Kiss Me (Fool's Gold #17)(31)

“They’re still family,” Tommy said.

Lucy glared at her brother. He had a really stupid look on his face, like he was thinking about them being part of a family.

“Forget it,” she said. “We’re never going to find anyone who wants to adopt us.”

“We might.”

“No.”

She hated saying it, hated how it made her feel, but she knew one of them had to see the truth. Wanting and wishing were scary enough, but believing...that was the worst. Believing made her insides hurt.

She blinked really fast so Tommy couldn’t tell that she suddenly wanted to cry.

“Dinner was good,” she said to distract him. “Maybe we’ll go the whole week without being sent to bed hungry.”

“You think?”

“Maybe.”

Tommy pulled up his covers. “What did you think of C.J. and Thad?”

“She hates us.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“She looks at us the same way Mrs. Fortier does. Like we did something bad when we didn’t.”

“But Thad—”

“No.” She turned away from her brother. “It doesn’t matter. So what if he’s nice and likes us? Boys might be more special than girls, but in families, you know who decides. She does. Not him. And she doesn’t like us at all.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

PHOEBE SET HER Stetson on her head, then turned to gaze at herself in the mirror.

Jeans, boots, hat. All she needed was a six-shooter, and she could pass for Jesse James...well, almost.

A week ago if someone had told her she would be heading out on a real, live cattle drive she would have laughed in disbelief. But now that she was actually here, she could barely keep from dancing from foot to foot. So far everything about the ranch was too cool for words—and that was excluding the Zane factor.

She collected the saddlebags and small duffel that she’d packed the night before and walked out of the bedroom. Maya had gone downstairs a few minutes before, grousing about the limited amount of gear she was allowed to bring.

Phoebe would have liked a few more of her possessions along as well, but she could manage without for a few days. She would just have to—

She stepped out into the clear morning and instantly came to a stop. Everyone had collected in front of the house. Eddie and Gladys were over by the corral, taking video of the cowboys at work. The men seemed to be enjoying the attention, even showing off a little. C.J., Thad and the kids were clustered together but not talking. Maya smiled up at a handsome, older cowboy, but none of that mattered to Phoebe.

Without warning, without knowing why, what it meant or how to stop it if she wanted to, she found her gaze settling right on Zane. As if she’d known where he would be at that exact instant. As if he had some magical power to draw her attention only to him. As if he were magnetic north to her female compass.

She paused, willing him to look up and see her, but he remained in an intense conversation with one of the cowboys. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

Eddie and Gladys called out to one of the cowboys who was riding his horse out of the corral. He grinned at whatever they said and encouraged his horse to rear up on its hind legs. The two old women applauded.

Chase stood next to Maya. They looked good together, Phoebe thought. Both tall, both attractive. His dark good looks contrasted with her fair skin and blond hair. Chase said something Phoebe couldn’t hear, and Maya laughed. She touched his arm in a gesture that was both affectionate and comfortable. As if they’d always been family.

An uncomfortable twinge caught Phoebe by surprise. It wasn’t that she didn’t want her friend to have family, it was just that Phoebe couldn’t help wanting the same thing for herself. She turned to see if Zane had noticed the exchange and was stunned by the starkness of his unguarded expression. For a single beat of time, she saw into his very soul. The loneliness there, the need to fit in and be a part of something more than himself blindsided her. He understood, she told herself in amazement. He wanted it, too. She thought about what he’d endured with his family and wasn’t surprised.

But then he blinked, and the emotions disappeared as if they had never been.

Had she imagined it all? Had she projected her own wants and desires onto him because she found him sexually intoxicating, and she wanted them to have something significant in common?

“It’s way too early to be thinking such deep thoughts,” she murmured to herself.

The sound of hoofbeats caught her attention. She turned and saw two mules pulling a large covered wagon. Phoebe wanted to rub her eyes to make sure she hadn’t imagined the sight, but there they were. Like something out of the History channel. A real, honest-to-goodness covered wagon and mules.

The old man driving the contraption fit the part perfectly. He wore a faded red shirt and ratty jeans. An old battered cowboy hat had been pulled low over his grizzled features. One of his cheeks stuck out way more than the other. Phoebe’s feelings of romance about the Old West quickly turned into a horrified gag when he turned and spit tobacco on the ground.

“Here comes another cowboy,” Gladys said.

“I don’t want him. He’s old,” Eddie replied. “You can have that one.”

“I don’t want him!”

Hiding a smile, Phoebe quickly turned her attention to the mules, who were so darned cute with their perky ears. She noticed two more being pulled behind the wagon. This pair was laden with several duffels and cloth sacks tied together. With their big eyes and sweet faces, they looked charming.