Life After Wife (Three Magic Words Trilogy, #3)(57)

“You are both…” Sophie couldn’t think of anything vile enough.

“Pigs from…” Kate started one of their favorite lines from Steel Magnolias.

“Hades,” Fancy hurried and finished the line without using bad language.

“Yes, you are,” Sophie said. “And for being so demanding and such good friends at the same time, next Saturday is when we’re all going to Abilene to a trailer place to find my new home. I’m tired of living in a house where I wake up every morning to men’s voices in my kitchen.”

Kate handed her a cookie. “He’s not your life after wife?”

“Too soon to tell, and I need my own space.”

“If I wasn’t married, I wouldn’t mind waking up to three sexy cowboys in my kitchen every day. Those brothers of his would make a holy woman’s panty hose start falling down,” Kate giggled.

“Yeah, if Elijah ain’t the one, then maybe Hayden or Tanner is.” Fancy laughed with Kate.

Sophie looked at both of them like they’d developed a third eye right in the middle of their foreheads. “You are both certifiably goofy.”

That set them off into more giggles.

Fancy wiped her eyes with a dish towel and said, “Sounds like true love to me. How about you, Kate?”

“Speaking from my experience, I’d say it’s about time to put the two of you out on a Louisiana swamp island like Granny did me and Hart,” Kate said.

“No, thank you,” Sophie declared.

“You’d be amazed at how much thinkin’ you can do when you are fishin’,” Kate said.

“Really? That’s where we are going today when we leave here. He’s got a boat lined up over at the lake, and the fishin’ gear is in back of the truck. I’ve got a book in my tote bag in case I get bored,” Sophie told her.

“Bored! Honey, if you get bored, you come on home and stake out a claim on one of them other Jones boys or else the youth minister. I figured out a lot with a fishin’ pole in my hands when me and Hart were trying to get over the speed bumps of life,” Kate said.

Sophie looked at Fancy. “You and Theron been fishin’?”

She shook her head. “No, we got stuck in a cabin back in the boondocks during an ice storm, remember?”

It was Sophie’s turn to nod. She wasn’t sure that fishing or spending time in an iced-in cabin would convince her that Elijah Jones was the man for her, or that he was able to offer her a life after wife. There were moments when she was slyly watching him that dark shadows passed over his face and his eyes went dull. Times like those, she wondered if he was reliving bad experiences from the war. Maybe it wasn’t that he wouldn’t offer her what she needed to say those two words again, but that he was afraid to let anyone into his heart. In that case, she sure wished he’d keep his kisses to himself.

“Did you hear me?” Fancy touched her on the leg.

“I’m sorry, I was woolgathering. What did you say?”

“I said that your aunt Maud knew exactly what she was doing when she left the ranch to both of you. She was a wise old girl,” Fancy said.

A knock on the back door caused them all to look that way. Elijah was standing on the other side of the old-fashioned screen door with a big grin on his face. “You about ready to go, Sophie? The wind has died down, and it’s a perfect day for catfish to bite.”

“I’ll see you girls next Saturday.” Sophie handed the baby off to Kate who already had her arms out. “Meet me at the ranch at ten o’clock. Fancy, bring the kids. We’ll put their car seats over in my truck. Plenty of room.”

“Oh, no!” Fancy said. “I’m keeping the nanny all day and having a day out with just y’all. That’s what Tina has taken to calling the housekeeper.”



Elijah couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face if it had meant doing it or eating dirt. Sophie looked so darned cute sitting in that rocking chair with that baby in her arms. He could visualize her with a child of her own, maybe with his blue eyes and her red hair, rocking him to sleep at night.

Him! His mother’s voice crawled inside his head. What makes you think you’re going to have sons like your father did? You might wind up with a house full of girl children, and they’ll sure enough make you pay for your raising, son.

The smile disappeared in an instant. Girls! He’d never thought of girl babies. Actually, he’d never thought of children until that very moment. But he liked the idea, and there was still time for him to experience fatherhood…if he didn’t drag his feet too long.





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


They were on their way to the lake when Elijah’s phone started playing “Good Directions.” He dug it out of his shirt pocket, flipped it open, and answered. He listened for a few seconds, tossed the phone on the dash, whipped a U-turn right in the middle of the road, and stomped the gas pedal.

“Place to the north of us has a grass fire. Tanner is plowing a firebreak right up next to the road as a precaution, and Hayden is herding cattle to the south. It’s not huge yet, since the wind isn’t blowing like last time, but we’d better get on back,” he explained.

Sophie held onto the armrest, disappointment filling her heart and soul. After what Kate said, she’d looked forward to a fishing trip. Now it looked as if her Sunday afternoon would be spent fighting fire again.