Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum / Once Upon a Proposal: Little Cowgirl Needs a Mum

“Evan … I’ve got to go. The girls will come looking for me.”

With a nod, Evan let her go. He turned and went into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door. She worked to slow her breathing as she walked out and down the steps.

“Jenny,” Gracie said, “Where were you? Everybody is waiting.”

“I forgot something.” She’d forgotten something all right, her mind, her common sense. She looked down at the smiling child and thought about the man upstairs.

She was quickly losing her heart to both of them.

“They’re called the wee people. Some call them leprechauns. I only met one, Finn O’Donovan. And oh, he was a tricky one. He would rob you blind if you turned your back on him.”

“What does he look like?” a girl asked.

“A wee man, no bigger than yourselves. They have rosy cheeks and big blue eyes that make you want to trust them. I met Finn when I was no older than you young ones. He lived in the forest right outside of the town where I lived in Ireland. First time I saw him was when I came home from school one day. He asked me never to tell anyone about him. My first mistake. He promised to show me where he hid a pot of gold. Well, let me tell you. I was a poor fella with lots of brothers and sisters. My da and ma could use a pot of gold.”

“Did you ever find it?” Carrie asked.

Sean shook his head. “No. The scoundrel had been laughing at me the whole time. Soon after, my family left for America, so I never saw Finn again which was good, since we didn’t part on happy terms. But some strange things have been happening lately. I have a feeling that Finn has returned to my life.”

“He’s here?” Cherry whispered.

Sean’s eyes grew large as he nodded, then glanced around the crackling fire at his attentive audience. “I have proof.” He reached behind him and pulled out a green felt pointy hat. “See, this is the same hat Finn wore all those years ago.”

“Where’d you get that, Grandpa?” Gracie asked.

“I found it in the vineyard. Finn is here.”

Everyone gasped.

Evan stood at the patio door and watched as the girls listened to his father. No one could tell a story like Sean Rafferty. Seeing Gracie’s happy face, he was glad that his dad was there to help out. His gaze settled on Jenny. This night for Gracie wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t agreed to give up her weekend.

The only problem was that it was getting harder and harder to keep away from her. He still couldn’t believe what had nearly happened upstairs. He’d almost kissed her again. He wanted it more than his next breath.

Suddenly Matt came out of the shadows, sat on the bench next to Jenny and scooted closer to her. He didn’t seem to have any trouble talking with her, flirting with her.

And unless Evan spoke up, he didn’t have any right to tell his brother to stay away.

Was he ready to do that?

CHAPTER SEVEN

AWEEK had passed since the sleepover and Jenny had tried to stay focused on other things besides the man who’d been keeping her up nights. Not only Evan had been disturbing her sleep, but worry over his daughter’s feelings had, as well.

Classes had been going well for everyone except Gracie. She struggled with the intricate work needed to complete her mother’s quilt. Jenny herself even needed Allison’s help. The pattern was far too complicated for an eight year old, and the child’s frustration was growing.

She’d realized she had to convince the girl to go in another direction. That was when she’d asked for advice from Allison and her new friend, school principal Lily Perry.

The three of them had discussed her concerns and had come up with something that might convince Gracie to put her mother’s quilt aside for another few years and work on something simpler.

It was nearly the end of the day’s class when Jenny took Gracie aside. They walked to the round table in the corner of the room that had quickly become a popular spot with the regulars. Only on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons was the area vacant.

Jenny motioned to a chair and Gracie took it. “Am I in trouble?” she asked.

“Of course not.” Jenny looked at Allison who’d followed them over. “We just have an idea we want to talk to you about.”

The child still looked worried as Jenny took a seat next to her. “I’m concerned about you, Gracie. I think the quilt you’re working on is harder than you thought it would be, huh?”

The girl looked sad. “It’s not too bad.”

Jenny exchanged a glance with Allison. “But still, it’s pretty hard to sew for someone your age.”

“Maybe.”

Jenny was relieved. “Allison and I came up with an idea that might help. We want you to listen to it first, before you decide if it’s good or bad.”

“Okay.”

