A Maverick for Her Mom
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Stella Bagwell
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Chapter One
Dale Dalton was a cowboy. He wasn’t the kind of guy who walked into a bakery and asked for cupcakes. If he wanted dessert, he’d eat whatever his mom served at home on the ranch, or order pie at one of his favorite restaurants.
But Dale wasn’t making this stop at Kendra’s Cupcakes to satisfy his own personal sweet tooth. He was doing it as a favor to his brother Morgan and sister-in-law, Erica. Otherwise, he’d hardly be wasting his time driving the streets, searching the upscale business district of Bronco Heights for a fancy bakery-café.
He located the shop in a narrow building jammed between an antique store and a beauty salon. The front was constructed mostly of plate glass framed with red brick. The words Kendra’s Cupcakes were painted in red cursive lettering across the wide window, while a second sign with the same name hung beneath a small red-and-white-striped awning that shaded the entrance.
Inside the bakery, Dale took his place behind a line of customers and glanced curiously around the spacious room filled with the mouthwatering smells of baked goods and deep-fried pastries. The floor was a checkerboard of red and white tiles, while on the left side of the room, several wooden tables and chairs were grouped in front of the plate glass window that overlooked the sidewalk. Presently, all the tables were occupied, and that surprised him. He didn’t have any idea cupcake shops were such social spots. Did they serve beer in this joint?
He was studying a large menu displayed on the wall, when the person ahead of him moved forward to give Dale a direct view of a long, glass display case. But it wasn’t the sweet treats inside that caught his immediate attention. It was the blond woman working behind the counter that had him staring and wondering.
Who was she? And why hadn’t he seen her around Bronco before now? Because she was married? He didn’t want to consider that possibility.
Standing in line normally irritated the heck out of Dale, but this evening he was more than happy to endure the wait. It gave him more time to watch the woman as she sacked up treats and dealt with the cash register.
Even though he was several feet away and peering around the heads of the customers in front of him, he could see she was darned attractive. The top of her head would probably reach the middle of his chest and her slender curves would fit right into his hands. Wavy blond hair was pinned atop her head in a messy bun, but he could easily imagine pulling the pins and coaxing the silky strands to fall upon her shoulders. A red-and-white-striped apron covered most of her blouse and jeans, yet as far as Dale was concerned, the casual clothing only made her sexier.
As customers collected their orders and departed the sweet shop, Dale mentally went over every line he’d ever handed a woman, but once his turn came to step up to the counter, all he could do was stare at her sky-blue eyes and the smile tilting the corners of her plush pink lips.
“Hello,” she greeted. “May I help you?”
He cleared his throat, but the reflexive action didn’t seem to help loosen his partially paralyzed tongue. “Uh—yeah. I’m here to pick up an order.”
“Name?” she asked.
“Oh. Yes. My sister-in-law—she called in the order.”
The pretty blonde continued to smile at him and Dale could see a bit of humor had crept into her expression. Did she think he was funny-looking or something?
“And your sister-in-law’s name?” she prompted.
Dale felt hot color creeping up his neck. “Uh—sorry. Erica. Erica Dalton.”
Nodding, she said, “Oh sure. I have her order ready.”
She turned away from the counter and walked over to a long table situated against the wall behind her. Dale used the moment to slide his gaze over her pert little bottom and shapely legs inside the skinny jeans.
That part of her looked more than fine, he thought. But he still hadn’t had a chance to get a full view of her left hand. If he spotted a wedding ring, then all his admiring and ogling would be for naught.
She returned and placed a large paper bag with the name Kendra’s Cupcakes stamped on the side onto the checkout counter. “Two dozen cupcakes of mixed flavors,” she stated, then asked, “Is there anything else you’d like?”
Dale could think of plenty of things he’d like from her, none of which he could say out loud. The decadent thoughts were going through his head as her left hand finally came into view. Ridiculous relief poured through him as he saw there was no ring or even a pale circle of where one used to be.
Without bothering to consider what he was actually doing, he gestured to the glass display case situated on the right side of the checkout counter. “You know, I’m feeling mighty hungry this evening. You might box me up a dozen of those cupcakes with the swirly stuff on top.”
