Blame It on the Rodeo Read Free Page B

about?”
    “You said tight. What’s tight? ” Shane asked.
    Hunter patted Shane on the back and urged him to walk forward before they caused a traffic jam at the bottom of the escalator. “How do I translate this for you, old man? Tight means the same as cool back in your day. You don’t hang with many kids, do you?”
    “No, I don’t.” Old man? Shane’s ego took a bit of a hit at the comment. “And for the record, thirty-one’s not old.”
    “In terms of a hundred being the oldest, no, you still have time. I’m sure I can teach you enough in the next month to survive the average kid. But since you’re practically old enough to be my dad, it may take a little work.”
    “Oh, nice shot.” Shane arm nudged the teen. “We’ll see who teaches who this month.”
    His anticipation of the next four weeks began to shift, nervousness replacing his usual confidence. Maybe teenagers weren’t so easy after all.

Chapter Two
    “Surprise!”
    “Oh, good Lord!” Miranda wobbled backward, her hands protectively on her round belly. “Don’t you people know never to startle a pregnant woman?”
    “Now I told you to surprise her, not surprise the young’uns out of her.” Mable’s mocha cheeks flared with a hint of red. “We don’t need a repeat of last year, but Tess, honey, ready the shower curtain liner, just in case.” Originally, Double Trouble’s house manager, Mable became a surrogate mother of sorts when Miranda moved to town and purchased the ranch. Never having had children of her own, Mable doted on Miranda as if she were her own daughter. Since Miranda’s drunk of a mother had died a few years ago, Mable easily filled the void in her life.
    Lexi doubted anyone would soon forget the day Vicki Slater went into labor shortly after her own baby shower ended. Miranda was right there to catch the bundle of joy in the middle of her living room. So indebted to her friend, Vicki named her daughter Randi Lynn, after Miranda.
    Randi Lynn had celebrated her first birthday a few days ago and Miranda had a few weeks before she and Jesse welcomed twins. Once their honeymoon started, they immediately went to work in the baby-making department. But they weren’t the only children with a birthday this time of year. One was missing. Lexi tried to push the thought from her mind.
    Lexi had liked Miranda from the day she pulled into town, determined to start a new life. She’d been down that road herself and anyone with the courage to make that kind of move had her vote. Jesse couldn’t have chosen a better bride—they were perfectly matched in their fire and passion.
    Inside Cole and his wife Tess’s newly renovated cottage, Ramblewood’s women gathered, showering the latest mommy-to-be with gifts. And Jesse, the only male in the room, seemed to relish the attention. Tess and Cole’s adopted daughter, Ever, helped hand Miranda her presents, although Lexi sensed she wanted to tear into each one of them herself.
    “I just thought of something,” Miranda said, straightening her back to rub it. “I didn’t see any cars when we pulled up. Where did you all park?”
    Everyone laughed.
    “That was an adventure of its own,” Mazie, Lexi’s younger sister, giggled.
    “That son of mine almost lost a few of your guests along the way,” Kay said. “We had everyone park at the winery and Shane chauffeured them here in that blasted Jeep of his. Poor Bridgett almost flew out of it.”
    On a quarter-of-a-million-acre ranch, it was a cinch to hide a few cars. Besides being Dance of Hope’s CEO, Kay oversaw the small ranch winery, and since it wasn’t open on Saturdays, it was the last place Miranda would venture.
    Feeling wistful, Lexi looked around the cottage at the people she considered her extended family. Lexi’s parents had grown up with both Tess and Vicki’s parents, and then all their kids grew up together. Now a new generation had begun and the cycle would repeat. Minus one.
    Everyone had been surprised