pot she’d cooked the oatmeal in didn’t justify running the machine and, besides, she needed to keep her hands busy.
It had been a couple of days since she’d last seen Hutch, but he’d called once, said he’d pick her and Madison up for the rodeo and the other festivities around eleven-thirty, if that was okay with her. He’d sounded almost shy, but that was probably some kind of ruse.
Hutch Carmody didn’t have a shy bone in his red-hot cowboy body.
She’d replied in a blasé tone that eleven-thirty would probably be fine and been jittery every waking minute since, much to her private chagrin, wondering if this get-together qualified as an actual date or, since Madison was going along, just a friendly outing. Deciding what to wear wasn’t a problem: a long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans and sneakers—she didn’t own boots—would fill the bill just fine, for both her and Madison. But what about my hair? she dithered. What about makeup? She wanted to look her best, of course, but not as though she was hoping she and Hutch could slip away alone at some point and make their way up the mountainside to the magic meadow.
Was she a bad mother for even thinking such a thought? Madison had separation issues, though she seemed more secure every day, settling in well at preschool and in the new house and, anyway, there were only a few people Kendra would feel comfortable leaving her daughter with—Joslyn and Tara, certainly, and of course Opal. But they would all be busy with their own plans, wouldn’t they? And, besides, any one of them, if asked to babysit, would instantly guess why Kendra wanted to disappear for a while.
Behind her, Madison and Daisy scuffled on the linoleum floor, Madison laughing with delight, Daisy barking exuberantly, as she always did when they played.
Kendra emptied the sink of water, rinsed her hands under the tap, dried them on her flowered apron, and turned to smile at the pair of them, girl and dog, raising her voice just enough to be heard over all that happiness. “We’d better get going,” she said, “if we’re going to drive Daisy out to Tara’s place and get back in time to meet Mr. Carmody.”
Tara had suggested the canine sleepover, reminding Kendra that it would be quieter out there in the country, far from the Fourth of July fireworks, and thus not so frightening for Daisy. Plus, Lucy would be there and the pups could keep each other company. In the morning, Tara could bring Daisy home or Kendra could pick her up on the chicken farm, whichever worked out best.
Madison, fairly bursting with excitement—new boots and a day with Hutch Carmody, would wonders never cease?—nodded hard enough to give herself whiplash. She’d been making a ruckus ever since they’d finished breakfast, trying to keep busy until it was time to go.
It was hard to say which event Madison was most excited about: choosing the promised cowgirl boots, watching Hutch ride a bull in the rodeo, going on rides at the carnival, or taking in the fireworks, which weren’t even scheduled to begin until ten o’clock, when the sky would finally be dark enough to launch the first sprays of multicolored light against a black velvet background.
This would be a long day for Madison, Kendra thought not for the first time, when they were all in the Volvo, seat belts fastened. She bit her lower lip as she backed the car down the short driveway and eased carefully onto the street. It would be a long day for her, too, given that Hutch would be at her side for most of it.
What did they really have to talk about, she and Hutch, once they got past hello? Not the old days, certainly—how about all that steamy sex we used to have?—and the present didn’t offer a lot of topics, either.
And what if she just kept reliving that sizzling kiss by the creek the whole day and night? She’d be in a perpetual state of arousal, with nothing left of her but smoldering embers by the time it was all over.
“Can we buy Daisy a present at the rodeo?” Madison asked from her safety seat when they were well on their way to Tara’s. “And for Leviticus and Lucy, too?”
Kendra knew the little girl was fretting about the dogs being left alone, thinking they might be lonely or scared, even with each other for company. “I think that’s a fine idea,” she said, smiling. “Tell you