True Love Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan

Trinity sat on her sofa watching yet another episode of The Zoo on Animal Planet. She loved animals and missed living on the ranch. Maybe she’d head over early on Saturday so she could get in a ride before the big family dinner.

Her thoughts turned back to Jon. She hadn’t heard from him in an hour. She hoped everything was okay with Emmy, but feared their date wasn’t going to happen. She should probably change and find something to eat. Maybe she had a bottle of wine in the fridge.

Someone knocked on her door. She seriously hoped no one needed her in the store. This was supposed to be her day off. While most of the time her employees respected that, sometimes they really needed to ask her something or cover for someone.

She stood and walked across the small apartment in her bare feet to the door and unlocked the two dead bolts.

In her wildest dreams, she didn’t expect to see Jon and Emmy standing on the small landing.

“Wow.” The awe in his voice made her smile and her heart beat faster.

She waved off the employee who led Jon up to her place. He went back to work and she focused on Jon.

He stared at her, his gaze sweeping up and down her body. “You’re gorgeous.”

Surprise gave way to appreciation. “Thank you.” She hadn’t thought through the whole going-on-a-date thing until Adria asked what she planned to wear. Most days, she wore black pants and an Almost Homemade shirt. At her nonresponse, Adria had dragged her upstairs and rifled through her closet until she found the turquoise A-line dress with the tiny white pearls that circled the collar. Simple, yet elegant. And the color looked great on her with her blond hair and blue eyes.

Jon’s eyes filled with regret. “You look amazing, and I’m sorry to say, I have to cancel.”

That took her aback. “You came all the way here to tell me you can’t make it?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I have Emmy. She’s going to stay with me for the weekend.”

Emmy gave her a shy wave, then turned her face into Jon’s. “I’m hungry.” Her belly grumbled. And it should. They were standing at the top of the stairs at the back of the kitchen. The smell of garlic, chicken, melted cheese, and sweet desserts filled the room.

The shop didn’t close for a couple more hours.

Jon rubbed Emmy’s back. “I’ll make you something when we get home.”

Emmy shook her head. “No. Hungry now.”

Trinity went with the change in plans. “Do you still want that date?”

“Desperately, but . . .” He tilted his head at Emmy.

“Then it’s a party of three. Come in.” She held the door open wide and stepped back.

Jon stared at her dumbfounded and didn’t move. “Are you sure about this?”

She tilted her head and studied him. “Are you turning down a home-cooked meal and me?” The uncharacteristic boldness when it came to men surprised her, but she went with it because she really liked Jon.

Eager, he didn’t hesitate to walk right past her into her tiny apartment.

Emmy swiped the frizzy hair out of her eyes for the third time since they arrived. It appeared she had two ponytails on either side of her head at one time, but the rubber bands were tangled around part of her hair and the rest had fallen out of the band and been mussed up into a tangled mess. She scratched at her head and made a bad face.

“What is going on with your hair, Emmy?”

“Mama didn’t do it. She pulls too hard and I said no.”

Jon looked beside himself. “It’s part of why I have her. Steph is . . . Steph.” That didn’t really explain anything, but Jon thought it somehow did by the exasperated tone he used.

“Well, I need to make dinner for us. There’s a bathroom right down there. You can get her cleaned up. I have some great hair products you can use.” She pointed to her long hair. “With this much hair, you need a moisturizing conditioner and a detangler. Right, Emmy?”

Emmy scratched at her oily head and gave her a confused look. “Huh?”

Trinity grinned at her.

Jon simply stared at Trinity.

“Seriously. Dinner will take at least twenty minutes.”

“I actually have some clothes in the car I could change her into.”

“Great.” She held her hands out to Emmy, who came to her. Trinity held her close and turned to the TV. “Do you like animals? I’m watching this show about the zoo.”

Emmy nodded and sat right down on the couch where Trinity put her. Trinity turned and found Jon still staring at her.

“Thank you for making this easy.” The earnest words and gratitude in his eyes touched her.

“I don’t see what’s so hard about it. She needs a bath and her hair brushed. You can do that while I make dinner.”