She stepped over to the case and slid open a door at the back. “The chocolate or vanilla?” she asked.
“Uh, which one tastes the best?” He realized there were customers behind him and he was taking up her time, but he had to grab the chance to talk with her. Even if the conversation was only about cupcakes.
She let out a soft chuckle and the sound floated over him like a warm, dreamy cloud. What in heck was wrong with him, anyway? He’d been around plenty of attractive women. So why was this one making him feel like an addled fool?
“Depends on a person’s taste,” she told him. “Frankly, I like the vanilla, but I’m a plain Jane.”
Her comment very nearly made him laugh, but he stifled the reaction. There was nothing plain about this lady. “Okay, I’ll try the vanilla.”
She quickly placed the cupcakes in a special holder, then carefully eased the whole thing in a sack that matched the one with Erica’s order.
When she stepped over to the cash register and began to punch the keys, she said, “So you’re Erica’s brother-in-law?”
Could she possibly be the teeniest bit interested in him? He could only hope. “Yes. I’m Dale Dalton.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kendra Humphrey.”
She totaled up the amount due for his order and he handed her enough bills to cover the cost.
“Kendra,” he repeated thoughtfully, then his gaze fell to the name on the sacks and the connection clicked. “You own this bakery?”
“I do.” Her smile was edged with pride as she counted his change. “I hope you enjoy your cupcakes. Thank you for coming in.”
Dale was all set to continue their conversation, but she was already moving over to where the next customer was eyeing rows of apple fritters.
Realizing the short moments he’d had with her were over, Dale turned away from the counter feeling oddly bereft. He’d exchanged a handful of words with a woman he’d never met in his life, yet he felt like he’d just said goodbye to one of his arms or legs.
Damn! He must be losing it, he thought. Love at first sight didn’t happen in real life. Especially not to Dale Dalton. He was too happy playing the field. Still, a date or two with the pretty baker would be mighty nice.
As Dale skirted around the line of waiting customers and made his way to the front, he was so preoccupied with the notion of asking Kendra Humphrey for a date that he very nearly collided with a little girl who’d pirouetted directly into his path.
Somehow he managed to do a quick sidestep to avoid the crash, while the child, seemingly unaffected by the near miss, stopped and stared curiously up at him. Dale’s first instinct was to hurry on past her and out the door. He wasn’t good with kids. Except for the limited time he spent with his nieces and nephews, he wasn’t around children very often. But something about this girl’s sweet little face made him pause.
“Hello,” she said brightly. “What’s your name?”
Somewhat nonplussed by her bold approach, he answered, “Dale Dalton. And let me guess. Your name is Princess.”
Her little nose wrinkled with disapproval. “My name isn’t Princess. Why would you think that?”
A fluffy pink skirt partially covered the top portion of a pair of black jeans, while a purple T-shirt with a cartoon dinosaur in bright lime green completed her colorful wardrobe. A small rhinestone tiara adorned the top of her blond hair.
He gestured to the head decoration. “You’re wearing a crown. Princesses wear those things, don’t they?”
Her expression said she’d already summed him up as being a silly man and as Dale noted her wavy blond hair and blue eyes, he was knocked a bit off-kilter. This girl clearly resembled the owner of the bakery.
Quick to correct him, she said, “This is not a crown. It’s my tiara. My name is Mila Humphrey and I’m seven. Do you live around here?”
“I live on a ranch. Dalton’s Grange. It’s a few miles out of town,” he answered, while the child’s last name spun through his head.
Dale glanced over his shoulder to where Kendra continued to take orders from the waiting customers, then back to the charming child standing in front of him.
Mila didn’t give him a chance to question the connection—she lifted her chin to a proud angle and stated, “That’s my mommy and this is her bakery. She makes money selling good things to eat.”
So Kendra had a daughter. Did that mean she was married? In spite of her not wearing a wedding ring? He could ask the girl an offhand question about her father, but that would make Dale a creepy jerk. Besides, there were plenty of reasons Kendra might not be sporting a ring. She might be allergic to precious metals. Or maybe she didn’t want to get her diamonds all gooey when she mixed pastry dough. And no doubt her wedding ring would be full of diamonds, he thought. A man lucky enough to have her for a wife would give her nothing less.
