“Because when two adults are trying to figure out if they like each other enough to have a relationship, they do things together. Like having dinner or going to the movies.” She really needed to change the subject, or next she’d be explaining the birds and the bees. “Want to read this book I brought for you? My best friend wrote it. It’s about a bad little monkey named Chester.”
“A bad monkey?” Ryan surprised her when he crawled right into her lap.
“Yeah. He gets into all sorts of trouble. This one is about eating vegetables. Chester hates eating veggies.”
“Me too.” Ryan leaned back against her chest and settled in. “I guess I can go on a date with you.”
“Thank you.” Ryan could be awfully cute sometimes. “But hopefully, Chad will be back before I have to go.” What was taking Chad so long? He knew how freaked out Ryan got when he was left behind. “Hang on just a second.” She shot out a quick text to Chad.
She waited a bit, but nothing. No response.
Maybe she should call Scott and cancel. It’d be better to do it now rather than last minute.
The wave of relief that shot through her at the prospect of skipping the date made her sigh. Nope. She’d promised herself she’d give dating an honest try. She couldn’t balk right out of the gate. Besides, it might be interesting to see what Scott’s reaction would be if she showed up with a kid in tow. She wanted a man who wanted kids one day too, so maybe it’d be a good test.
Or maybe it’d be the biggest disaster ever. She texted Chad again, telling him why she had to leave soon, then got busy reading the book to Ryan.
As usual, just as Chad hit mile marker 37, his phone blew up with notifications of texts and calls he’d missed while out of range on the ranch. Normally, he’d let messages wait until he got home, but he pulled to the side of the highway to check them. Just in case something was up with Ryan. Heather knew to call his mom’s landline if it was an emergency, but Jo might not remember there was no cell service on the ranch.
He hadn’t meant to be gone so long, but he couldn’t leave his mother to birth the foal alone. Torn between a kid with separation anxiety and a mother who said she didn’t need his help but clearly did was wearing on him.
He cursed his aching shoulder and his damn knee while he yanked his phone out of his jeans with the arm that still worked. Normally, he’d have been able to dodge an accidental kick by a horse in labor, but his knee wouldn’t allow him to move fast enough. He was lucky he’d taken it in the shoulder and not the head.
Thumbing through the texts, he smiled. Jo started out polite, but by the fifth text, she threatened permanent damage. Seemed she was a little miffed at him. And that she had a date.
He pulled his truck back onto the highway. He should probably go home and shower before he picked Ryan up from the restaurant, but the extra time would add to Jo’s annoyance. Who cared if he looked and probably smelled like he’d been riding the range for a week? He wasn’t trying to impress Jo. She’d made her stance clear about the attraction that she knew damn well still simmered between them. She chose to ignore it and treat him like a patient, not the man she had planned to marry. Someone she’d claimed she’d loved.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and the faster he drove. He’d get his ass to the restaurant just as she demanded. Stench and all. Whoever her big-spender date was, because the restaurant they were at was definitely not cheap, would get over it, or he wasn’t the right guy for Jo.
Nearing the restaurant close to his condo, he wished her date luck. He’d better be a tough son of a gun, because Jo was no pushover. The woman could drive a man to drink, she was so stubborn sometimes. But her dry sense of humor made him smile like no one else. Jo was tough, had a huge heart she hid well, and she was damned smart. He liked all that about her. A lot.
He pulled into a parking space and closed his eyes. He needed to shake off the bad mood that had overcome him since reading her texts. Jo had every right to be angry with him, not the other way around. She’d been nice enough to bring Ryan with her, so being irritated at Jo for having a date made no sense. But he was irritated by it, dammit.
Chad opened his door and rolled out of the truck the best he could with his aching shoulder and knee. He reached for his cane, but stopped. He didn’t want a fan to see him hobbling around and take a picture for the tabloids. Especially if a picture ended up in the paper for his coaches to see. He needed them to think he was done using the cane by now and was going to be back so they’d keep his spot for him. Maybe he could make the last games of the season if they went to the playoffs. His knee had improved the past few weeks but wasn’t where it should be, and hurting it earlier didn’t help.