A Texas Thanksgiving. Margaret Daley

Julia fit her hand in his and shook it. His firm, self-assured grip left a warmth on her palm that she couldn’t quite ignore.

      “I’ll leave you two to work this out—” Olga swept her arm across the scene in front of them “—before we have animals running loose all over the place. Now I wish I had gotten more pens.”

      At that moment one of the Mayhew twins let go of her large dog’s leash while turning her attention to the pony. The black Lab darted through the group of children and made a beeline for the food table. Quick, as if he was used to roping dogs, Evan leaped forward and snatched up the end of the leash. The Lab came to a grinding halt a few feet away from the desserts.

      Olga clapped. “Very good. For a second I thought we were at a rodeo.”

      Julia chuckled at the “aw, shucks” look that appeared in Evan’s eyes and the touch of color that brushed lightly across his cheeks.

      He lowered the brim of his hat to shield his expression and gave the leash back to the little girl. “Josie, keep a tight rein on your dog.”

      Before Julia could say anything, Evan put his two fingers in his mouth and trilled an ear-piercing whistle that silenced the clamor. “I need everyone to get their pets and move over there.” He pointed toward the corded-off area.

      Olga leaned close and whispered to Julia, “That’s his military training. A cowboy in uniform. You can’t go wrong there.”

      Then Olga hurried away, leaving Julia speechless for a good minute. She’d heard from Anna about her mother’s “little matchmaking” schemes, and now Julia was sure she had become the object of one. Little did Olga know that she wasn’t in the market for anything that looked remotely like romance.

      When Julia swung her attention back to the problem at hand, she realized she was standing by herself while all the pets and children headed toward the area Evan had indicated. He was more organized than she was.

      “That man doesn’t need any help,” she muttered to herself and started forward.

      Julia came up behind Evan. “Reporting for duty.” She curled her hand to keep from saluting.

      After directing his daughter and her pony to one of the pens, he wheeled around, pushing his cowboy hat up on his forehead to reveal the amusement in his eyes. “It’s hard to get away from something that was a part of my life for years. When faced with overwhelming odds, I always fall back into my military training.”

      “And come out fighting?”

      His laughter peppered the air, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes that gave him character deepened. “I was a sergeant and used to giving orders to the men in my unit.”

      “Then if you’ve got everything under control, I’ll go help Anna with the food.”

      “And disappoint Olga?”

      “Then you know what she’s up to.”

      “I’ve known Olga for quite some time. She can be a steamroller, a sweet one but nevertheless a determined one, too. I find it easier to go along until she is out of view.”

      Uncomfortable with the topic of their matchmaking, Julia searched for a safer subject to discuss. “So, you’ve been a member of this church for a while?”

      “Yes, and you’re new. How long have you been attending? This is the first time I’ve seen you here.”

      “Three weeks. I tried out some other churches in Prairie Springs, but this one fits my spiritual needs.”

      “Help! I’ve lost my kitten!” a little boy shouted.

      The twenty-pound “kitten” jumped over a rabbit’s cage and landed on the pig’s back, sending it charging forward. The cat continued its trek through the animals, causing a mutt and a German shepherd to chase after it while dragging their owners. After scurrying up a nearby oak, the pet that started the chaos perched itself on a top limb, staring at the dogs barking at the bottom of the tree. A picture of the cat in Alice in Wonderland popped into Julia’s mind.

      Shaking the image from her thoughts, Julia hurried into the melee. She intended to calm the children who still had control of their pets while Evan waded through the dogs by the oak tree. He grabbed the collar first of the mutt, then the German shepherd and hauled them both to their waiting owners.

      Cradling the fishbowl in her lap, Ellie sat next to Paige. Both girls giggled.

      Julia stopped in front of her daughter. “I’m glad someone thinks this is funny.”

      Ellie put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to contain her laughter. “Taylor did that on purpose. He wanted to see what would happen, Mommy. He thought the dog was funny earlier.”

      Julia knelt by her daughter and Paige. “Can I count on you two to help me?” After both girls nodded, she continued. “Paige, put your pony into the first pen while I get the pig into the second one.”

      “What about my goldfish?” Ellie still held her bowl.

      “I don’t think we have to worry about your fish getting away. You can set it up on something high enough where the other animals won’t bother it,” Julia said, smoothing Ellie’s brown wavy hair back from her face. “Honey, if you and Paige can get all the kids with dogs over there—” Julia pointed toward a roped-off area at the far end “—that would be a big help.”

      “When is Show and Pet gonna start?” Paige tugged on her pony’s reins.

      “When we have some kind of control on the situation.” Julia prayed those weren’t her famous last words concerning this activity.

      Two hours later Evan stood off to the side watching Julia supervise the kids while they showed off their animals and let anyone who wanted to pet them. She would make a great sergeant in the army. Not only efficient and hard-nosed when she needed to be, but she’d also organized the children and their pets while he’d climbed the ladder and brought down the “kitten” that had started the whole mess.

      By the time he was back on the ground, he didn’t have anything to do except observe her in action, a petite woman with long wavy brown hair and eyes the color of a new leaf on a maple tree. Every movement had a purpose, but when a child needed extra attention she was there to give it, even to the little boy who had caused the commotion with his cat.

      Leaning back against a pole, where a goldfish bowl resided, he folded his arms across his chest and let his daughter give some of the smaller children rides on her pony, Sugar. Paige had wanted more responsibility and this was as good a time as any to give her some.

      Julia Saunders approached him, a smile deep in those green eyes. He lowered his gaze to her full-lipped mouth, set in a smile directed at him. For a few seconds a trapped sensation took hold of him until he shook some sense into himself. No way was he going down that path. Ever. Again.

      “Your daughter’s pony has been a huge success. This is Ellie’s second ride.” She stopped next to him and immediately the scent of lavender wafted to him.

      “She wanted to bring all her pets. I put my foot down and told her only one. Now I’m glad I did. That’s all we need is more animals.”

      She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, you don’t think forty-four is enough?”

      “You counted them?”

      “In order to keep up with them.”

      A woman after his own heart. He was liking her more and more. And that was the problem. He didn’t need a woman in his life.

      Evan pushed off the post. “I’d better get Sugar back in the trailer. We need to be leaving.”

      “So soon?”

      He swung his attention to Julia. “I thought the picnic was winding down. I’ve seen a few families taking their stuff to their cars.”

      Two patches