Realizing his mind was on a runaway fantasy, he gave himself a mental shake and smiled at the child. “I’m sure everything your mommy bakes is delicious.”
The girl regarded him skeptically. “Are you married?”
A bit taken aback, he said, “No. Are you?”
“I’m too young,” she explained. “And I don’t have a boyfriend yet.”
“I’m sure you’ll have one soon enough,” he told her.
She tilted her little blond head to one side as she continued to regard him with big blue eyes. And even though Dale was telling himself he needed to be headed home to the ranch, there was something about Mila that made it impossible for him to walk away.
“I’ll bet you have lots of girlfriends,” she said suddenly. “Cute cowboys usually do.”
Was that how this rosy-cheeked cherub saw him? He was thinking she might be smarter than he first imagined when she promptly added, “My mommy goes on dates—sometimes. But I don’t think you should bother asking her to go on one.”
Dale was thrilled to hear Kendra Humphrey was single and dated occasionally. But he wasn’t at all sure he liked having a seven-year-old read his mind. And where did she come off giving him romantic advice?
“Why not? I’m a nice guy.”
She shrugged. “You’re just not her type. She likes men who wear glasses and read books.”
The nerdy type? Kendra hardly looked like a woman who’d want to spend an evening discussing literature with a man, Dale thought. It was difficult for him to imagine those luscious pink lips talking instead of kissing.
He said, “Uh, don’t you think you should let your mommy decide whether she likes cowboys?”
She shrugged both shoulders, then reached up and carefully adjusted the rhinestone tiara on her head. “Well, she might like cowboys. But only the kind who want to settle down and have kids. And you’re not that kind. I can tell.”
Dale had to admit there was nothing bratty or purposely impolite about Kendra Humphrey’s daughter. But just the same, her comments were pushing his buttons. How did this child know he was the free-roaming type? Did he have it written across his forehead? And even if he did, could a seven-year-old read?
He was wondering how he could respond to the girl, or if he should even try, when a soft, female voice sounded behind him.
“Mila! Are you harassing Mr. Dalton?”
Dale glanced over his shoulder to see Kendra, looking somewhat exasperated, hurrying toward them. At the same time, he noticed the customers had cleared away from the display counters and now the only patrons left inside the bakery were the ones seated at the tables.
“No problem.” Dale flashed Kendra his most charming grin. “Your daughter and I were just having a—Well, an enlightening discussion about cowboys.”
Groaning with embarrassment, she leveled a stern look at her daughter, then turned an apologetic smile on Dale. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Dalton—”
“Oh, no one calls me Mr. Dalton. I’m Dale to everybody.”
Smiling, she took a step closer and rested a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, and as Dale took in the image of the two of them together it was hard for him to imagine why there wasn’t a man in the family. What kind of fool would give up these two? Or perhaps he’d not given them up. Maybe the man had died an untimely death.
“Okay, Dale. And I apologize for Mila. She can be, uh, very pushy sometimes and unfortunately she says exactly what’s on her mind.”
Which appeared to be screening men for her mother’s potential boyfriends. Judging by the way Mila was carefully taking in everything he and Kendra said to each other, she probably held these question-and-answer sessions with suitable male customers on a daily basis.
“Don’t give it a second thought. I welcome a girl’s dating advice no matter what their age,” he joked.
Kendra let out another embarrassed groan. “I’m sorry about this, Dale. Please let me give you some extra cupcakes to make up for my daughter’s behavior.”
“That’s thoughtful of you, Ms. Humphrey. But it’s not necessary,” he told her.
The smile she flashed him said she was grateful he wasn’t taking Mila’s chatter to heart. It also told Dale he couldn’t possibly rest until he saw this woman again. Especially without a seven-year-old chaperone.
“Call me Kendra. And it’s necessary to me,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
While Kendra went to fetch the cupcakes, Mila used the time to practice her pirouettes, only she wasn’t balanced on the toes of ballet flats, she was wearing a pair of sparkly pink cowgirl boots. Dale couldn’t imagine how it would be to parent such a precocious child. His brother Morgan did a great job dealing with his little daughter, JoJo. But Dale had never imagined himself as a daddy.
