her fingertips into his skin. If she thought it would dissuade him, she was sorely mistaken. Her touch made his pulse quicken and filled his head with ideas of taking off the dress she was wearing today. “Surely you’re busy, Mr. Cole.”

      He shook his head. “Nope. Not at all. I always have time for some aspiring young ranchers.”

      “Can we, Mommy? Can we?” Colin was jumping up and down, tugging on Dani’s hand.

      Cameron got off the bench and joined in. “We never got to see horses in New York.”

      “We did when we went to Central Park,” Dani countered. She was so good at digging in her heels.

      “That’s not the same. We couldn’t ride those horses.” Cameron turned to Cole. “Can we ride your horses?”

      “A few of them you can.” Cole had to disguise his smile. The boys were doing his arguing for him.

      Dani dropped her shoulders and sighed. “It’ll have to be Thursday. I need to be at the restaurant tomorrow, and I have plans with Megan on Wednesday.”

      Cameron and Colin began jumping up and down again, squealing with delight.

      “What time do you want us?” Dani asked.

      I want you any time I can get you. Again, Cole’s mind flashed to the other night and how amazing it felt to touch her velvety bare skin. “Nine? Before it gets too hot? We can have lunch. Hungry cowboys need their food.”

      She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

      “What?” Cole asked.

      “I’m just trying to figure out how you’re so good at talking me into things I don’t want to do.”

      “You don’t want your boys to have a fun morning enjoying some of the finest things Royal, Texas, has to offer?”

      The smile that spread across her face held a familiar edge. It was as if she was whispering, Damn you, Cole Sullivan. Good God, how he’d missed that sight. “No. You’re right. It’ll be fun.”

      He reached out and grasped her elbow, trailing his fingers down the underside of her arm. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

      She cocked both eyebrows. “I have two young boys to keep an eye on, Mr. Cole. May I present a prime example of how much supervision they need?” Dani pointed down the sidewalk. The boys had found an older man with a dog several storefronts away. They were gleefully petting it, oblivious to how far they’d wandered.

      “I was talking about ice cream. I was thinking we could go out for some after lunch.”

      Dani pressed a finger, hard, right in the center of his chest. “Don’t push your luck.”

      Cole put his sunglasses back on, feeling as happy as he’d felt in a long time. “I won’t need luck. The minute I mention ice cream to those two boys, it’ll be all over.”

      Dani just shook her head and hitched her purse onto her shoulder. “Boys, we should go now,” she called.

      “Oh, and bring your swimsuits Thursday. I have a slide at my pool.”

      Dani cast him an incredibly hot look of disapproval. “You’re terrible.”

      “I try.”

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