Cowgirls Don't Cry(79)

“Not yet. I was waiting for you.” Damn. Did that sound…needy?

Why are you so worried about Brandt’s reaction? He’s proven time and time again he’s not like Luke.

“Thank you for waitin’, Jess. I’ve eaten enough meals alone to last a lifetime.”


There was proof of Brandt’s openness. His willingness to just say what he felt. Jessie met his gaze again. “Me too. I’ll dish up the plates.”


Brandt strapped Landon in his high chair and poured him a sippy cup of milk. Then he set six animal crackers on the tray.

They waited to see how he’d react. Sometimes Landon calmly gummed his cookies and sipped milk.

Other times he’d use the heavy bottom weight of the cup to smash the cookies into dust. If he was feeling ornery, or if he was tired, he’d slide his hand on the tray until he knocked every cookie to the floor. Then he’d usually whip the sippy cup too, and scream “No!” at the top of his lungs, arching his back, trying to throw himself out of the high chair.

Tonight Landon used both hands to drink and ignored the cookies.

Brandt tucked into his food. About five or six bites in, Jessie noticed he’d picked out all the green peppers and piled them off to the side. Feeling her curious gaze, he looked up. “What? Am I eatin’ like a pig or something?”


“No, but you should’ve told me you didn’t like green peppers.” She realized she’d put green peppers in a lot of dishes. “I could’ve left them out of everything.”


His neck flushed. “It’s no big deal to eat around them. Especially when everything you fix is so good.”


“Charmer. Anything else you don’t like, foodwise, as long as we’re on the subject?”


“Turnips, parsnips, radishes, beets, prunes, collard greens, Dijon mustard, strawberry ice cream. I could take or leave coconut. Same for cauliflower.”


Jessie stared at him. “So a fall soup with root vegetables isn’t a good idea?”


He smiled. “Nope. But if you made it I’d probably eat it anyway.”


“Because you don’t want to hurt my feelings?”


“No. Because any kind of food just seems to taste better when I’m eatin’ it with you.”


Sometimes the man was just so damn sweet.

Before she could formulate a decent response, Landon shrieked, “Goggie!”


Jessie attributed Lexie warming to Landon because the kid was a messy eater. The dog would park herself beside the high chair and clean up the floor as soon as Landon was done.

So why was she hearing crunch crunch crunch now?

Landon peered over the side of the tray at the dog and giggled. Then he grabbed another animal cracker and tossed it at Lexie.

Crunch crunch crunch and another giggle.

Brandt lifted his brows. “That’s new.”


“Uh-huh. Looks like Lexie will be elsewhere during meals because Landon will give goggie all his food in hopes she’ll be his BFF.”


“At least he hasn’t figured out how to get the lid off his cup yet.”


She jabbed her fork at him. “And you, Brandt McKay, have just jinxed us.”


Landon’s shrieks escalated when he ran out of cookies. Brandt ate the last bite on his plate and stood.

“Okay, partner. You and me got a date with bubbles.”


“No!”


“Yes.” He unclipped the tray and set it on the counter.