“I’m hungry,” Emmy called out, though she was completely transfixed by the lemurs with their black-and-white-striped tails.

“Don’t you feed her?” She was mostly teasing.

A dark look came into Jon’s eyes. “I don’t want to dump this on you. Are you sure about this?” Uncertainty warred with hope in his eyes. He wanted this date, but he didn’t want to talk about why he had to pick up Emmy unexpectedly or why she was starving and disheveled.

She reached out and wrapped her fingers around his tense forearm. “I’m happy you came.” He could have just texted that it wasn’t a good night; they’d reschedule. Instead, he’d taken the time to speak to her in person.

He hooked his hand at her neck and drew her in slowly for a hug. He was warm and solid against her. He simply held her for a moment, like he needed to be close to ease whatever ordeal he’d been through with . . . Steph.

His ex. Emmy’s mother.

Whatever happened, it was hard on him. He needed some comfort, so she gave it to him because she knew what it was like to try to deal with things on your own, and a hug from someone who cared would go a long way to making things better.

The embrace made her feel safe and a little closer to him. Like he shared something with her that he didn’t often show others.

He stepped back first but kept his hand at the back of her neck, her hair laced between his fingers. “Thank you for doing this.”

“I’m happy to have dinner with you and Emmy tonight.”

“I am happy to be here with you.” He dropped his hand and she missed the feel of it, of him touching her. “I’ll be right back.”

She waited for him to go before she went to her pantry to make sure she had what she needed for dinner. She could go downstairs and get some food, but she wanted to prepare something herself. “Emmy, do you like spaghetti?”

“Yep.” She brushed the stray hairs out of her face again.

Trinity had a feeling she’d have to work out those knots.

Who let their child run around with their hair a mess like that and smelling like they hadn’t had a bath in a week?

Steph.

No wonder Jon had to step in and take his daughter tonight.

She set aside her feelings about poor Emmy and focused on putting some good food in her belly. She took out the tomato sauce, paste, and noodles. She had some garlic cloves in the basket on the counter and fresh basil sitting in a jar of water. She grabbed a pot from the rack on the wall, filled it with water at the sink, then set it on the stove to boil.

She went over and sat next to Emmy on the couch. “I’m going to take the bands out of your hair.” At Emmy’s nod, she started on the one closest to her. It wasn’t easy, and though she tried to be gentle, Emmy let out a few “ows.”

Jon returned with a knock on the door before he let himself in while she worked on the second band. “I’ve got a change of clothes.”

Emmy glanced up at him and put her hand over Trinity’s at her hair. “Ow, Daddy.”

He frowned. “I know it hurts, but Trinity is doing the best she can not to pull on your hair.”

“I’ve almost got it.” Trinity worked fast to free the band and finger-comb out some of Emmy’s tangles. She stood and headed for the bathroom. “You can use my shampoo and conditioner. When you get out and towel off, we can spray the detangler in your hair and comb it out. You’ll see, it will be really pretty and smell good.” She held the bottle out to Emmy to smell.

“Nice.”

Jon checked out the small bathroom with a quick glance.

“It’s not much, but you should be able to get her cleaned up. Dinner will be ready when you’re done.” She pulled a clean towel out of the cubby beside her, then left them to the shower.

Jon brushed his hand against hers as she walked out and headed for the kitchen, and it left a tingle rippling up her arm.

She salted the boiling water, pulled the spaghetti out of the box, and slid it into the pot just as Jon closed the bathroom door, but not before he gave her a look that smoldered and said thank you all at the same time.

She stood for a moment and tried to identify the emotion inside her. She hadn’t expected this tonight, but she liked having them here. She liked seeing Emmy in Jon’s arms and the way he looked at her. He didn’t like that his little girl hadn’t gotten all the love and care she deserved. And despite how much he wanted to be on their date, he’d done the only thing he could and gone to his daughter.

That said a lot about him as a man and a father.

He was a good guy.

And if the way she felt from just that simple hug was any indication, she was falling for him.

The pasta started to boil over. She grabbed a wooden spoon from the jar of utensils and stirred the noodles.

