One-handed, she put on a pot of coffee to brew and got out mugs, cream and sugar.
She poured a cup of coffee for Cole and brought it to him.
“You look numb,” she said.
Cole stared at her.
Frowning, she returned to the kitchen to pour a mug for herself.
The front doorbell tinkled. Company. Honey ran down the stairs to let in Rachel, Beth and Tori.
Thank God. The cavalry had arrived.
Four-year-old Tori threw herself against Honey’s legs. “Mommy said you gots kids here. Who’s that girl you’re holding? Can I meet her?”
“You sure can.” This, Tori’s boundless excitement, was exactly what these two waifs needed, but Madeline burrowed into Honey’s hair. “You can meet her upstairs.”
In the living room, Tori ran to the sofa and stared at Evan. “I’m Tori. I live in Rodeo. Who are you?”
“I’m Evan. That’s my sister, Madeline.”
“I like your names.” She pointed to the sofa. “Can I sit here?”
From behind the curtain of Honey’s hair, Madeline studied Tori, not emitting a sound.
Tori wasn’t bossy by nature, but she was friendly and exuberant. As far as Honey could tell, she had decided to take control.
“You look nice,” she said to Madeline. “Sit here.” She curled up beside Evan and patted the sofa beside herself.
Madeline merely stared.
“We be friends,” Tori said. “I brought games. We can play.”
The tiniest of smiles hovered on Evan’s lips. Madeline rested her head on Honey’s shoulder and stayed where she was.
Tori frowned, not used to resistance.
Honey frowned, too. If Tori couldn’t break through Madeline’s shell, who could?
Copyright © 2018 by Mary Sullivan
ISBN-13: 9781488082269
Her Cowboy Reunion
Copyright © 2018 by Debbi Quattrone
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
Her Cowboy Reunion Page 21
