The Trouble with Texas Cowboys (Burnt Boot, Texas #2)(64)

Gladys set three cups at the right places and pulled out a chair. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. I bet folks do buy more when the store smells like food. Bring on the waffles, Sawyer. You reckon you could make up another batch, so I could take some to Polly?”

“Got plenty of batter already made up,” Sawyer said. “Just before you leave, we’ll get them ready for her.”

*

The kittens entertained Sawyer that morning as he waited for Jill to get dressed for church. He could hear her mumbling about something through closed doors, but he couldn’t understand a word she said. When his phone rang, the kittens shot under the sofa and peeked out cautiously.

“Good mornin’, Mama,” he said when he’d looked at the Caller ID.

“Are you all settled in and ready for church this morning?” she asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“Then why haven’t you called?”

He sat up straighter. “Been busy gettin’ settled in.”

“Oh, is that the story? Well, Finn’s mama has called me several times, so don’t give me that tall tale. I don’t care if you are thirty or forty or ninety. As long as I’m alive, I should not have to hear about you through relatives. And now that I’ve fussed at you, tell me about Jill Cleary. Callie says she’s quite a woman and that she likes her. I trust Callie’s judgment.”

“Jill is Gladys’s great-niece,” he started.

His mother cut him off immediately. “I know who she is. I know what she looks like. I want to know what you think of her, and if this is going to be a…” She paused.

“They call it a relationship, Mama.” He laughed.

“I couldn’t think of the word. Is it?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t gone on a date. We hardly have time for anything but working from daylight to midnight.”

“That’s a crazy job you’ve taken on, Son.”

He shut his eyes and could visualize her sitting in her rocker, waiting for the time to go to church. Her black hair had a few gray streaks nowadays, and her round face was showing signs of raising four kids, but the way his father looked at her, well, he wanted that kind of relationship when he did find someone to trust his heart with forever.

“But the crazy thing, Mama, is I like it. Of course, I like ranchin’ best, but I like all of it,” he said.

“Here’s your father. You call me more often, or I’ll show up on your doorstep long before spring,” she said.

“Maybe I won’t call then,” he teased.

“Sawyer O’Donnell! It’s just that I miss you, Son. I know you are old enough to make your own decisions, but a mother is allowed to miss her son.”

“Love you, Mama. Tell Daddy I’ll talk to him this week.”

Jill’s bedroom door opened, and she flat-out took his breath away. Her hair was twisted up, showing off that long, slender neck he liked to bury his face in. She wore a denim skirt slit up the side and pointed-toed black boots with red stitching that matched the sweater that hugged her curves.

“Wow. Just plain old simple wow,” he said.

“Thank you.” She smiled and handed him a long denim duster with fancy red shiny stones scattered across the collar.

“You should model for Western-wear catalogs,” he said as he helped her into the coat.

“I’m way too short to be a model, but thank you again. Did Aunt Gladys call? I heard you talking to someone other than the cats.”

“It was my mama. She misses me,” he said.

“Do you miss her?”

“Sure, I do, and if you are askin’ if I’m a mama’s boy, the answer is probably yes.” He grinned. “Not so much that I have to talk to her every day, but…”

Jill touched him on the shoulder. “Never trust a man who doesn’t love his mama. My granny told me that.”

“Smart granny.” He slipped his arms into his Western-cut sports jacket. “Finn and Callie have been talkin’ about us to my folks.”

*

Seating was snug in church that morning. While the Brennans’ side and the Gallaghers’ side had several empty spaces on their pews, the center section was packed completely full.

With Sawyer’s and Jill’s sides plastered together all the way from shoulder to knees, Sawyer had a choice: scrunch up his shoulders or drape his arm over the back of the pew. He chose the latter to make a little more room. Quarters so close meant that all he had to do was tip his head slightly to see any part of her, and he liked that very much.

First he studied her profile. Pert little nose, big green eyes with lots of eyelashes, lips made for kissing, and a neck just right to nuzzle. A hint of thigh showing from the slit down to the top of her boots reminded him of the power in those legs the night before, when they were wrapped around his body. A stirring behind his zipper said he’d best be paying attention to the song they were singing from the hymnal they shared, or it was going to be a long, painful church service.

Finn turned slightly in the pew in front of him and whispered, “Y’all should come to Salt Draw for dinner.”

Sawyer’s head bobbed once. “I’d love to. I’ll ask Jill soon as church is over.”

“Verdie is going to Polly’s right after church, but she left a roast in the oven, and we’d love to have you.”