Her Small-Town Cowboy

“Here, let me.” To his surprise, she pointed out a pair of well-worn brown boots that had once belonged to his mother. “You sure? They’re kinda plain.”

“They look like they’ve had a lot of experience. Maybe they’ll help me catch on quicker.”

Interesting theory, he mused as he brought them down for her. Sitting on a chair outside the storage room, she shed her sneakers and pulled on the boots. They seemed to work, and she held out her feet to admire them. Then, to his surprise, she looked up at the shelf where Abby was perched. “What do you think of these?”

“Perfect,” she announced, her ponytail bobbing as she nodded. “Just like Cinderella.”

“Well, don’t get your hopes up,” he teased. “We’re fresh out of princes around here.”

For some reason, Lily’s smile disintegrated, and she sighed. “I’ve had my fill of princes. The ones I meet always seem to turn into frogs.”

Mike wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he decided it was best to ignore the comment. “Ready for your lesson?”

“Definitely.” She shook off her momentary funk, and that playful grin was back. “Are you?”

Despite his plan to keep a professional distance from her, he found himself returning her smile. “I guess we’ll find out.”

He strolled over and let Abby climb onto his shoulders, then lowered her to the floor.

“Daddy, can I go have a snack with Grammy while you give Lily her lesson?”

“Sure, but save me some of those cookies. They smell real good.”

She thanked him with a quick hug, and he smiled as he watched her zoom back toward the house. Hard as it had been for him to leave his ranch foreman’s job in New Mexico behind, his daughter was happy here, surrounded by his large, chaotic family and now a class full of new friends. Much as he hated losing his independence, her happiness made it all worth it to him.

Hauling his mind back to reality, he led the way through a sliding door that opened onto the paddock where Gideon was dozing in the sun. When Lily moved out of his sight, Sarge let out a pitiful whimper and jumped up to follow her. To Mike’s knowledge, the dog had never shown much affection for anyone but Captain. That he seemed to have taken a shine to the soft-spoken teacher had to mean something. But right now, Mike couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.

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