“We were wondering if you’d consider putting your quilt aside for a few years until you’re older and a more experienced quilter.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “But I promised Mommy.”

“We know you did, sweetie,” Jenny said soothingly. “But, as I said before, I don’t think your mother expected you to finish it right away. Since she chose the DoubleWedding-Ring pattern, don’t you think she planned to have it ready for when you got married?” Jenny smiled. “Are you getting married anytime soon?”

Gracie actually smiled too. “No!”

“Then you have plenty of time to get it done.”

“I guess so,” she hesitated. “But will you still help me?”

Jenny wasn’t sure how to answer her. She’d always planned to go back to San Antonio to teach. “I’ll promise you this, Gracie, I’ll do my best.”

The girl wasn’t excited by her answer. “You said you’d help me finish it.”

“And if possible, I will. Besides, if you keep practicing, just think how good you’ll get and you can do it yourself.”

The child looked sad. “Does this mean I can’t be in the class any more?”

“Oh, no. We want you to stay in the class. Would you be willing to work on another project, something simpler?”

Gracie nodded eagerly.

“Good. We’ve come up with an idea and all you girls can work together. Even Mrs. Perry is going to participate in this project.” Jenny stood. “Come on, I’ll announce to everyone what’s going to happen.”

Gracie hurried back to her seat as Jenny turned to Allison. “She took it better than I thought.”

“She seemed relieved.”

But Jenny wasn’t sure she was out of the woods yet. Hadn’t she been the one who had fought to get Gracie into class, assuring Evan she could handle it?

Why should she care what he thought? The man had run hot and cold, kissing her, making her want more. But she hadn’t seen or heard from him since. Apparently he’d wanted to put some distance between them.

She could deal with rejection. If only he would stay away, stop making her long for more, making her want what she couldn’t have—a man who would never be hers.

Jenny walked back to the group. “Girls, it’s about quitting time and I’d like to talk to you all.”

They stopped and looked at her.

“First of all, I want to tell you how pleased I am with the work you’ve all accomplished in just a few short weeks.” She looked around. “Is everyone having fun?”

The group cheered and Jenny’s chest swelled. She glanced at Lily. “Well, if you like what you’re doing, we’d like to go a step further. When the class began, we talked about everyone making their own quilt, but that’s a big project, and it can take a long time, especially with school-work and chores at home. How about we each work on a section of blocks, then everyone combines them to make one quilt?” She rushed on to say, “It’ll still be about your family, but we’ll put everyone’s together.”

There was silence.

She continued, “Why not make a quilt that tells a story about the town, about past generations? You are the future of Kerry Springs, but we should know where we came from, too. I know a lot of you are already using fabric from your relatives. That’s perfect. Now with the assistance of mothers and the helpers, you can embroider those people’s names and dates on the blocks so we’ll know who they are.” Jenny moved aside so Lily could join her. “And now Mrs. Perry is going to tell you more about this project.”

“Hello, girls.”

“Hello, Mrs. Perry,” they said in unison.

“I’m also impressed with the work you’re doing here. And I’m taking a personal interest in this project, since both my daughter and my mother are working on it, too.

“When I first heard of Jenny’s idea, I thought, what a great idea, to preserve our town’s history in a quilt. And then I thought, as well as a quilt, how about an essay contest? We have Founders’ Day coming up in July. So what better way to celebrate it than to write about the families that make our town great?”

Jenny watched as the girls took in the idea.

“This isn’t a school requirement. It’s strictly for this class and for your own curiosity. But the girls who turn in stories will have them published in the town paper. Even better, Jenny and Allison will display the finished quilt in the shop window so everyone in town will see your hard work.” Lily smiled. “How do you feel about that?”

The girls cheered. “We should do it,” Cherry said. It was seconded by girl after girl.

“Okay, that gives us three months to finish. So you’ll keep working in class, but you’ll need to interview your parents and grandparents, learn their stories. Good luck to all of you.”

The room buzzed with excitement as the girls put away their sewing while discussing what they were going to do. Jenny glanced toward the back of the room and saw Evan.

Now it was her job to get him to go along with the sudden change of plans.

