off some steam. Everyone sat silent and slack-jawed for a moment until Cowboy was out of earshot.
Then Ox said, “Man, who kicked him in the sac?”
I wasn’t sure, but judging by Cowboy’s avoidance of me all week, and his sudden annoyance after seeing me again, apparently I had. And considering the smile and wink Hank gave me as he plopped down in a nearby plastic lawn chair, the old man agreed.
Thank goodness no one else had noticed me standing there and could connect me to Cowboy’s bad attitude or his sudden disappearance.
“Hey, fellas,” Jake said, gazing directly at me. “Look who’s here. It’s Anna.”
Crap.
The moment Jake mentioned my name, all eyes shifted onto me. Like he’d just crammed me under a very uncomfortable microscope. But even though I hadn’t seen some of them in ten years, each of them had a smile on their face. At least somebody was happy to see me.
With the others on his heels, Jake headed directly for me and gave me a friendly one-arm hug. “I had no idea you’d be here today.”
“Bobbie Jo talked me into coming at the last minute.” I offered him a genuine smile. “By the way, I saw your precious baby girl upstairs. You must be so proud. Lily’s a doll.”
“Of course she is,” he said with a wink. “She takes after her daddy.”
Ox tapped Jake on the shoulder from behind. “All right, Barbie, move it along. You’re holding up the line.”
Emily chuckled from somewhere behind me, and Jake glared at Ox. “If she starts calling me that, I’m going to kick your ass.”
Ox didn’t look concerned, though. He moved past Jake and leaned in to hug my neck and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Hey, girl,” he drawled. “Bobbie Jo said you moved to our neck of the woods.”
Ox moved aside to make room for Judd, who’d been waiting patiently for his chance to greet me. And he needed a lot of room. I’d thought it was impossible for him to get any bigger than the last time I’d seen him, but sure enough, he looked like he’d nearly doubled in size.
Judd swept me up in a big bear hug that cracked my back. “It’s great to see you again, Anna.”
When he put me down, I had to take an extra deep breath. “Thank you. It’s nice to see you, too,” I wheezed out.
“See, Jake?” Ox said. “That’s how you take turns. Learned that in Kindergarten, ya know?”
“Shut up,” Jake said.
Emily must’ve approached from behind me, because suddenly she was standing next to me. “Don’t mind Jake. The bonehead’s been grouchy for weeks now.”
Jake poked Emily in her side, making her squeal with laughter, then wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. “I’ll show you a bonehead.”
“Uh-uh-uh.” She shook her finger at him. “The doctor said six weeks. You’ve got two more days before I’m allowed to—”
Jake clamped his mouth over hers, muffling out the last word.
“Did she say duck?” Ox asked, grinning.
Judd chuckled. “Nope. Pretty sure it was truck.”
“Maybe she meant luck,” Bobbie Jo said as she joined the group.
I shrugged. “Could’ve been suck.”
Jake pulled his mouth from Emily’s and everyone blinked at me. I blushed, realizing they took it differently than how I meant it. I was just throwing out a rhyming word like everyone else. Or so I thought.
Jake laughed and said, “I like the way you think.”
“You would.” Emily rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t give him any ideas, Anna. The man’s relentless as it is.”
He winked at her. “Pot and kettle, baby.”
She grinned at that and winked back at him. I could see why Emily was so smitten by her husband. Jake was as good-looking as ever with his dark hair and steely gray eyes. And as funny and beautiful as Emily was, I could definitely see why Jake had fallen so hard for her. I was glad to see he ended up so happy.
And Bobbie Jo stood next to them with a genuine, heartfelt smile on her face, proving how glad she was that Jake found someone else to love. As far as ex-girlfriends go, he couldn’t have asked for a better one.
“So, Anna,” Ox said, snaring my attention. “Didn’t you live in Houston all those years ago? What brings you to our neck of the woods?”
I nodded. “There was an opening at the library, and Bobbie Jo was able to put in a good word for me. Her mother knows the director.”
“You’re a