Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,14

to come in the morning or the afternoon?”

Good girl.

Mom sighed. “Morning. Perhaps around nine or so, while the girls are doing their schoolwork.”

“I’ll be here.”

“Goodnight, Mom.” Adam bent and kissed her cheek. “See you soon.”

“It’s good to have you home, my son.”

Home. Rockstead had never been home to him. Never would be, either, but he wouldn’t argue with her now.

Riley fluttered her fingers. “Goodnight, Kathryn.”

Mom smiled. “It was nice to meet you. We’ll be good friends, you and me.”

Oh boy. An attachment like that wasn’t something Adam had expected from his impromptu, temporary engagement. But what was not to love about Riley? Of course, his mom would be taken in. For Adam’s sake... and because Riley was just that awesome.

He guided her out of his mom’s suite. Thankfully, it looked quite different from when he and Travis had shared the space as teens. The basement had been enough removed from the rest of the family that no one really knew how much they’d fought. Although someone had painted over the boot marks where they’d kicked and wrestled, to say nothing of patching the holes in the drywall from ducked punches. There’d been no love lost between them. Still wasn’t.

At least Travis had been civil to Riley before dinner. Maybe a messed-up girlfriend and a son he only saw on weekends was making Travis realize he wasn’t the center of the universe. Never had been. Never would be.

Maybe the guy was growing up. It would be about time.

Chapter Six

The house was silent when Riley ducked through the foyer and down the staircase the next morning. She took a deep breath and tapped on Kathryn’s door, hoping her acting skills were up to a couple of hours with Adam’s mother.

“Come in.”

But that hadn’t been Kathryn’s voice. Riley swung open the door to find the twins sitting across from each other at the table, textbooks and notebooks spread across it.

Kathryn sat in her big chair where she’d been last night, the dog still in her lap. If she hadn’t been wearing different clothes, Riley would’ve thought the older woman had spent the night right there.

“Saved by the girlfriend,” muttered one of the twins.

What had Adam said? You could tell them apart because Emma was agreeable. So, this must have been Alexia. They weren’t actually identical, though. Riley looked between them a few times, memorizing their features. “Good morning, Alexia. Hi, Emma.” She only hoped she’d gotten it right.

The girls narrowed their gazes at each other, and both turned to her. “How did you know?” asked Emma.

Alexia rolled her eyes. “Lucky guess.”

Let them think what they wanted. Riley didn’t really want anything to do with two thirteen-year-olds, but at least their mother wouldn’t likely get too personal with her daughters present.

Riley turned to Kathryn. “Good morning. I hope your headache is gone today.”

“It is. Thank you.”

“Mom, do we have to...”

“Alexia, finish your math.”

“But—”

Her sister kicked her under the table.

“Come, sit down, Riley.” Kathryn indicated the sofa. “Do you have siblings? There’s nothing like twins for getting on each other’s nerves.”

Ah, so the kick may not have gone unnoticed. Interesting. Riley took the seat, but it was hard to get comfortable without Adam to lean against. “My sister, Jodie, is only fifteen months younger than me. We were a grade apart in school, but I’m willing to bet we had a lot of the same rivalries twins have.”

Emma’s eyebrows quirked.

“Did she steal your boyfriends?” Alexia asked.

“Yeah, but not when we were thirteen.” Not much older, though. Jodie had always been after the boys. Good thing she hadn’t laid eyes on Adam, or Mick would be gone in a flash while Jodie chased the rodeo star. No matter how hot Mick might be, Adam would have the guy beat, hands down.

Even Raul paled in comparison. He’d swept Riley off her feet with his dark Mexican-influenced looks, so sweet and charming at first. Yeah, until she’d figured out why.

At least, with Adam, she knew the reasons. He had clear goals. This time, she knew her purpose. No pretense. Well, except toward the rest of the world. With Raul, she’d been the last to know of his manipulations.

It hadn’t even taken Jodie to wreck everything. Riley’s too-trusting nature had taken care of that.

Alexia tapped her pencil on the table, drawing Riley’s attention. The teen eyed her blandly. “What’s your favorite kind of music?”

“Uh...” Was it okay in this house not to care for country and western?

Emma glowered at her twin.

Riley’s mind raced. What was this all about?

“Adam’s last