Evan watched as Jenny moved around the room talking to each student. It was obvious the girls adored her. She had an ease around kids, around everyone.

Not him. Outside of family, he’d always had trouble talking to people. He’d rather be alone than in a group. Megan hadn’t been eager to bring him out. She’d had her own social groups; besides quilting, there was her work at the church. Yet now, he could see his daughter needed more.

Although he’d once loved the solitude of working the vineyard, he’d found of late he was lonely. More so when he thought about Jenny Collins. Whenever he got close to her, he could feel the pull. Then there was the memory of the sweetest kiss and the stirring in his body that told him he wanted more, needed more as well.

His daughter came running toward him. “Daddy, guess what?”

“What?”

“We’re all going to make a big quilt together and have a writing contest. I need to get some old clothes from Grandpa for my blocks ‘cause I’m gonna write about him being from Ireland, and you and Uncle Matt, too.”

He looked at Jenny, who had arrived next to his daughter. “So you’re working on a new project already?”

“We’re taking a little detour,” Jenny answered.

Allison and Cherry walked up. “How about us girls go for some ice cream, Gracie? Then your dad and Jenny can talk.”

“Can I go, Daddy?”

Evan dug into his pocket for a few dollars and handed them to her. “Sure, but only get one scoop and don’t take too long.”

He watched as they left the shop, then turned back to Jenny. “What’s going on?”

“First of all, I was planning to tell to you about it when you got here.”

“Well, I’m here.” He glanced at Millie, who was with a customer. Both ladies were watching them with interest. “Is there somewhere private we can talk?” he asked.

“I can’t leave Millie.”

“I’ll be fine,” the saleswoman assured her. “You two go talk.” She smiled at Evan. “Good to see you again, Evan. Say hello to your father for me.”

He nodded. “I’ll do that.” He followed Jenny toward the back of the shop. She went to the office, then bypassed it. “The bookkeeper is working in there.”

Evan was surprised when Jenny opened another door that led to a staircase and started up. He followed her, and they ended up in her apartment.

He looked around, and then walked to the narrow window. “You can see Main Street.”

“Yeah, the view sold me on the place.”

He turned his attention to her. She looked tempting in fitted jeans and a tapered green blouse. Her sunny hair hung around her face and thin bangs brushed her forehead, highlighting her big brown eyes. She didn’t wear much makeup, giving her a fresh-scrubbed look. His gaze went to her full mouth and her perfect lips.

He shook away the direction of his thoughts. “Okay, what’s this change of plans?”

She blew out a breath. “You were right.”

He didn’t expect her to say that. “About what?”

“Gracie is too young to handle the complicated quilt pattern.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Isn’t that what I tried to tell you from the beginning?”

“You did,” she conceded. “But what you didn’t realize about your daughter was she needed some independence. And she had to attempt to do the quilt before anyone could convince her otherwise. It seems stubbornness runs in your family.”

“You think I’m stubborn? You’re the one who wouldn’t let go of this.”

“But it helped. Can’t you see the difference in her?”

He nodded. “All right. She has been happier these last few weeks. But she has to be disappointed that she can’t finish the quilt.”

Jenny shook her head. “Oh, she’ll finish it, but she’s willing to wait.” She smiled. “And she got the one thing she truly wanted.”

“What was that?”

“Your attention.”

“She’s always had my attention,” he said.

“On your terms. The only outlet she had was school.”

“We live in the country.”

“But your daughter is growing up, she needs to socialize. And this class has helped her.”

Had he been that selfish? “Don’t forget I let her have a sleepover. But I’ll always want to protect her no matter how old she gets.”

“Of course, and she’ll always need that from you, along with your love.”

“She’s always had that, from the day she was born.” Evan felt the familiar sadness. “I never want her to ever doubt that.” He walked away then turned back to Jenny. “There were days when that little girl was the only reason I got out of bed. She kept me going.”

Jenny nodded, trying not to reach out and offer comfort to this man. She was already too involved. “And you helped your daughter get through losing her mother. She wants to help you, too. She knows how sad you’ve been.”

