Falling For The Cowboy Dad. Patricia Johns

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      “Hey.” He smiled, that same lopsided grin of his that had always made her melt. He was tall and lanky, with broad shoulders and dark brown eyes... He pulled his cowboy hat off, revealing close-cropped hair, and tucked the hat under one arm. “When they said Grace Beverly was teaching preschool, I couldn’t believe my luck.”

      “Yes, well...” Grace looked toward the principal, who was watching them with a mildly curious expression. “Billy and I were friends,” she explained.

      “Well, I’ll let you catch up, then,” Mrs. Mackel said with a nod. “Poppy here is starting in your class tomorrow, and she’s had a lot of change lately. So we’ll have to take that into account.” To Billy, she said, “But I think she’ll have a wonderful time in Miss Beverly’s room.” Then Mrs. Mackel bent down to Poppy’s level. “And you can come say hello to me any time you like.”

      “Okay,” Poppy whispered.

      Mrs. Mackel straightened herself and shook Billy’s hand. “Feel free to stop by if you have any more questions, Mr. Austin.”

      Billy thanked her, and Mrs. Mackel left the classroom. Silence closed around them, and Grace regarded her old friend. It had only been three years since she’d seen him last, but he’d aged. There was a sprinkling of premature gray at his temples, and some lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

      “What do you mean, we were friends,” Billy said. “You’re talking like that friendship is in the past.”

      It was in the past, but maybe Billy was the last to figure that out. When Billy left town with Grace’s best friend, Tracy, three years ago, Grace had made the painful choice to cut contact with both of them. It wasn’t the easiest decision, but it was probably the healthiest. She’d been in love with Billy from afar for too long, and watching him build a life with the vivacious Tracy—that was too much. Grace doubted that either of them had noticed when she stopped talking to them.

      “Sorry, I’m just surprised to see you,” Grace replied.

      “So, you’re teaching here now?” Billy asked.

      “I’m covering a maternity leave. The regular teacher will be back in two weeks,” Grace said. “Mrs. Mackel mentioned a lot of change for Poppy, so I’m afraid there will be a little more...” Grace looked down at the girl, who was looking around the classroom, her thoughts spinning to catch up. A daughter...? Where had she come from? “Billy, I had no idea—”

      Billy cleared his throat and glanced down at Poppy. “Neither did I, but I think Poppy and I are going to be okay. Don’t you think, kiddo?”

      The little girl looked up mutely at her father, and he shot her a reassuring grin.

      Now was not the time to ask more questions, so Grace turned her attention to Poppy. “Would you like to see some of the fun things we have in our classroom? Come on. I’ll show you.” Grace held out a hand, and Poppy tentatively took it. “This is our sand table. It’s fun to play in, and when you feel anxious, you can use this rake to make nice lines. It feels good. Do you want to try?”

      Poppy took the rake and made some slow strokes across the sand. “Will I learn things?”

      “All sorts of things!” Grace said. “We’re learning our colors, and our animals—”

      “Daddy said I can learn calculus,” she said softly.

      “Your daddy is a funny guy.” Grace chuckled, but when she looked up, Billy hadn’t cracked a smile.

      “That’s the thing...” Billy nodded toward the other side of the room. “Can we talk over there?”

      Grace glanced between Billy and Poppy. Billy as a dad—it was hard to imagine. Besides, Billy had gotten together with Tracy three years ago, and this child would be at least four... Grace followed Billy to the other side of the room. “What’s going on, exactly?” she asked quietly.

      “She’s...” Billy shrugged. “She’s smart.”

      “They all are, Billy,” Grace replied with a small smile. “Way smarter than adults give them credit for.”

      “No, I mean, like...crazy smart,” Billy said, locking her down with his dark gaze. “Here’s the thing. Her mother announced I had a daughter and dumped her on my doorstep on the same day. Carol-Ann and I only dated for a summer, five years ago—remember when I went to work that ranch in South Colorado? Anyway, I had no idea she’d gotten pregnant. She tracked me down in Denver, said she had this modeling gig she couldn’t pass up and told me it was my turn with Poppy. Carol-Ann is in Germany right now.”

      “Modeling, apparently,” Grace said dryly.

      “Apparently.”

      They exchanged a look, and for a split second, it felt like the old days, when she and Billy were best friends and could finish each other’s sentences. Before he fell in love with Tracy. She tore her gaze away from him.

      “Wow...” Grace cleared her throat. “So, where is Tracy, then?”

      “Tracy left me when she found out about all of this,” Billy replied. “That’s why I’m back in Eagle’s Rest. I need help. I can’t raise a daughter alone, so I came home. And it turns out that Poppy is strangely brilliant. She’s only four, and she reads anything she can get her hands on. You know me—I never was the intellectual sort. I have no idea what else I can teach her, and I’ve only had her for two weeks! She’s desperate to learn and she misses her mom something fierce.” Billy heaved a sigh. “I was joking about the calculus, but she wasn’t. I don’t know what to say.”

      “Tracy left you?” Grace’s emotions were still stuck on that part of his story. Her best friend had known about her feelings for Billy, but when Billy showed interest in Tracy, all bets were off. She’d sopped him up like gravy with a dinner roll, and the couple had moved to Denver. It all happened so fast, Grace’s head had spun.

      “I’m not saying Tracy and I were on great terms before Carol-Ann showed up, and I guess it was the last straw. She said she hadn’t signed on to be a stepmom.” He shrugged weakly, and when he looked across the room toward his daughter, Grace saw the tenderness in his eyes. His chiseled features softened into a look of protective pride.

      “You’re smitten,” Grace said.

      “Yeah...” Billy smiled, then glanced back toward Grace. “I’m a dad. Can you believe that? It’s pretty huge.”

      “It really is,” she agreed. “And she’s adorable.”

      He nodded. “Honestly, I’m here to give Poppy a stable life. Social services is going to check in on me to make sure everything is running smoothly, and I guess they’ll be judging my parenting abilities, too.”

      “You’ll be fine,” she said.

      “I have no idea what I’m doing,” he retorted. “None. First of all, she’s a little girl! I hardly know how to deal with women, let alone the pint-size version. And she’s just so smart...”

      “You’ll do what everyone else does,” she replied with a shrug. “You’ll figure it out.”

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