The Cowboy Comes Home. Patricia Thayer

your things. You have school tomorrow.”

      The kid opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned to Johnny. “Papa Clay said that a gentleman never sasses a lady.”

      “Your grandfather was a smart man.”

      “The smartest in the whole wide world.” The boy got up from the table and walked out.

      The room grew silent except for the soft tones coming from the other side of the kitchen. “I should go, too,” he told Jess.

      He was surprised when she reached across the table and touched his arm to stop him. He felt the warmth of her delicate hand through his shirt.

      “Please, don’t leave.” She quickly moved it away. “I mean, finish your coffee, Mr. Jameson. And have some dessert. It’s apple pie.”

      He looked into those light brown eyes. “I will if you stop calling me mister. Again, the name is Johnny.”

      “Johnny,” she repeated. “And I’m Jess.”

      “That short for Jessica?”

      With her nod, he said, “I think Jess suits you better.”

      “I don’t know if I should ask what you mean by that.”

      “I’d say you’re a solid, dependable person.”

      She quickly changed the subject. “What about you, Johnny Jameson? Do you have a place you call home?”

      He hated to have the tables turned on him. But it was best she knew him from the start. No surprises. “No. I travel too much with my work to pay for a place that would be empty for months at a time. As you can see, my trailer is big enough.” He smiled. “And a pretty good sleeping quarters, and just about everything else I need.”

      “You don’t get lonely?”

      Hell, he’d been lonely all his life. He took a sip of coffee. “I’ve been on my own since I was a kid. I like moving around from place to place.” He needed to get her away from talking about him. “Enough about me.” He leaned forward, his voice low. “I’d rather talk about a pretty woman, with a smile that could stop a man in his tracks.”

      A blush rose on her cheeks and she glanced away.

      “Too much information?” he asked.

      “Maybe a little inappropriate. We don’t even know each other.”

      He started to speak when he heard a familiar voice ask, “Mom, what does inppro … inpprop …?”

      Smiling, Johnny stood. “It means that I didn’t behave myself, son.” He ruffled the boy’s hair and walked to the back door. Grabbing his hat off the hook he looked back at the woman he suspected would be keeping him awake tonight.

      “Good night, Jess. Brady.” He turned and walked out into the cold, but that didn’t put out the fire in his belly.

      The next morning, Jess had struggled to get Brady dressed and out the door on time. She needed to open the store. Her manager and right-hand man, Molly Dayton, usually came in early on Brady’s school days to start the baking orders.

      With ten minutes to spare she kissed her son goodbye at preschool, then climbed into her small silver SUV and drove back two miles toward the west side of the ranch. To the section of Calhoun land that ran next to the highway and the home of Jess’s bakery. Above the shop was also a two-bedroom apartment where she and Brady called home.

      Even though the bakery had been a dream of hers none of it would have come to be if not for her father. He’d convinced her to keep going after what she wanted in life.

      When she’d outgrown the kitchen at the ranch for jarring the fruit preserves, and the mail-order business took off for Sandra’s jellies and preserves, he’d loaned her the money for a bakery with a small warehouse at the back to expand her business.

      She’d talked him into adding a two-bedroom apartment over the bakery so she and Brady had their own place.

      Clay had complained about her living so far away from the main house, but there were two shifts a day with production in the warehouse, so there needed to be someone close by. Right now the store didn’t get as much traffic as she wanted; most of her jelly and jam sales were from the internet. She hoped to change that. She didn’t want to live over the bakery permanently. That was why she had more plans to expand, not only the business but her home.

      Jess parked at the side of the building and walked through the front door of the store. The familiar aroma of the baking bread and cakes hit her as she went behind the long counter to the cash register. She took out the bills and coins from her purse and added them to the cash register for today’s sales.

      Removing her coat, she walked along the high glass case filled with sweets, cakes and pies that were fresh for today’s customers.

      The entire store was filled with her products. The shelves along the opposite wall were stacked with Sandra’s Preserves. During the winter months, she didn’t expect a lot of traffic in the store, but they were still busy filling orders from town.

      Jess heard a familiar voice from the back and looked up to see her best friend carrying in a tray of cakes.

      “Hi, Mol.”

      “Morning, Jess.”

      Molly Dayton had lived in Larkville all her life. That was how long she’d been friends with Jess. Molly had moved to Houston for college, and a few years ago when her parents had lost their ranch, she’d come home to help out. Now, her father, Ben, handled the shipping of all the bakery’s products. Molly’s mother, Carol, was her best baker. All ten of her employees were the best.

      “Did Jerry deliver the café’s order?” Jess asked.

      “Yes, even Mrs. Fielder’s birthday cake made it on the truck.” Molly set the tray down on the counter. It was laden with two carrot cakes and three of her double Dutch chocolate cakes. Jess smiled. “Looks like your mother’s been busy.”

      The pretty brunette smiled. “Hey, be careful, or she’ll take over.”

      Jess loved Carol Dayton. She had come in to help with her quickly expanding business, and now, Jess didn’t know what she’d do without her. “How is everything else going?”

      Molly folded her arms. “You tell me, friend.”

      “What happened?”

      “A good-looking guy shows up at your ranch and I have to hear about it in town.”