The sauce wouldn’t take any time at all, but she got to work and lost herself in cooking and thoughts of her life living on the ranch with her brothers, the tragedies, traumas, and hurdles they’d all faced and overcome lately, and how she’d hidden herself away these last months after the kidnapping. She didn’t want to do that anymore. She wanted a future like the ones her brothers had found with the women who had come into their lives and made it fuller and happier and just plain better. She wanted to love and be loved.

She didn’t want to be scared all the time anymore.

She wanted to get to know Jon and Emmy better. Because it was nice to listen to them chatting in the bathroom about how Emmy liked Trinity’s hair and wanted hers to look just like it, though Trinity’s was bright blond and hers was dark. Sweet. Simple. Safe.

Jon loved his little girl. He took care of her.

Trinity could use a little of that.

She could take care of herself, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a partner like her brothers had now?

They were all so happy.

And she was alone.

But not tonight.

The shower went off. She put a pan on the burner next to the cooking noodles and poured in the tomato sauce, some of the tomato paste, added chopped garlic, oregano, diced onions, and fresh basil. She turned the burner down to low and let it simmer, then walked to the bathroom door and knocked.

“Hey, need a little help in there?”

Emmy yelled, “He’s pulling too hard.”

Jon opened the door, though he stared back at Emmy. “I’m trying not to.”

She stepped in and surveyed Emmy in her clean clothes and dripping wet tangled hair.

Jon sighed. “I thought the conditioner would help.”

She pulled out her wide-tooth comb from the drawer. “You need this, plus this.” She held up the bottle of detangler. “Close your eyes while I spray.” She used a generous amount.

“Smells pretty.”

“I’ll send a bottle home with your dad.” So she didn’t forget, she pulled the spare bottle she kept under the sink out of the cabinet.

“Trinity, you don’t have to do that.”

She dropped to her knees to comb out Emmy’s hair. “You’re going to need it. This girl has some thick hair.” She worked from the bottom up, using the comb to untangled the snarl Emmy’s hair had become. Halfway through, she glanced up at Jon and caught him staring at her. “I think there’s a bottle of wine in the fridge. Mind opening it and setting the table?”

He brushed his hand down her hair. “Sure.”

Emmy turned to her. “Are we almost done? I’m hungry.”

“Just one more section.”

The last strands came loose easily. Trinity breathed a sigh of relief. She turned Emmy to face her. “Beautiful.”

Emmy beamed her a smile, then pleaded, “Spaghetti.”

“Let’s eat.”

Jon poured the spaghetti into the colander in the sink just as they walked in, then handed her one of the glasses of wine he’d poured. “This is good.”

The Riesling was one of her favorites. “I’m glad you like it. It doesn’t exactly go with dinner, but I thought you could use something to help you relax.”

“You did that the second you invited us to stay.”

Emmy interrupted the intimate moment they shared with another loud, “I’m hungry.”

Trinity touched her hand to Emmy’s back and nudged her toward the table. “Sit. I’ll make you a plate.” She waved Jon to the table, too.

He sat next to Emmy and ran his hand over her damp head. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. Does your head feel better?”

“Trinity does it soft.” She took a lock of her long dark hair and brought it to her nose. “It smells good.”

Jon looked up at Trinity as she dumped the spaghetti into the sauce pan and stirred the two together. “I’m definitely taking the hair stuff home with me. How much do I owe you?”

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “Just take it. She needs it.” Trinity thought of Steph and how Emmy’s hair got so bad in the first place. “Buy extra at the store and leave it at her mom’s place.” She caught Emmy’s gaze. “You can spray it on and brush it through, right? Daddy can show you over the weekend how much to use.”

Emmy nodded up and down. Her eyes went big when Trinity set the plate of food in front of her.

Jon’s eyes filled with concern at the portion size. “She can’t eat all that. I don’t want it to go to waste.”

“She’s hungry.” Trinity mimicked the desperate way Emmy kept saying it.

Jon laughed and touched Emmy’s shoulder. “Do the best you can, sweetheart.”

