LITMIR.BIZ

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a bite of cookie, grinning when Muttly returned a thrown stick and bowled Rowdy over before he popped up, laughing, to cast the stick again. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

      “Of course. And perfect, too,” Margaret stirred her iced tea and chuckled at the sight of Rowdy and Muttly playing fetch. “He’s my grandson.”

      “Not that you’re prejudiced or anything,” Jessie said wryly.

      “Of course not.” Margaret sipped her tea, took a bite of cookie and chewed, her eyes narrowing with consideration. “I wonder how soon Luke and Rachel will have children? Have they said anything to you?”

      “Not a word. But the ink is barely dry on their wedding license, Mom.”

      “I know.” Margaret sighed wistfully. “It’s so much fun having little ones in the family, I’m hoping they’ll decide to have children sooner rather than later.”

      “Rowdy would certainly love it if they did. He’s always asking me why his friend Cody has two brothers while he doesn’t have even one.”

      “And what do you tell him?”

      Jessie shrugged. “That he has two uncles and Cody doesn’t have any so if he’ll share Chase and Luke with Cody, maybe Cody will share his brothers with Rowdy.”

      “And he thinks that’s a good solution?”

      “He says Cody should share his brothers but he’s reluctant to agree to sharing his uncles.”

      Margaret laughed out loud. “Sounds like a McCloud.”

      “Yes,” Jessie agreed. “That it does.”

      “Speaking of brothers, Luke told your father that Rachel’s brother, Zach, has returned to deal with the property he inherited from his grandfather. I think Rachel and Judith plan to combine their acres with his and he’ll manage all of the ranches together.”

      Jessie flinched inwardly at the mention of Zach’s name but answered with relative calm. “I know, I heard the rumor in town and Rachel confirmed it.”

      “Did she say if he’s here permanently?”

      “I don’t think she knows for sure although she did say she hopes he’ll stay.” Jessie’s gaze followed Rowdy and Muttly as they wrestled and rolled on the lawn outside. “Her mom has the house in town and now that Rachel and Luke are living in his house, Rachel seems relieved to have her brother on-site.”

      “That makes sense. I don’t know much about Zach except that he and Luke were involved in a few fistfights during high school. And he’s a Kerrigan, of course, which automatically makes me distrust him. For all I know, he could be as bad as his uncle and cousin.”

      “You don’t think there’s a chance he might be more like Rachel?”

      “It’s possible, I suppose.” Margaret’s expression turned thoughtful as she considered Jessie’s words. “But not very likely, given Zach grew up living in the same house as his grandfather and his Uncle Harlan. Zach’s dad died when he was quite young and he had only Harlan and his grandfather as male role models. Boys tend to grow up to be a lot like their fathers, or in Zach’s case, substitute fathers.”

      “I know.” Jessie stared at Rowdy, chasing Muttly on the lawn outside the big kitchen window. “And I can’t help but wonder how that inescapable truth will impact Rowdy, growing up as he is without a father in his life.”

      Margaret was silent for a moment, then she leaned across the table and covered Jessie’s hand with hers. “First of all, Rowdy has wonderful role models in both your brothers and your dad. Are you considering searching for Rowdy’s biological father to tell him he has a son?”

      “Do you think I should contact Rowdy’s father?”

      “I thought he should have been informed as soon as you found out you were pregnant. I know you had your reasons for concocting a fake marriage to explain your pregnancy to the family. However, unless Rowdy’s father was an ax murderer or something equally bad, I think he should be told. Not just for his sake, but also for Rowdy’s.” Margaret paused, her gaze searching Jessie’s. “Has something changed? Are you seriously thinking of trying to find Rowdy’s father?”

      Jessie looked down at her mother’s hand over hers. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t, lie to her but neither was she ready to tell her the entire, complicated truth. “Let’s just say I’m wondering whether it’s possible, or fair, to keep Rowdy from his father forever.”

      “Hmm,” Margaret murmured. “Is this man someone who would want a son?”

      “We never discussed children or our views on being parents,” Jessie said truthfully. “So I don’t have any hard evidence to believe he wouldn’t want to be involved in Rowdy’s life.”

      “So you are considering contacting him?”

      “Yes.”

      “Why now?”

      A frisson of alarm shivered up Jessie’s spine. She didn’t want her mother to guess the truth about Rowdy and Zach before she was ready to explain. “What do you mean?”

      “Did Rowdy say something to make you question your decision to keep his father out of his life?”

      “I didn’t exactly decide to keep his father out of his life forever, Mom. Contacting him before Rowdy was born would have been possible but given his work and where he lived, it would have been beyond difficult to work out any kind of visitation,” Jessie said. “But Rowdy’s questions about Cody and his siblings did raise the next obvious question for me—what will I say when Rowdy asks me why he doesn’t have a daddy in the house like Cody has.”

      Margaret nodded in sympathetic agreement. “He’s bound to ask, I suppose. He’s at the age where he’s becoming more aware of his surroundings, and family is a big part of his life. His own family, plus the families of his little friends, are the people he spends the most time with so it’s logical that his greatest curiosity centers around siblings, daddies and mommies.”

      Jessie sighed. “That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. Yesterday he asked me why Cody’s mommy lets him have hot dogs for lunch and I spent fifteen minutes trying to explain why a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is more nutritious.”

      Margaret laughed, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement.

      The sound of boots on tile interrupted them and Jessie glanced over her shoulder as her father walked through the hall archway and into the kitchen, followed by her oldest brother. The men were both well over six feet tall, and Chase’s black hair, light-blue eyes and handsome face was just a younger version of his father’s.

      “Hi, Jessie.” John McCloud’s deep voice echoed the smile that lit up his weathered face. He crossed the room and bent to drop a kiss on her forehead before pulling out a chair. “Where’s Rowdy?”

      “Outside, playing with Muttly,” Jessie said as her dad dropped into a chair next to Margaret.

      John looked out the window, a grin curving his mouth at the sight of his grandson and the big dog together on the lawn.

      “Are you drinking coffee or iced tea, Dad?” Chase’s voice was faintly gravelly but had the same deep timbre as his father’s.

      “I think I’ll have cold tea.” He looked at his wife and shook his head. “It’s too damned hot outside for coffee.”

      “John, no swearing.”

      Jessie smiled at her mother’s automatic response and her father’s swift grimace.

      “Sorry, hon.”

      “What are you doing away from your office in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, Jess? Playing hooky?” Chase set a tall glass half-filled with ice in front of his father and an identical glass at an empty spot next to Jessie. He pulled out the chair and sat down before reaching

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