“I’ve been taking dance lessons,” she told Dale. “Someday I might dance on a stage. Mommy says anybody can do what they really want if they try hard.”
“Your mommy is right.”
She stopped her whirling and leveled a curious look at him. “Are you trying to do something?”
The simply spoken question caught Dale off guard. What was he trying to do in the greater scheme of things? Sure, he was helping to keep the family ranch, Dalton’s Grange, intact and profitable. He was doing his part to make sure his mother remained healthy and happy. But in regard to his own life, he couldn’t think of one single thing he was trying to do, except enjoy himself.
“Well, I guess I try to do lots of things,” he told her. “When I’m at work on the ranch.”
She didn’t appear to be all that impressed with his answer, but she remained silent. Probably because her mother had just walked up to join them.
“Here’s the extra cupcakes, Dale.” She handed the sack to him and he could tell by the weight that she’d been very generous. “I hope my pestering daughter won’t keep you from visiting the bakery again.”
He could tell her that a herd of wild horses couldn’t keep him away, but he kept the thought to himself. He didn’t want to give Mila reason to shoot him a look of disapproval, or give Kendra the impression he was overeager.
“Like I said, she hasn’t been a bother. You’ll be seeing me again. And thanks for the extra cupcakes.”
“You’re welcome,” she told him, then purposely wrapped a hand around Mila’s shoulder. “Come on, sweetie. I have a job for you back in the kitchen.”
Mother and daughter walked away and Dale forced himself to leave the bakery, but as he made the long drive to Dalton’s Grange, he continued to think about Kendra and little Mila. A fact that surprised him. He’d never thought of himself as a family man, yet something about Kendra and her daughter had him wondering how it might feel to be a husband and father.
The kitchen area at the back of Kendra’s Cupcakes wasn’t large, but the space was efficiently equipped with everything Kendra and her helpers needed to get the daily baking done. At this time of the evening, the ovens and deep fryers were shut down and Jackie, a twenty-five-year-old woman with vivid red hair, cut in a pixie style, was busy mopping the floor.
She looked up as Kendra marched Mila over to the end of a work counter and lifted her onto the top seat of a step chair.
“Uh-oh. Looks like someone is in trouble,” she said slyly. “Who did she ambush this time? A married minister?”
“I only wish it had been,” Kendra told her assistant. “This time Mila had to pick on one of the Dalton brothers. An unmarried one.”
Shaking her head, Jackie leaned on the mop handle. “You made a big mistake, Kendra, when you allowed Mila to go with you to Audrey Hawkins and Jack Burris’s wedding. Now the child has weddings on the brain.”
Unfortunately, Jackie was right. Ever since they’d attended Audrey Hawkins and Jack Burris’s beautiful wedding, Mila talked incessantly about brides and grooms, flower girls and ring bearers. Each time an opportunity presented itself, she announced to their friends, and even strangers, that her mommy was going to get married—soon! It was beginning to be a very frustrating problem for Kendra. Especially when she had no plans to even look for a boyfriend, much less get married.
“Well, that can’t be all bad,” Jackie said. “The way I remember, there’s not one ugly Dalton in the bunch.”
Kendra helplessly rolled her eyes. “Jackie, you’re no help at all!”
With a mischievous chuckle, Jackie continued with her mopping, while Kendra turned an admonishing look on her daughter.
Mila carefully smoothed her pink tulle skirt before she leveled an innocent smile at her mother. “What do you want me to do sitting here, Mommy?”
“I want you to explain what you were doing with Mr. Dalton. I know you haven’t forgotten what I told you about talking to the male customers—about asking them personal and embarrassing questions. I’ve told you it’s rude and not to be doing it. So what do you have to say for yourself?”
Seemingly unfazed by her mother’s interrogation, Mila said, “I wasn’t being rude. Dale liked talking to me. I could tell.”
The moment Kendra had spotted the Dalton brother sauntering into the bakery, she had to admit, she’d taken a second and third peek at the tall, good-looking cowboy. Dark hair, blue eyes and a killer smile. He’d had that look of a charming rascal. Exactly the sort of guy she didn’t need in her life. But that hadn’t stopped Kendra from snatching a few more glances at the man while she’d tended to the other customers.