His blue eyes met hers. “You seem to know a lot about her.”

Jenny shrugged. “I was a stranger when she first talked to me. That made it easier for her.”

“You are easy to talk to. Thank you for spending time with Gracie, especially for last weekend’s sleepover.”

That was her, the person everyone wanted to share things with, to be friends with. Last weekend, when Evan had nearly kissed her again, she’d known it was a bad idea. She’d already gotten a taste of his loving family, something she’d always longed for, giving her ideas of having a piece of it.

“That might have created more problems.” She held his gaze as it did crazy things to her stomach, but she continued. “It changes things now, Rafferty, we might never be able to go back. You aren’t ready.”

“For what? To kiss you again? Hell, yes, I’m ready.” He was more than ready for her. He moved closer, stopping directly in front of her. He caught her scent. It was intoxicating. Feelings for her whirled in his head. “If you’re honest, Jenny, you’d admit you want it too.”

“That doesn’t make it the right thing to do.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He leaned toward her. “All my energy needs to go into keeping the ranch afloat and being a father to my daughter.” He released a breath. “But you’re the one I’ve been thinking about in the middle of the night. You’re the one I want to hold in my arms, want to kiss—”

She looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, Rafferty, why are you doing this to me? We’re headed in different directions. Starting anything would be foolish.”

Hell, he didn’t want to get involved, but it had already happened. “Yeah, you’re right about that. It would be the craziest thing ever.”

“For once we agree.” Her voice was breathy. “We’ve only shared a kiss. No harm done.”

Damn. There’d been plenty of damage. To his sleep, to his peace of mind. Lately, to his sanity.

There was a knock on the door at the bottom of the stairs and Millie called up to her. “Jenny, there’s a phone call for you.”

“Can you take a name and a message?”

“He says it’s important, a Todd Newsome.”

Evan watched the blood drain from Jenny’s face. “I’ve got to go.”

He stopped her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, pulling away, then she went down the steps.

He followed, but she wasn’t going to tell him anything. So, she had a past.

She looked back at him. “It would be better if you concentrate on your daughter, Evan. I’ll be leaving in a few months. I’ll be going back to my job. This has to be the end of it.”

Before he could say anything, she took off down the stairs. By the time he reached her, she’d taken the cordless phone from Millie and gone to a quiet corner. Her rejection should drive him away, but he wasn’t ready to give up; something wouldn’t let him let go of her.

Jenny had prayed she’d never hear from Todd ever again. Her stepbrother had caused her enough trouble to last a lifetime. But over the years he kept showing up like a bad penny.

She punched in the hold button. “What do you want, Todd?”

“Is that any way to greet your big brother, sis?”

“You’re not my brother. And I thought you were in jail.”

“I got out early for good behavior.”

“Fine. Have a good life and stop bothering me.”

“Whoa, sis. It wouldn’t be a good idea to hang up on me. What would Mom say?”

Jenny stiffened. Her mother had been Todd’s only supporter after his last drug offence.

“Go call her and ask.” She turned around and saw that Evan was still there. “Look, Todd, I need to go back to work.”

“I’d like to do the same, but I don’t have a job. Maybe you can set me up in a job with your fancy friends?”

How did he know? Her mother. She’d probably mentioned her job with the Casalis in letters. “I wouldn’t ask any of my friends to hire you. You’re unreliable. Shouldn’t your parole officer help you find something?”

“I don’t particularly want to be a dishwasher or a janitor.”

“Why not? It’s honest work.”

“I think you can do better for me.”

“No. I told you years ago, I want you to leave me alone.” She felt the familiar panic as she recalled high school and Todd and his creepy friends. That had been the main reason she’d told the police on him. It had gotten him his stay in juvenile hall.

“That’s too bad, sis,” he told her in a voice that made her shiver. “You owe me, and you’re my best bet these days. What’s the big deal about helping out a family member?”

“You’re not my family. So stay away from me, Todd. I won’t help you.” Her hands were shaking as she ended the call. No, she wouldn’t let him get to her again. The three Newsome brothers had been trouble since day one, but Todd was the worst. She hadn’t been surprised that he’d gone to prison.

