She hated that. “I can’t think of how to explain that part—yet.”
Johnny grinned. “I can.”
But before he could say more, the family emerged from the kitchen, flooding back into the living room with expectant gazes on their faces. Apparently, they’d collectively decided they’d waited long enough to get the scoop on Jenn and her new beau.
Even Scotty looked curious. How could he think for one second that…
Her thoughts were cut off when Johnny stood, and with the athletic agility of a rugged cowboy, slid into the spot next to her on the sofa and slipped his arm around her shoulders, effectively sealing the deal.
She couldn’t think. She couldn’t breathe. The temperature in the room seemed to suddenly have spiked to well over two hundred degrees.
What was the crazy cowboy up to now? Didn’t he realize he was making things worse by the second?
And how was she going to explain herself to her family, when Johnny was acting so cozy with her?
There was only one answer to that question.
She couldn’t.
Chapter Two
“Relax,” he whispered close to her ear, his soft drawl sending a shiver down her spine for any number of reasons. “I’m doing you a favor.”
What? Her mind scrambled for an answer to his riddle, but she couldn’t put two thoughts together rationally to save her life.
Steady, she coaxed herself mentally. Relax. Think. Try to locate your brain.
“Thanks, folks,” Johnny said, addressing her hovering family. “It was nice to have a few minutes alone with Jenn to get—er—reacquainted with this lovely lady.”
His arm tightened around her shoulder for just a moment. She didn’t know if the gesture was meant for the family’s benefit or if he was sending her some kind of unspoken message.
Maybe both.
Because she was sure, now, what he was doing.
He was playing her game.
The game she had initiated and no longer wanted any part of.
She tried to speak, to lay it all on the line for her family, but Johnny’s statement sent the whole clan abuzz, and Jenn couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
“A cowboy,” Granny said, looking from Johnny to Jenn, and then back at Johnny again, assessing them before giving Jenn a nod of approval. “Who would have thought?”
Who would have thought, indeed? Jenn wouldn’t hog-tie herself to a ranch hand in a million years. Rough-and-tumble cowboys just weren’t her type, and her family, of all people, should have known that.
“The flowers are lovely,” her mother offered.
Especially picked for me, by me, Jenn thought.
“And how romantic for you two to meet up this way,” Auntie Myra added. “Johnny must have done some real fast talking to surprise you like this, Jenn. All in all, I think this whole reunion is going to be one surprise after another.”
More than Auntie Myra could possibly know.
Granddad settled into the chocolate-colored armchair Johnny had vacated. “So, son, tell us more about you. Jenn was going to fill us in when you arrived. Where do you hail from?”
Jenn noticed Johnny’s hesitation, and the way his grip on his cowboy hat tightened. He rolled the rim as he spoke. “I’m originally from Nebraska, sir, but I’ve lived all over the country at one time or another.”
That explained the slight but unidentifiable drawl, at any rate—the accent that made her heart do that tiny, annoying flutter she was trying to ignore. Johnny spoke firmly and quietly, but the tension was definitely still present.
Jenn wondered if anyone else had noticed the way he’d suddenly stiffened. But no, of course not—they were all flying off in this wild fantasy she had created for their benefit. She wanted to crawl underneath the nearest chair and hide, but Johnny’s arm was still firmly about her shoulders.
“Your family is in Nebraska?” Jenn’s father asked, standing directly behind the armchair her grandfather occupied and leaning into it, resting his elbow on the cushion.
“No family,” Johnny said briskly. He wanted to fold his arms across his chest in a protective move, but he didn’t want to let go of Jenn to do it, so he remained where he was. He didn’t want to talk about this subject—not to this nice, close, happy family. But he knew he had to say something. “I’m an orphan, sir.”
Best to stay as close to the truth as possible, he decided. As a Christian, it went against every moral grain in his body to submit even the smallest white lie to anyone, but he’d suddenly discovered a chivalrous streak he hadn’t even known he possessed until this moment.
At first, this charade had been about himself, about protecting his own identity and getting to spend a couple weeks finding out how a real family functioned.
Now it was about Jenn.
When the family had abruptly broken off his conversation with Jenn, he’d moved to her side without a moment’s thought or hesitation, going straight on gut instinct. An instinct to protect the beautiful woman now lodged firmly, if not comfortably, in his arms.
The fact that he was protecting her from herselfcrossed his mind, but it didn’t matter now. He’d made his decision and he was going to stick with it.
“Well, you’ve got family here, son,” Jenn’s grandfather said firmly. “Any friend of Jenn and Scotty’s is always welcome here.”
To his surprise, Johnny found himself fighting a burning sensation in the back of his eyes. He’d thought he’d put aside all his hurt and anguish at having grown up without a family, but Jenn’s grandfather’s words pierced his heart.
Johnny wasn’t a crying man. He hadn’t shed a single tear since he was five years old and his bully of a foster brother had beaten him up for being such a sissy.
He grit his teeth against the onslaught of emotion, determined to overcome it by sheer strength of will but entirely unable to speak.
“That’s right, honey,” Auntie Myra said, ruffling Johnny’s hair as she would a young boy. “Now that you’re dating our precious Jenn, you’ve got to consider us all your family. And I expect you to call me Auntie Myra. I know the rest of my family feels the same—Granny, Granddad.”
Johnny opened his mouth to speak but only a choking sound emerged.
Auntie Myra held up her hands, thinking he was trying to beg off. If only she knew.
“No, no, we won’t hear of anything else, will we, folks?”
Her family clamored over each other to be the first to agree.
Jenn’s mother placed a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “I know you must be feeling a little overwhelmed right now, Johnny. Don’t let them frighten you away. I know you and Jenn are just dating. You probably haven’t made any long-term plans.”
That was an understatement. He and Jenn hadn’t gotten so far as to what they were going to do in the next minute, much less the next two weeks. Johnny swallowed hard and nodded.
“Still and all, things being the way they are, Jenn’s father and I would be honored if you would treat us like family, even if it’s just for these two weeks.”
Johnny looked at Jenn. Her bright blue eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, from joy or chagrin he couldn’t say.
For himself, Johnny thought this might be the happiest moment of his life, and it was certainly going to be the best two weeks he’d ever spent.
He was still feeling guilty about