While she’d dealt with Dale’s order, he’d been polite and friendly. He hadn’t ogled her as if he wished she was a part of the dessert menu and Kendra had appreciated his gentlemanly attitude. So when she’d looked up a few moments later to see her daughter had waylaid the sexy cowboy a few feet from the door, she’d been totally mortified.
Turning her focus back to Mila, she asked, “Really? How did you decide that Dale liked talking to you?”
Mila’s lips pursed together before she finally spoke. “Well, he was smiling and he wasn’t saying anything mean. And he wasn’t rolling his eyes or looking bored.”
Kendra let out a long sigh. She didn’t know where her daughter had gotten the ability to size up people, but usually Mila was spot-on in her assessments. And to be fair, Dale hadn’t appeared to be all that irritated with Mila’s foolishness.
“And I suppose you asked him if he was married or had a girlfriend.”
Mila nodded. “Why not? He’s cute. We needed to know if he had a wife. And he doesn’t. But don’t worry, Mommy. I already told him that he wasn’t your type.”
Oh Lord, this was worse than Kendra had first thought. “Mila, you didn’t!”
Seeing the anger on her mother’s face, Mila held her palms up in a defensive gesture. “Well, I had to set him straight. Because I could see he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d want to get married and have kids.”
There was no point in asking her daughter how she’d reached such a conclusion about Dale Dalton. Frankly, Kendra had concluded the same thing, but that hardly meant it was right or proper for her daughter to be discussing such issues with a strange man.
“Mila, I realize you’d like to have a daddy and that you want brothers and sisters. But you need to understand how things like this work. You can’t just go around picking out a man to be your mommy’s husband. It doesn’t work that way. A man and woman need lots of time to discover if they’re compatible and if there’s chemistry between them before they can, um, get together.”
A puzzled frown wrinkled Mila’s forehead. “Does that mean you need to find out whether you like each other?”
“Well, that’s a simple way of putting it, but yes. And finding out whether you’d like someone for a lifetime doesn’t happen overnight.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Mila folded her arms across the dinosaur on her chest. “Well, it won’t happen with you at all, Mommy, ’cause you’re too busy. That’s why you need me to help you find a boyfriend. One that’ll want to be my daddy.”
There was no way Kendra could stay angry with her daughter. Hearing Mila’s wish for a father always tore at her heart. It also left her feeling like a failure.
Damn Bryce! She’d given her ex every opportunity to be a part of Mila’s life. She’d tried her hardest to make him see how much his daughter needed her father. But he’d always been too self-absorbed to ever acknowledge Mila, much less give her attention and support.
Sighing, Kendra reached out and patted Mila’s cheek. “I know you mean well, sweetie. But you need to let me choose my own boyfriend. Okay?”
Mila frowned. “Okay. But I don’t think you’ll really start looking for one.”
Her daughter knew her well. Kendra had little interest in finding a boyfriend. Her marriage to Bryce had been humiliating and heartbreaking. He’d broken every promise he’d ever made to her and squashed every dream she’d ever had for a family. She didn’t need a man waltzing into her life and messing it all up for a second time.
Hearing the jingle of the outer door of the bakery, Kendra quickly lifted Mila off the seat and set her back on the floor. “Come on. We have customers waiting.”
Three hours later, Smitty, the young man who worked as the bakery-café’s barista, along with Andrea, a part-time college student who worked as a server and all-around helper, had already left for the night. Kendra was getting ready to close up shop when she spotted a frequent patron attempting to enter the bakery. Because the woman was elderly and walked with the aid of a cane, she oftentimes struggled with the door, so Kendra hurried over to give her a helping hand.
“Let me hold the door for you, Mrs. Garrison. The wind is strong tonight.”
“Bless you, Kendra. Are you about to close?”
“Don’t worry. You have plenty of time to get whatever you’d like,” Kendra told her.
Just as the woman hobbled over the threshold, an orange cat zoomed past her legs and straight into the bakery, causing both women to let out shrieks of surprise.
“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Garrison cried out.
Kendra stared after the flash of ginger fur racing across the bakery floor.
