face, but turned obediently back to the house. He took a few steps, then turned back. âHey, Uncle Joe,â he said, raising his voice to be heard over the howling wind, âNick told me a new joke on the bus today. Wanna hear it?â
He gave an inward groan. Coltâs stepson told even cornier jokes than C.J. âSure,â he said. âLay it on me.â
âKnock knock.â
Great. A knock-knock joke. His favorite. He winced but gave the requisite answer. âWhoâs there.â
âImpatient cow.â
âImpatient cow whââ
âMOOOOO,â C.J. cut him off before he could finish his part of the joke, then started giggling hysterically. âGet it? The cowâs too impatient to wait for you to say âwho.ââ
No matter how many times Annie tried to set him straight, C.J. always insisted on overexplaining his jokes. Joe smiled anyway. âI get it. Thatâs a good one.â
C.J. giggled again, then with a final wave of a mitten, he trudged through the blowing snow into the house, pausing only long enough to greet Annieâs best cow dog, Dolly.
Joe watched until the boy climbed the steps to the back porch and closed the back door behind him.
He rubbed a fist over his suddenly aching heart. Damn, he would miss the little rascal. And Leah, too, even with this new frosty attitude of hers. He loved bothof them as much as if they were his own kids instead of his brotherâs.
The future stretched out ahead of him, a bleak and solitary landscape, without Leahâs smart mouth or C.J.âs corny jokes, or that soft, hesitant smile of Annieâs that transformed her from an ordinary woman into someone of rare beauty.
What was he thinking to move hundreds of miles away? He would hate Wyoming without them. He should call Waterson and tell him the deal was off, that heâd changed his mind about the whole damn thing and wasnât coming after allâ
He caught himself. He wouldnât do anything of the sort. He had to leave, and soon. If he didnâtâif he gave in to the low throb of desireâAnnie would run from him faster than a mule deer caught in the crosshairs.
He had already screwed up her life enough by forcing her into his brotherâs arms. He refused to screw it up any more.
Chapter 2
âS hut up, you little brat. Itâs none of your business whether I do my homework or not.â
âLeah, thatâs enough. C.J., stay out of this. Itâs between me and your sister.â
Annie stirred the spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove with one hand and pinched at the bridge of her nose with the other, futilely trying to squeeze out the killer headache that had formed with Joeâs announcement in the barn two hours earlier and had since swollen to enormous proportions.
Thorny tendrils of pain converged behind her eyes, then snaked out in every direction throughout her head, threatening to crush the life out of any coherent thought she might have.
âWell, he is a little brat,â Leah snapped. âIâm sick and tired of him always butting in where he doesnât belong.â
âThis discussion is about you, young lady. This isthe third phone call Iâve received from the school this month. Youâre seriously in danger of flunking algebra if we donât do something about it.â
âWhat do I care?â Leah studied purple fingernails resting on the kitchen table, her mouth set in heavy, sullen lines. âMr. Sandovalâs a dork.â
âHeâs a concerned teacher who cares enough about you and your grade to call me and inform me youâre still not turning in your assignments.â
âSo what?â
âSo you lied to me, for starters. You told me youâve been finishing all your work in study hall.â
âAlgebraâs stupid.â
âI like math,â C.J. piped in.
âThatâs because youâre stupid,