Cowgirls Don't Cry(78)

Jessie was hungry but she waited for Brandt. She did mundane things, started a load of clothes, scoured the highchair tray, let Lexie outside. Then let Lexie back inside, trying to keep Landon from opening the door and following the dog.

Thinking she had a minute to rest, Jessie sat on the couch. Right away Landon scrambled beside her, dragging his new fleece blanket from Grandma Joan and his favorite book about farm animals.

“You want me to read to you?”


Landon blinked at her.

She held up the book. “If you want me to read this, Landon, say yes.”


He nodded.

She laughed. “No way, lil’ buckaroo. You’re not getting away with that nonverbal communication stuff so young. Say yes.”


His fingers worried the fringe on the blanket and stared at her pitifully, but he didn’t utter a peep.

“Okay. Fine. If you don’t wanna read the book…” Jessie set the book on the coffee table. She hated to play hardball, but Landon needed to work on his verbal skills, rather than grunting, pointing and shrieking to get what he wanted.

He yelled, “No!” and scooted off the couch, grabbing the book and shoving it at Jessie.

“We’ve been working on this for a while, Landon. Do you want me to read the book? Then say yes.”


She said “Yes” as she nodded her head.

Landon nodded and said, “Yef.”


Jessie clapped. “Yes! Yay Landon! See? You can talk. You just need someone to force you to do it.”


She opened the book. Before she read a single word, Landon crawled into her lap, blanket under one arm as he cuddled against her.

Her heart turned over. Landon’s unexpected sweetness and neediness had the power to undo her from her just another daycare kid mindset. So it seemed natural to brush her lips across the top of his dark head.

She read, “Farmer George has one cow.” She stopped. “Heh, he’s not much of a rancher is he, with only one cow?”


“No.”


She laughed and continued reading. “But Farmer George has lost his cow. Can you help him find it?”


She pointed on the page to a cow hiding in the bushes. “Remember what a cow says? Mmmoooo.” She drew out the word until it was about ten seconds long.

Landon giggled.

“Now Landon—” she poked his chest when she said his name, “—say mmmoooo.”


“Mmmoooo.”


Jessie clapped again. “Good job! You are gonna know all your barnyard noises in no time flat.”


Usually Landon lost interest before they reached the end of a book, but tonight he stuck it out, although he was pretty squirmy at the end. When she closed the cover, Landon launched himself off the couch and ran straight to Brandt.

How long had he been lurking in the shadows? And why was she thinking it was a damn crying shame that he’d gotten dressed?

“Up!” Landon demanded.

But Brandt wasn’t looking at Landon. He was looking at her with the softest expression. He broke eye contact when Landon bumped into his leg with another demanding, “Up!” and lifted the boy. “So I missed story time? Bummer.”


Landon said, “Mmmoooo.”


Brandt grinned. “That’ll come in handy when you’re ridin’ the range with us in a few years, trust me.”


Jessie ignored Brandt’s confident in a few years remark and asked, “Is your headache better?”


“Completely gone. Did you eat?”