“It’s that darned cat again!” she exclaimed.
Racing after the animal, Mila shouted, “Mommy, it’s the orange kitty! He’s come back to see us. Can I pick him up?”
“No, Mila!” she called out, but Mila was already chasing the cat around the display cases and through the door of the kitchen.
With the customer safely inside, and the door shut behind her, Kendra said, “Excuse me for a minute, Mrs. Garrison, I’d better see about our unannounced visitor.”
Kendra hurried back to the kitchen to find Mila peering beneath a rolling cart that was sandwiched between the refrigerator and a cabinet.
“He’s hiding under the bottom shelf, Mommy!”
Jackie, who was standing directly behind Mila, glanced over her shoulder as Kendra approached them. “I don’t think the cat is too happy about being in the kitchen,” she told her.
Kendra walked cautiously over to the cart and squatted on her heels to get a better look at the cat. At the moment, the animal was peeking timidly out at the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Hello, pretty guy,” she gently said to him. “What are you doing? Looking for a meal, or a girlfriend?”
The cat’s big green eyes blinked once as he made a skeptical study of Kendra, but he didn’t make a move to crawl from his hiding place to greet her.
“Can I give him some milk, Mommy? It might make him come out and let me pet him.”
Kendra had seen the cat at the back of the bakery on different occasions. Probably because Mila had been secretly tossing it food. And once he’d dashed into the bakery’s entry, but during those visits, he’d never stuck around long enough for the animal-rescue organization to catch up with him.
“Okay. A small bowl of milk. But don’t scare him. Animal rescue needs to collect him.”
“I’ll pour the milk for Mila to give him,” Jackie said. “Go ahead and finish whatever you were doing.”
“Thanks, Jackie.”
Kendra returned to the front to deal with Mrs. Garrison. The woman’s order turned out to be an extra-large one and Kendra carried everything out to the woman’s car.
Once she helped the faithful customer to her vehicle, Kendra waved goodbye, then hurried back inside to call animal rescue. When a man answered, she quickly related the situation.
“The cat you’re describing sounds exactly like Morris. The feline who went missing in July.”
“Morris,” Kendra repeated thoughtfully. “Yes, I recall seeing a poster on a missing cat by that name. You think this might be him?”
“Possibly. We’ve been getting calls of sightings around town, but no one has managed to corner him,” the man replied. “He escaped an apartment fire and hasn’t been located since.”
“Morris or not, this cat is right here in my kitchen,” Kendra explained. “It’s past closing time, but I’ll be glad to stay here until the rescue unit arrives to collect him.”
“Thank you, Ms. Humphrey. Someone will be there in just a few minutes.”
At some point during the phone call, Mila had appeared at Kendra’s side. Now, as Kendra hung up the phone, her daughter tugged on the leg of her jeans and looked up at her with pleading eyes.
“Mommy, why does someone have to get the cat? Why can’t we take him home with us? He looks nice. And remember, you said I could get a pet pretty soon.”
Kendra wearily pushed at the strands of hair that had tumbled loose from the bun atop her head. She’d been going since four o’clock this morning and the day had been a long one. Now, with a wily cat to deal with, the day was growing even longer.
Suppressing a sigh, she looked down at her daughter’s eager face. “I haven’t forgotten my promise to get you a kitten or puppy. But this cat belongs to someone else. He’s been lost and people are looking for him so they can take him to the home where he belongs.”
Mila looked crestfallen. “I guess he does need to be with his family. But he should’ve walked to his own house instead of coming to the bakery.”
“He’s probably confused and doesn’t know where his house is.” Kendra patted her shoulder. “Now I need to finish packing up the leftover pastries. You’d be a big help if you’d go sit by the door and watch for the animal-rescue people.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
While Mila stood sentinel at the door, Kendra went to work. Each night, on her way home, Jackie dropped off the surplus of baked goods at a local charity house or nursing home. Kendra liked to think the donated food was enjoyed by folks who were especially in need.
As she packed up a cardboard box, Kendra’s thoughts unwittingly drifted to Dale Dalton. Until he’d walked into the bakery, she’d never seen the man before. But that was hardly surprising. She was usually too busy to attend many social events around Bronco and those that she did take in were usually family-type outings. Not the sort of entertainment a good-looking bachelor like him would find interesting.
