Take the Reins (A Cowboy's Promise #2) - Megan Squires Page 0,61
huge bite of hamburger.
“Looks like I am now.”
Josie’s toes tapped the ground like a nervous, uncontrolled tick. Each time the boot met the dusty earth, Cowboy would swat at her foot, claws bared. She didn’t even have the mental energy to shoo him away. Her brain was coiled up and wrapped around the thought of her mother coming out to the ranch for dinner. For dinner with Seth’s parents, of all things.
The day had started off on the right foot with the horses, then slowly deteriorated into this cluster-mess of emotions and now, a sinking feeling of inevitable dread. She had called her mom that afternoon to arrange for her to join them for dinner, not even thinking that it was Thursday. Thursdays were Ford family dinner nights, a routine that had yet to become a part of Josie’s new normal.
“That’s no problem,” Donna had assured Josie at the mailbox that afternoon when she declined the invitation which really wasn’t an invitation at all. Nothing ever was with that woman. “We’ll have plenty of food. Tell your mother to be here at six. Can’t wait to meet my newest in-law.”
Josie sat waiting on a rusted folding chair in front of her trailer for over an hour, hoping to intercept her mother before she pulled all the way into the drive and up to the Ford’s sprawling farmhouse. There was a whole load of explaining to do and she still didn’t quite know how to broach the topic of her fake marriage, her real feelings, and her new overbearing, pretend family waiting in the wings to welcome Peg Friar to the farm.
Chest burning with anxiety, Josie’s eyes lifted at the sound of rubber tires rolling over pocked gravel. Her mother’s sedan crept slowly beneath the arbor arc, the motor humming like a cat’s purr. Not that Josie was all too familiar with that. Cowboy wasn’t typically the purring sort of cat.
Pushing up from her chair, Josie waved frantically to flag her mother down. The car turned away from the Ford house and redirected its path toward the trailer, Peg’s smile wide and beaming through the dirt-speckled windshield.
“Sure nice to see you out of that cast,” Peg said upon exiting the vehicle. She placed her purse on the cooling hood of the car and then wrapped Josie in an embrace so tight it nearly made her yelp. Peg took her by the shoulders and pushed her out at arm’s length to give her a motherly assessment. “I’m so happy you called today, Jo. I’ve been thinking about you a lot and have been trying to get in touch with you.”
“I’ve got some news, Mom.”
Peg’s eyes twinkled. “I do, too.” If she had been trying to conceal her enthusiasm, she failed miserably. Peg’s entire face lit up with a massive, unabashed grin. “Me first.” Then she thrust her hand into the gap between them, wriggling her fingers to showcase the modest ring adorning her previously empty fourth finger. “I’m engaged!” She squealed and stomped her feet like a dance.
If someone had swiftly socked Josie in the gut, the reaction wouldn’t have been any different. It took everything in her to keep from doubling at the waist. “Engaged? You’re serious?”
“Yes! Isn’t it exciting? Darrell just asked me a couple weeks ago. We’re planning a spring wedding. Nothing too fancy, but I’m hoping you and your sisters will be my bridesmaids. I’ve been looking at dresses, but don’t know that we’ll be able to find one you can all agree on. Maybe you could each pick out your own style. I hear they are doing that more and more these days. Choosing dresses that are the same color, but not necessarily the same cut.”
Josie shook her head, not to indicate any sort of answer, but to help clear it. “You’re getting married.” Saying it as a statement rather than a question didn’t make it any more believable.
“I am. Oh, Josie. He makes me so happy and takes such good care of me. I know you didn’t have much of a chance to get to know him before you moved out, but he’s a wonderful man. You will love him. I’m certain of it.” Peg’s hands found Josie’s and squeezed. When her thumb brushed over the matching ring on Josie’s finger, Peg pulled up short. “What’s this?”
Josie recoiled and shoved her hand behind her back. “Nothing.”
Peg reached around and grabbed her daughter’s arm. “Josie. Are you engaged?” Her eyes fell open in shock.