LITMIR.BIZ

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Slade thought was that the woman was as pesky as flies at a picnic. There hadn’t been a single day since she’d first turned up at White Pines that she’d minded her own business. If she got it into her head to befriend Annie, it could only mean trouble. It would start with ice cream and pizza, but who knew where it would lead? Still, he couldn’t bring himself to put a damper on Annie’s enthusiasm by saying no.

      “If you want to go, it’s fine,” he’d said. “Just don’t take advantage. I’ll give you the money for your food.”

      “No, it’s her treat. She said so.”

      But when Annie had come to him for permission, he’d insisted on giving her the money for ice cream. A gentleman didn’t let a lady pay. The lesson had been drilled into him by his mother and echoed by his father. It had stuck, which he supposed made him some kind of an old-fashioned oddity in this day and age of dutch treat and ladies doing the asking for dates. On the circuit he’d been astounded by just how brazen some women were, even once they knew he was married.

      Annie and Val went for ice cream and burgers on Monday. They had pizza on Tuesday. Val planned a swim in the creek and a picnic on Wednesday. The two of them were thick as thieves. Yes, indeed, it made his skin crawl. Annie needed a new friend, one who wasn’t old enough and sexy enough to make her daddy’s heart pump quite so hard.

      Kids her own age would be good, he concluded, and the ranch was crawling with them. Was it possible to arrange some sort of play date at Annie’s age? He could talk to Cody about it. Or should he just pray that the kids found each other before hearing about Val drove him nuts?

      The thought had barely occurred to him when he spotted Val striding toward him with a purposeful gleam in her eyes. Watching her walk was a thoroughly entertaining experience. The woman’s hips swayed provocatively enough to make a man’s blood steam, especially when she got the notion to wear a pair of kick-ass heels that made her legs look long and willowy, despite the fact that she was just a little bitty thing. She’d worn those heels today as if she knew the effect they had on him.

      He indulged in a moment of purely masculine appreciation before he reminded himself that that expression on her face spelled upheaval.

      “Whatever it is, the answer is no,” he announced emphatically when she was several yards away. He turned his attention back to the horse he’d been grooming before he’d caught sight of Val.

      When she remained silent for way too long, he risked a glance up. She gave him one of her irrepressible grins. “Good. I have your attention. Just for the record, I haven’t asked for anything yet.”

      “But you will,” he muttered. “You always do.”

      She laughed. “See, we are making progress. You already know me very well.”

      “That is not a blessing.” he retorted.

      “Oh, hush, and hear me out,” she said, clearly undaunted. “I was thinking we ought to plan a little get-together in Annie’s honor. She should get to know all the kids in the family. Not that I don’t enjoy her company, because I do, but she needs to have friends her own age. I’m sure she has to be missing the ones she left behind.”

      Slade wanted to resist the idea just because it had come from Val, but she was right. He’d been thinking precisely the same thing not minutes ago, albeit for very different reasons. Like Val, though, he could see how much it would mean to his daughter to make some friends. Maybe they could fill in the gaps in her life that he couldn’t. He couldn’t go on relying on Val to keep Annie occupied indefinitely.

      “Fine,” he said grudgingly, relieved that she seemed to have some sort of a plan in mind. “Do whatever you want. I’ll pay for it.”

      “Oh, no, you don’t,” she retorted. “Not me. You and me,” she said with emphasis. “This is a joint venture. I’ll do the inviting, if you like, but you have to put out a little effort, too.”

      He regarded her warily. “Such as?”

      “Make arrangements with Harlan to use the barbecue and pool up at the main house, plan a menu with Annie, then pick up the food from town. It’ll mean the world to Annie that you want to do this for her.”

      He supposed she had a point. Gestures probably mattered to females of all ages. Suzanne had certainly counted on them. She’d expected flowers, candy or jewelry every time he’d walked through the door.

      “Okay, I’ll talk to Harlan,” he agreed. “But I don’t know a damn thing about planning a menu. I’m lucky if I get a frozen meal on the table for dinner without nuking it to death. Besides, in case you haven’t noticed, Anne and I don’t communicate real well.”

      Val regarded him with impatience. “Oh, for goodness sakes, how hard can it be for the two of you to put your heads together and come up with a standard barbecue menu? Steaks, burgers, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, dessert. How complicated is that?”

      He grinned despite himself. If there was one thing he’d learned about Val Harding, it was that she was frighteningly efficient. “Sounds to me like you’ve got it all worked out. We’ll go with that.”

      She looked as if she might argue, but she nodded instead. “Okay, then. You set the date with Harlan, and then the three of us will go shopping. We’ll make a day of it.”

      He sighed, thinking of the number of Adamses involved and the likely expense. He had money in the bank from his rodeo days—at least what was left after Suzanne had taken a healthy share of his winnings. He’d been stashing away most of his salary to buy his own ranch sometime down the road. He intended to buy the best horses in Texas, then breed and train them. This little party clearly would put a serious crimp in that plan. The kind of blowout Val was describing cost big bucks. For something that lasted a few hours, it seemed like a waste of good money.

      “Maybe we should think about hot dogs, instead. And kids like chips. Maybe some homemade ice cream.” His enthusiasm mounted. “Yeah, that would work.”

      One look at Val’s expression killed the idea.

      “No way, Sutton. When it comes to entertaining, I believe in going all out. Bring your wallet. I only buy the best.”

      “I was afraid of that,” he said resignedly.

      “Don’t look so terrified. It’ll only hurt for a little while.” She winked. “And if you play your cards right, I’ll kiss you and make it better.”

      Now there was a prospect that could take a man’s mind off the agony of having his budget blown to smithereens. Unfortunately, it also conjured up images that made mincemeat out of all that restraint he’d been working so hard to hang on to.

      “Maybe I should just write you a blank check and let you go for it,” he suggested hopefully.

      She gave him an amused, knowing look. “The prospect of spending the day in town with me doesn’t scare you, does it?”

      “Falling off the back of a two-thousand-pound, mean-spirited bull scares me. Getting trampled by a bucking bronc gives me pause. You...” he gave her a pointed look “...you’re just a pesky little annoyance.”

      For an instant he thought he caught a flash of hurt in her eyes and regretted that he’d been the cause of it. He ignored the temptation to apologize, though. If he could get her to write him off as a jerk, maybe he’d finally get some peace.

      Of course, then he’d also be all on his own with Annie. That was more terrifying than the bull, the bronc and Val all rolled into one.

      “Sorry,” he muttered halfheartedly.

      “For what?” she said, her eyes shining a little too brightly. “Being honest? No one can fault you for that.”

      “Still, I should have kept my mouth shut. You’ve been good to my daughter. I owe you.”

      “Now that’s where you’re wrong. Around here people look out for one another, no thanks

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