Courtship In Granite Ridge. Barbara McCauley

rolled her eyes and shook her head. What in the world was all this talk about age? Cody had never asked anyone how old they were before.

      “We just got back from vacation,” Cody offered. “My mom bought a new horse called Miss Lucy, and we got to go to the rodeo and the water park.”

      “And ride a roller coaster,” Troy added. He’d unglued himself from her side and had moved a few inches closer to the visitor.

      “You ever take your kids on a roller coaster?” Cody asked.

      “Cody,” Kasey warned, though she was curious herself now, “that’s enough questions.”

      Slater smiled. “I don’t have any kids.”

      “How come?” Suspicion edged Cody’s voice. “Don’t you like them?”

      “Cody! I said, that’s enough.” Kasey took hold of her son’s shoulders.

      “Sure, I like kids.” Slater tipped his hat back and looked at both Cody and Troy. “But I was moving around a lot, working on oil wells, and I just never got married.”

      Cody’s eyes widened. “You work on oil wells. That’s cool. Does oil really squirt ten miles up and get all—”

      Kasey clamped a hand over her son’s mouth. “No more questions. I’d like to talk to Slater now if it’s all right with you two.”

      Cody and Troy glanced at each other and smiled. “Sure, Mom,” Cody said, looking back up at her. “You want us to leave you guys alone?”

      Leave them alone? Kasey frowned at her son. Why was everyone, including her sons, acting so odd today? Was there a full moon tonight? “That’s not necessary.”

      Slater straightened. “I, uh, heard you got married.”

      She wondered how a man who’d walked away from family and friends—without so much as a glance backward—could have heard anything. “I’m divorced. Two years now.”

      They stared at each other, the momentary silence awkward and heavy. Then they both spoke at the same time.

      “You look—”

      “You’ve sure—”

      They both stopped, then smiled.

      “Aw, hell, Kasey.” Slater shook his head as he opened his arms. “Come here, will you?”

      With a small laugh, she moved into his arms. He was solid muscle against her, his scent masculine, his touch so familiar. This really was Slater. Tears gathered in her eyes and she blinked them back, afraid that he might see them and think her silly or childish.

      Smiling, she pulled away and looked up at him. His eyes were still the same deep brown, but there were lines beside them now. She frowned at the jagged scar on his right temple and wondered what had happened. His jaw was more square, his chin stronger, his hair a richer, darker brown.

      When she was seventeen she’d thought him the handsomest man alive. Looking at him now, her opinion was still the same.

      His arms around her, his hands touching her waist made her dizzy. How could he have this effect on her after all these years? He couldn’t. She was overtired, stressed from her trip. Why else would her pulse be racing and her head ringing?

      “You gonna get that?”

      “What?”

      He nodded toward the kitchen. “The phone. It’s ringing.”

      “Oh, yes.” She heard it now. “Of course.”

      She pulled away and backed toward the kitchen. “Cody, Troy, take Slater into the living room and keep him company. I’ll be right back.”

      Slater watched Kasey turn and disappear into the kitchen. He glanced around the entry, letting the past back into his life for a moment. Everything was the same; the dark oak table just inside the screen door where Mrs. Donovan had always kept fresh flowers, the hat rack beside it where Mr. Donovan had always hung his gray Stetson beside his blue baseball cap. And the family portrait, taken on the front porch, not long before he’d left. He took a step closer and grinned at the framed snapshot. Kasey, with her brilliant smile and wild red hair, one arm looped over her father’s broad shoulders, the other arm twined around her mother’s slender waist. He stared at the picture and his smile faded

      The same, and yet, not the same.

      He glanced down at Kasey’s sons. Definitely not the same.

      He was still trying to sort everything, but nothing seemed to fit into place. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but he certainly hadn’t expected what he’d found. She’d grown up. Really grown up, he thought, recalling the soft swell of her breasts under the pink cotton knit shirt she wore. Her eyes were bigger than he’d remembered, the green darker. Before, she’d always worn her mass of red hair in a ponytail or pinned up. Now, long auburn curls framed her heart-shaped face and emphasized her high cheeks and wide, sensuous lips.

      Sensuous? Had he really thought that about Kasey? He wanted to kick himself. Kasey’s sons were staring up at him, their expressions serious, as if they’d heard every unspoken thought. Feeling guilty, Slater looked away and shifted uncomfortably.

      “You come here to see my mom?” Cody asked.

      It was the older boy who’d asked the question, Slater realized. Cody. He nodded to the child. “That’s right.”

      “Why?”

      Slater raised his brows, then knelt in front of the boys. “We used to be friends.”

      “Aren’t you anymore?

      Good question, Slater thought. “I hope so.”

      Cody seemed to think about that for a moment. The younger boy, Troy, moved closer and stared intently.

      “That’s a neat scar,” Troy said, finding his voice. “Would you like to marry our mom?”

      Slater doubted that a two-by-four across his head could have hit him harder. Were things that bad with Kasey that her own sons were interviewing potential husbands for her? Speechless, he stared at the two boys. They stood in front of him, their eyes locked on his, waiting for an answer. He didn’t want to hurt their feelings, or offend Kasey, but the fact was, he had no intention of marrying anyone. He liked his life just fine as it was.

      Slater ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, I...it’s like this, boys, I, uh, think your mom’s great and all, but—”

      “The nerve of some people!”

      Slater nearly fell backward at Kasey’s sudden exclamation. She stood at the kitchen doorway, arms folded tightly. Slater stood abruptly, bumping into the entryway table.

      “It’s nothing, personal, Kasey, I just—”

      “Nothing personal?” She moved into the room, her eyes flashing. “Nothing personal? Of course, it’s personal!”

      “I’m sorry, Kase, I just don’t—”

      “Why should you be sorry?” She threw her arms out, then jammed them onto her slim hips. “I place an ad for a simple business deal, and all the guy cares about is my financial statement and bloodlines.”

      Financial statement? Bloodlines? Slater felt his own blood begin to boil. Kasey Donovan came from the finest people that were ever born, and as far as financial statements were concerned, if some slime-jerk wanted money to marry Kasey, then he wasn’t fit to be in the same room with her. Hell, the same state even!

      Is that all this was to her? A business deal? Thank God he’d gotten here before she’d done anything stupid. He had to make her see that she couldn’t go ahead with this ridiculous scheme.

      “Kasey—” Slater looked at Cody and Troy “—could I talk to you, uh, privately?”

      Still frowning, Kasey stared at