Trinity finished grating Parmesan over Emmy’s noodles and held up her hand. “Hold it.” She found two clean dish towels and wrapped one around Emmy’s neck and tucked it into her shirt collar. The other she draped across her lap. She took the two hairbands from her wrist and used them to make a ponytail that draped down Emmy’s back. “Okay, go for it.”

Jon snagged Trinity’s hand as she walked back to make them plates. “Thanks.”

“She’s all cleaned up. We don’t want her getting dirty again.”

Emmy didn’t make a sound as she shoveled noodles into her mouth, sauce getting all over her lips. The little girl ate like she hadn’t had a meal in days.

Jon watched with concern on his face and in his eyes.

She set his plate in front of him and hers at the table. She grabbed her wine from beside the stove and sat down with them. For a second, she took in the two sitting at her table, sharing a meal, and thought, This is really nice.

“I’m glad you guys came.” She forked up some pasta but didn’t get it into her mouth because she found herself lost in Jon’s blue eyes and the intense way he looked at her.

“You have no idea what this means to me, or how grateful I am to have met you.”

She let her hand drop down beside her plate. “I have no idea what to do with that.”

“Accept it. Say yes to another date.”

She said, “Thank you,” for the overwhelming sentiment, and “Yes,” to another date.

The last of the tension went out of Jon. He relaxed into his chair and dug into the meal with as much enthusiasm as Emmy, who’d already devoured half her plate.

“Do you have a kitty?”

Trinity shook her head. “No, sweetheart, I don’t.”

“I have three.” She held up one finger. “Puff.” A second finger went up. “Dot.” And a third finger. “And Razzle. She’s orange and white.”

“I love her name.”

“I like kitties. Well, Razzle. She’s nice. Puff and Dot are grumpy. But I want a puppy. Mama says I can’t have one. But Dad said maybe, which means I’ll probably get one.”

Trinity put her elbow on the table, her chin in her hand, and stared at Jon. “Is that what maybe means?”

Jon’s gaze bounced from her to Emmy and back. He didn’t answer, just lifted his wide shoulders and let them fall. “We’ll see.”

“Peez,” Emmy said, noodles hanging out of her mouth, her eyes big and round and too sweet to not give in.

But Jon didn’t commit. “I said, we’ll see.” He met Trinity’s gaze, and there was a definite yes in his eyes.

She smiled and thought it sweet he wanted to maybe surprise Emmy with a pet when the time was right. It had been a hell of a few days for Jon with his father being sick and Steph dropping the ball while taking care of Emmy.

“I’m full.” Emmy still had a big bite in her mouth, but she chewed very slowly, all the energy going out of her.

“Finish off that bite and you can be done.”

Emmy did, then leaned back in the chair, her eyes drooping.

“She’s had a long day.” Trinity finished off the last few bites on her plate, then picked up Emmy’s and hers and took them to the sink.

Jon followed with his plate once he’d finished. “That was really good. I can’t believe you made that in such a short time.”

“Pasta is easy. And I thought she’d like something simple and good. Everyone seems to like spaghetti.”

“I like you more and more the longer we spend time together.”

She loved how open and honest he was about how he felt. “I like you, too. You’re a really good dad. She’s a great little girl.”

“She’s everything to me.” Which was his way of telling her he was a package deal.

She didn’t mind. With Adria and Liz pregnant and the next generation of McGraths on the way, she’d been thinking about how nice it would be to have what her brothers found with their partners and to have a family of her own.

“I haven’t been the parent I want to be. I spent a lot of time working and away from her. That’s why I wanted to come back here to the ranch. She deserves the best I can give her, and I wasn’t doing that back in California.”

“So you changed your whole life for her.” Amazing. Most men thought work was the most important thing and that’s how they provided for and took care of their children. Not Jon. He understood the time he shared with Emmy counted most.