Before he’d explained to Kendra that he was picking up his sister-in-law’s order, she would’ve never guessed he was a member of the Dalton family. Except for Morgan Dalton, who was married to her friend Erica, she wasn’t personally acquainted with the Dalton brothers. She’d often heard Erica talk about living on Dalton’s Grange with her husband, however, Kendra had never seen or visited the property located on the outskirts of Bronco. From Erica’s comments, Kendra knew the ranch was very large and supported huge herds of livestock.
During Mila’s earlier chatter about Dale, Kendra had learned he worked on the ranch. Which meant it was probably safe to assume he lived there too. He’d also told Mila he didn’t have a wife, which hardly surprised Kendra. From the looks of him, she figured his romantic involvements were the brief kind without promises or strings.
Kendra, why are you thinking about Dale Dalton? He isn’t your kind of man. Besides, you don’t want a man in your life, remember?
Pushing back at the annoying voice in her head, she started to carry the box of leftovers back to the kitchen, when Mila sang out.
“Those people are here, Mommy! And they have a little cage with them!”
After placing the box on the counter, Kendra walked to the door to meet a young man and woman, both wearing polo shirts with emblems that read Bronco Animal Rescue.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” Kendra told them. “The cat is in the kitchen—hidden under a table. Follow me and I’ll show you.”
The group entered the kitchen and Mila immediately pointed to the table where Morris had remained since the rescue service had been called.
“He’s under there,” Mila told the rescue workers. “We gave him a bowl of milk and he drank all of it. He was hungry.”
The man cautiously approached the rolling cart, then kneeled down and looked under the bottom shelf. “I don’t see any kind of cat under here.”
“What?” Kendra practically shouted the word. “He was there not more than five minutes ago. I saw him. A big orange cat.”
Mila raced over to the cart and, lying flat on the floor, peered beneath it. “He’s not here, Mommy!”
“Well, he has to be here in the kitchen somewhere,” Kendra said. “He couldn’t have gotten out.”
She’d barely spoken the words, when Jackie entered the back door of the building. The redhead was carrying a large plastic bucket. She glanced nonchalantly at the group.
“Did you get the cat?” she asked.
Kendra walked over to where Jackie was placing the pail in a storage closet. “No. The cat isn’t under the cart, where we left him,” Kendra told her. “Have you seen him?”
As she waited for Jackie to answer, the rescue pair began to search the small nooks and spaces around the room.
Puzzled, Jackie nodded. “He was here a couple of minutes ago. I saw him before I went out to the dumpster. Maybe—” Her mouth formed a perfect O. “Do you think he might have run out the door?”
Kendra passed a weary hand over her forehead. “Did you leave the door open while you went out?”
A look of guilt crossed the redhead’s face. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I mean, we don’t normally have a cat in the kitchen.”
“We don’t normally have any animal in the kitchen!” Kendra exclaimed, then, with a rueful shake of her head, she patted Jackie’s arm. “Don’t feel badly. I imagine the cat will turn up somewhere sooner or later.”
Hearing Jackie’s admission about the door, the two rescue workers decided to search the back alley, but several minutes later they returned to announce Morris was nowhere to be found.
After the rescue workers departed and Jackie left with the box of pastries to be donated, Kendra began locking the doors for the night.
Mila trailed after her. “Mommy, why did Morris run off? Didn’t he like us?”
Pausing, Kendra stroked a hand down the back of Mila’s blond hair. “Well, he wasn’t with us long enough for him to decide whether he liked us. And I suspect he’s just trying to find his way back home.”
“Like we found our home here in Bronco?”
Smiling now, Kendra bent down and placed a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “That’s right, princess.”
Mila giggled. “Dale said my name was Princess. Because I’m wearing my tiara. That’s funny.”
Kendra slanted her a curious glance. “I thought you decided Dale wouldn’t make a good boyfriend for me.”
Tilting her head from side to side, she said, “Well, he wouldn’t make a good one for you. But he is cute.”
Yes, Dale was charming, cute and sexy, Kendra thought. Everything she didn’t need in her life.
