The Cowboy's Secret Son. Trish Milburn

Grace nodded. “Can’t seem to get enough of it, I guess.” She supposed she was still trying to fill her life with beautiful things after so many years of being forbidden them.

       Merline handed Grace the key and a sheet of paper. “You’re in cabin twelve. Just take the drive behind the office.”

       “I remember.”

       Merline smiled, looking as if dozens of questions were swirling unspoken inside her. Could she possibly have put things together that quickly, especially since Grace and Nathan had never really dated? Grace fought the urge to grab the key and run, telling herself that her anxiety was causing her to see things that weren’t there. She tried not to think how Evan might have inherited his keen sense of observation from his paternal grandmother.

       “That’s the schedule for the weekend,” Merline said as she pointed to the paper she’d handed Grace. “You’re just in time to get settled before the tour.”

       “Will we get to see the horses?” Evan was bouncing on the balls of his feet, unable to keep still.

       Merline smiled at him. “Yes, sir. Lots of horses.”

       “Awesome!”

       Grace laughed right along with Merline.

       “Excited, isn’t he?”

       Grace pushed down the front of Evan’s hat. “Yes, he’s talked about nothing else since I told him he was going to Cowboy Camp.”

       “Our boys were crazy for horses at that age, too. Still are.”

       The mention of the Teague brothers ratcheted Grace’s anxiety up another notch. She placed her hand on Evan’s back. “Let’s go, pardner. We need to unpack.”

       This time, Evan didn’t express how unpacking was way down his list of things he wanted to do. Instead, he turned and headed for the door.

       “Good to see you again, Grace.”

       Was there an extra layer of meaning in those words, or was she imagining it?

       Grace met the other woman’s gaze only briefly. “You, too, ma— Merline.” She stepped toward the door before she could stumble over something besides Merline’s name.

       Just as she and Evan reached the door, it swung open and a much larger version of her son stepped inside.

       “Mom, it’s a cowboy,” Evan said in awe.

       Yes, it was indeed a cowboy. And Nathan Teague still took her breath away.

      NATHAN LOOKED DOWN at the little guy tricked out in full cowboy attire. Whose idea had it been to let the ranch be overrun by munchkins all week? Oh, yeah, his. Temporary insanity, had to be. Already, two campers had cried when the horses got too close. One had screamed so loudly his parents had apologized profusely and headed back to Austin so they could check in to a hotel with a nice, big pool. He looked at their latest arrival and wondered how this one would react. Oh, well, he had to make the best of the situation.

       He touched the front of his hat. “Looks to me like there are two cowboys in here.”

       The little boy scanned the office before he realized what Nathan meant. He smiled so wide, Nathan couldn’t help but smile back. Maybe there was hope yet.

       “Nathan, you remember Grace Cameron?”

       He looked at his mom, who nodded at a woman standing to the side of the little boy. It took a few clicks of the cogs in his brain for the truth to slip into place. But beyond the stylish, beautiful blonde in front of him, he could just make out the girl who’d been his algebra tutor. A girl he’d made love to and then pretended like it didn’t happen.

       A girl who had disappeared without a trace, without a word. And now she reappeared just as suddenly and without warning.

       “Grace.” For some reason, his brain couldn’t force more than her name out of his mouth.

       “Nathan, good to see you.”

       She only met his eyes for the barest hint of a moment before she turned her attention to the boy.

       “Yours?” he asked.

       “Yes.” Her voice sounded small, the same as he remembered it. So a part of that teenage girl remained below the surface of the woman she’d grown into.

       The little boy looked up at Grace. “Mom, do you know the cowboy?”

       “Yes, honey,” she said, her voice stronger. “This is Nathan Teague. We used to go to school together.”

       The kid looked as if his mother had just told him she knew his favorite football player or superhero.

       Grace placed her hands on the boy’s shoulders in what looked like a protective gesture. Maybe she was nervous that he might get hurt here, a common worry among the parents he’d met so far today. He resisted the odd urge to reassure her.

       “Nathan, this little cowboy is Evan,” she said.

       Nathan extended his hand, and Evan shook it without hesitation.

       “You’ve got a good grip there.”

       If possible, Evan grinned even wider.

       “Were you good at school, too?” Evan asked.

       Nathan laughed. “Not as good as your mom. In fact, she had to help me pass one of my classes.”

       Evan nodded. “She helps me with my homework, too.”

       “You’re mighty young to have homework.”

       “You’d be surprised,” Grace said. “School has changed a lot in just a few years.” So had Grace. Or had her voice always been that pretty, the audible equivalent of a gorgeous spring day, and he’d never noticed it cloaked in her shyness? He had the oddest sensation that he’d like to hear her read to him. This time when she met his eyes, they held for a little longer, allowing him to appreciate their pale blue color. When she seemed to realize this, she ushered her son toward the door. Having forgotten what had brought him inside, he followed in her wake.

       “Are you back in Blue Falls?” he asked.

       “Just a little vacation.”

       Evan spotted the horses and a few more kids down by the corrals. “Mom, can I go see the horses? Please!”

       She looked about to refuse, with an edge of concern pulling at her features. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen that look today. “He’ll be safe. Simon and Dad are down there.”

       Grace still looked unsure but finally relented. “Okay.” Evan shot off like an Olympic sprinter. “But be careful,” she called after him.

       “He seems excited to be here.”

       “You have no idea. I swear he’s John Wayne reincarnated.”

       He chuckled. “There are worse things.”

       “Yeah.”

       He followed as she walked slowly toward a bench overlooking the stables and corrals. She sank onto it as though she was utterly exhausted.

       “You okay? You look tired.”

       “Just a long drive today.”

       Instinct told him it was more than that, but if she didn’t want to share, it wasn’t any of his business. Suddenly, he wanted to apologize for the idiot he’d been back in high school, but she’d probably think him an even bigger idiot for bringing it up now when she’d obviously moved on.

       He didn’t sit beside her. Rather, he leaned against a nearby oak tree. They both watched as Evan climbed up on the fence rails and reached over to pet a big blonde mare named Dolly.

       “At least he’s not running away in terror like some of the kids,” he said.

       “Unfortunately, he