She turned around and saw Evan watching her. She put on a smile as he walked to her.

“Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” she said just as the bell over the shop door chimed and Gracie and Cherry returned, followed by Allison.

“Daddy.” Gracie ran to her father. “We need to go home because I have to find some material for the class.”

“You have a week before the next class.”

The girls didn’t like to wait for anything.

“But all the other girls have their moms to help them pick out their material. And grandpa’s fixing spaghetti and he said we need to bring Jenny and some bread home. Please, Daddy.”

He turned to Jenny. “Looks as if we’re outnumbered. Would you like to come to dinner at the Rafferty house?”

It wasn’t a good idea. She looked at Gracie and began to lose her resolve. The little girl would be disappointed if she didn’t go. “Sure, I’d love to.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

AN hour later Jenny was seated beside Evan in his truck and on the way to the Rafferty home. How had she got herself into this? Okay, she was a coward. She wanted to be away from any more calls from Todd. No more abuse from her evil stepbrother.

Those days were over.

Thanks to her mother she now had to deal with him again. No doubt Marsha thought Todd had turned over a new leaf, but Jenny doubted he could do anything good, ever.

Time served or not, Todd Newsome was a convicted felon. The last thing she wanted him to do was cause any trouble for her or her friends. She only hoped she’d convinced Todd that she didn’t want any more to do with him. Good luck with that. He hadn’t cared about her wishes, ever. She couldn’t have been happier when he was sent away.

“Jenny,” Gracie called.

She turned to the girl in the back seat. “What, sweetie?”

“All the other girls think I’m lucky because I get to take you to my house.”

She was touched. “Well, you need help with the project, too. And remember, you have to sew new blocks together.”

Gracie nodded. “Daddy, can I have one of your shirts? The one Mommy liked.”

Evan frowned. Meg had liked one of his shirts? She’d never said anything to him. “Sure. You’ll have to remind me which one that is.”

He stole a sideways glance at Jenny, seeing her curious look.

“It’s the one you wore when we all went to church on Easter that last time,” his daughter said. “I want to use something that Mommy liked.”

“Okay, we’ll find it then,” he said hearing the sadness in his child’s voice.

He glanced at Jenny. “Once an altar boy, but I’m not much on church these days.”

“Grandpa Sean is Catholic and Mommy and me are Lutherans,” the tiny voice came from the back. “What are you, Jenny?”

She smiled. “Oh, I’d say I’m a mixture of a little Catholic with some Presbyterian thrown in. All religions work if you pray.”

“At my church they say you have to repent if you do bad things. What does repent mean?”

Gracie was too young to hear those kinds of words. “It means to make up for what you did wrong,” Evan said. “If you were bad, you should say you’re sorry, and then take your punishment.”

“Oh. What if that person was really, really mean to me? Do I still have to say I’m sorry?”

Evan stepped in. “If you said something bad to that person, you should.”

“But Aaron Jacobs is mean to everybody. He made Sara Hartley cry.”

Evan didn’t like to hear of someone bullying his child. “Did you tell the teacher?”

He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw her nod.

“But he won’t stop being mean to us girls.”

“Then I need to have a talk with his parents.”

“You will?”

He drove under the ranch archway. “Of course, Gracie. You should have told me sooner.”

He pulled up in front of the house. He climbed out and opened the back door as his daughter unfastened her seat-belt and climbed down. Evan squatted down to her level. “Gracie, you can always come to me if you have trouble with anything. I’ll always be there for you.”

She glanced away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mommy always said not to bother you if you’re busy ‘cause you have a lot on your mind.”

He worked to keep his anger under control. “Remember this, Gracie Anne Rafferty. I’m never too busy for you.”

A bright smile appeared on her face. “Okay, Daddy.”

“Now, go take the bread to Grandpa.”

His daughter took the long sticks of sourdough and headed up the steps. Sadness washed over him. Had he been that distant from his own family? Or had Meg deliberately kept him from having a relationship with his daughter? He knew they hadn’t had the best marriage, but why had she prevented him from being Gracie’s father? If she had, he’d let her.