“What you saw tonight, that’s just a small glimpse into how bad things were getting with Steph taking care of Emmy and me doing the weekend father thing. It wasn’t working for any of us. Steph couldn’t handle it mostly on her own. If I wasn’t putting a fire out at work, I was with her and Emmy every week. It got to be too much. So I made a deal with Steph. We’d move here and split the time with Emmy equally. Nothing in Steph’s life is ever what she wants it to be unless someone is spoiling her rotten and doing everything for her. But she’d asked her dad one too many times to bail her out. I was on her case about taking better care of Emmy. And Steph decided she wanted to start over in a new place and prove to her dad and family she could take care of herself and Emmy if she had a less demanding job and a simpler life. So I got her a job managing the grocery store, rented her an apartment, and promised to actually co-parent Emmy and that we’d do more together as a family.”

“So she wants to be independent but you take care of both of them.”

“Like everything with Steph, it’s complicated. I pay for Steph’s apartment because that’s where my kid lives and I want Emmy to have a nice place that is clean and safe and feels like home to her. Steph works, but sometimes she overspends and her family, or I, end up having to bail her out because my kid needs to eat.” The resentment and anger came across loud and clear.

“I see.” The picture he painted didn’t shine a nice light on Steph. It couldn’t be easy to have a parental partner who didn’t hold up their end.

“I’m trying to uncomplicate my life.” He cupped her face in his warm hands. “So thank you for being the easiest, most wonderful thing in my life right now. You helped me with my dad and now my daughter without complaint or even a sign of disappointment that our dinner out turned into dinner in.”

“I really don’t mind, Jon. She’s—” Trinity notched her chin toward the bed in the corner of the large open room. “Asleep.”

Jon’s gaze shifted and he laughed under his breath. “She just made herself right at home.”

Emmy had pulled the blanket at the end of the bed over her, curled up under it with her head on the sky blue chenille throw pillow, and fallen right to sleep.

Jon’s hands fell away from her. “You cooked. I’ll do the dishes, then take her home so she can get a good night’s sleep.” The frown confused her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I wish I had her room set up, but I sold most of my furniture and her baby set before the move. I bought her a new set for Steph’s place, but I thought there’d be something she could use at the ranch, but I guess I abused my old furniture as a kid and teen and it’s junk now. Plus, she deserves something that’s hers.”

“I can help with that.” She went to her desk and picked up her tablet. She pulled up the site she and Adria had been looking at recently for the new babies’ room. For twins, Adria wanted something that would last.

She held the tablet up for Jon to see. “What do you think about this set?” All dark wood, the set included a dresser, nightstand, and crib. She scrolled down the page. “Instead of the crib, you can get a twin or full-size headboard instead.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted for her.”

“I happen to know the store has everything in stock and delivers.” She picked a pen from a jar and wrote down the store name, number, and the furniture set name for him. “Call them in the morning. You can probably have the set delivered by afternoon tomorrow.”

“Name something you wish someone would do for you.”

“What?” She had no idea what he meant.

“Anything. You’ve done so much for me, I want to do something nice for you.”

“You gave me flowers. They’re downstairs and still lovely. I like looking at them while I work all day.”

One side of Jon’s mouth drew back.

She loved that he wanted to thank her, but it really wasn’t necessary. “You don’t owe me anything. Most nights I’m here alone. Tonight, I had a nice dinner with you and Emmy and enjoyed the company and getting to know you better. That’s enough, Jon.” She truly meant it.

“When can I see you again?”

“I work most of the weekend and have a family dinner Sunday night, so probably next week.”

Disappointment made him frown. “That’s too long to wait, but I guess that’s the way it goes.”

“Dinner’s a bit harder to get in since I work the later shifts. If you want to meet me for breakfast on—”

“Monday. After I drop Emmy at school.”

She liked his enthusiasm. “Sounds great.”

“I’ll pick you up here. At eight thirty?”

“Works for me.”

Jon glanced down at the papers on the desk, then touched them. “These are the plans for your expansion.”

“Like I said, we’re growing, but at a pace we can still maintain the quality of our product and Adria and I can manage the whole of the operation.”

“I think what you’ve built so far is brilliant.”

She appreciated the praise. They’d worked really hard and grown quickly the past couple months. Now they needed to maintain what they had, give Adria a chance to get through her pregnancy and the early stages of motherhood, then decide how aggressively they wanted to move forward with further expansion.

