Page 42 of Her Bachelor Cowboy Billionaire

Athena stood and put her arms around Jessica and before fetching her the box of tissues from the counter.

Suddenly, Jessica realized she was crying. She pulled a tissue from the box and dried her eyes, then blew her nose. “Thank you. I hadn’t realized I still missed him so much. I think about him every day and wish he was here to tease me about my books and to finally convince Mom to go with him to Europe or Australia or Ireland. Somewhere other than our hometown of Golden, a suburb of Denver.”

Athena embraced her again. “How long has he been gone?”

She loved that Athena just held her and let her talk. “Ten years, though when I think about him, it seems like only yesterday. To me, he’s still alive.” She touched her chest over her heart. “In here.”

Athena squeezed her shoulders. “Good. I’m glad. That’s what matters now.”

“Yes, it does. Shall we get these beans snapped so we can get to the rest of them? Because I know, with all those mouths you have to feed, this is not the whole batch.”

Athena laughed.

The sound reminded her of her mother…in happier times.

“You’re right. This is half, but if I cook them together, the cowboys will take everything. They don’t know how to stop. They are more like teenage boys that way. Cowboys are always hungry because they work so hard.”

Jessica laughed. “You’re probably right. What is the old saying? ‘The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.’”

Roark entered from the backyard, followed by Jubal and Mannie. “Are we being disparaged?”

“Sheesh!” Jessica jumped and nearly spilled her bowl of beans on the floor. “You scared the bejeepers out of me.”

Roark raised one of his perfect black brows and crossed his arms over his muscled chest. “Bejeepers?”

Jubal laughed.

So did Mannie, who tried to cover it with a cough and a hand over his mouth.

She turned, stood and grabbed her crutches, then she made her way over to him and poked him in the chest. “Don’t think you can make fun of me and get out of this. You shouldn’t sneak up on us.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Okay. I’ll be louder next time I come in from outside.”

“That’s right.” Her lips quivered, and she started to laugh.

Then Athena laughed.

Jubal shook his head. “Ya’all are crazy.”

Mannie looked at all of them. “I think you’ve lost it. I’m headed home.”

Jessica stood in front of Roark, facing the others in the room.

He wrapped his arms around the top of her shoulders.

“Mannie, why don’t you bring Alice to dinner? I’d love to meet her.”

Roark looked at his foreman. “Of course, I would love to meet her myself. Come to dinner.”

Mannie hmmm and shuffled his boots. “I don’t know. She’s probably made dinner already. She likes to spoil me that way.”

“Then come for coffee and dessert,” said Jessica.

Mannie nodded. “Sure, sure, that would be great. We’ll see you about seven this evening.”

“Sounds good.” Roark lowered his arms and watched Mannie leave. Then he walked to the cupboard, got a coffee mug, and poured himself a cup of hot coffee.

Roark rested his forearms on the top of the back of a chair. “Now, Jessica, why did we just invite Mannie and his fiancée to coffee?”