“Thanks. We’re proud of Almost Homemade and the products we deliver.”

Jon held up the sticky note with the furniture store information. “Thank you. Mind if I call you before our next date just so I can hear your voice?”

Her cheeks warmed with a blush she couldn’t help. “I’d like that.”

Jon went to get Emmy. She found a shopping bag to put Emmy’s dirty clothes and her hair detangler in to take home. She met Jon by the door and handed him the bag. She rubbed her hand up and down Emmy’s back as Jon held her against his chest, her little head on his shoulder. “I hope I get to see you again soon,” she whispered to a very sleepy Emmy.

“Thank you for dinner.” Emmy’s eyes sank closed once again.

“I’ll walk you out and lock up behind you.”

Jon went out ahead of her and down the stairs carrying Emmy like she didn’t weigh a thing. The downstairs kitchen lights were out except for the security light by the back door. Jon headed toward it.

“I’ll unlock the front door for you.”

“The lot was full when I got here, so I parked on the side of the building.”

She never went out there anymore if she could help it. Sometimes when she did, the panic set in and she couldn’t fight the nightmare.

“Trinity, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Here, let me get the door for you.” She unlocked it and let Jon out, then followed him to his car, wholly aware of the darkness surrounding them, but fighting her memories of Clint sneaking up behind her and bashing her in the head before he wrestled her into the trunk of his car and kidnapped and terrorized her.

He’s dead, she reminded herself, and focused on Jon. His steady presence helped calm her.

He unlocked the car, but she opened the passenger door so he could set Emmy in her booster seat and buckle her in. Jon gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead and dropped her bag of stuff on the floorboard at her feet. Trinity tried to focus on him and the sweet way he treated his little girl. He closed the door, took Trinity’s hand, and led her to the back of the car. He didn’t seem to feel her tremble.

“This was probably the best date I’ve ever had.”

She chuckled. “I’m sorry you’ve had so many bad dates then if a simple dinner tops your list.”

“It was the company that made my night.” With that, he slowly leaned down, giving her time to back out if she wanted to, though she seemed immobilized by his yearning gaze and her own anticipation. He finally kissed her softly. His warm lips remained over hers, tempting her into something deeper, but she liked the buzz of electricity and lingered in the moment.

Jon leaned back just an inch and stared into her eyes. “After getting burned by my ex, I feel like I should be a hell of a lot more cautious. But the truth is I’ve wanted to do that since the night at the hospital when I shouldn’t have been thinking about it at all. But I just couldn’t help myself.” His boldness matched her own when she’d invited him to stay for dinner.

So she went with it. “You should kiss me again.” She didn’t wait for him but met him in the middle and wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue touched her lips and she opened to him. The slide of his tongue against hers, the very taste of him, sparked a flash of desperate need that had them locked together, bodies pressed tight to one another. She didn’t think she’d ever been kissed like this. Nothing had ever felt this right and tempting and sexy and all-encompassing at once.

“Daddy?” Emmy’s soft voice was the only thing that could tear them from each other.

Jon jolted back and stared into the back of the car. “Damn. That was totally worth the risk.” He cupped her face in one hand and brushed his thumb against her cheek. “I’m sorry. I have to go.” He rushed over to the driver’s door, opened it, and ducked his head inside. “I’m right here, sweetheart. Go back to sleep while I drive us home.”

He turned back to Trinity and took her in with one hot dip of his gaze down her body and back up to her face. “You look so good in that dress.” The look he gave her said he’d rather see her out of it.

She smiled because her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time because of his sweet words and that sexy as hell look he gave her that said a lot about how much he wanted her. It felt so good to be wanted like that by him. “Monday. Breakfast.”

“Forever from now, but I can’t wait.”

She waved, then walked back to the sidewalk so he could pull out. He gave her another long look before he drove away, leaving her standing in the dark in the place that frightened her most. She rushed inside and locked the door as quickly as possible.

She leaned against it, convinced her rushing heart had way more to do with the good memory he’d given her of that amazing kiss. One she’d hold on to until she saw him again.