A Rancher for Their Mom (Rodeo Heroes) by Leann Harris

the dust settle around him? Didn’t he have a wandering gene, just like Ross?
    But his attitude didn’t resemble her husband’s in any way. Nothing about Joel made sense.
    Who was this man? She had no satisfactory answers.
    * * *
    The day passed quickly. After breakfast, April sat down and made a list of the things that hadn’t been done in a couple of years, due to Grace’s breast cancer and Vernon’s heart attack.
    The boys stuck to Joel like glue, never letting the man out of their sight. Laughter drifted out of the barn, and as soon as Cora woke up from her morning nap, she wanted to join the boys, which meant April had to go out to the barn.
    “Hey, Miss Cora, what are you doing out here?” Joel asked.
    April followed with water and plastic cups. “Anyone thirsty?”
    The boys hurried to her side.
    She held up the jug. “Want any?”
    Joel stared at the kid-size cups and his eyebrow arched.
    April fought her giggles. “Sorry.”
    “As long as you don’t tell the other guys on the circuit I drank water out of this—” he held up the kiddie cup “—I’m good.”
    “I can do that.” She poured him a cup of water.
    His hand wrapped around the kiddie cup, dwarfing it. He frowned but drank the water.
    “Mom, that’s too small for Mr. Joel,” Wes explained.
    “I’ll remember next time.”
    Wes shook his head. “Girls.”
    “Do you have a list for me, April?” Joel asked.
    Hearing him say her name made her stomach jump.
    She handed him the list.
    After reading it, he added another couple of chores, with which she agreed.
    The balance of the day, they all worked as a team with a pause for lunch.
    It was the best afternoon April had had since—well, she couldn’t think of another afternoon.
    How pathetic was that?
    * * *
    The day passed quickly and after dinner, the boys begged for Joel to join them in a game before he left. It had been a long time since he’d played a board game, but with April’s encouragement, he agreed.
    The kids laughed when Joel tried to sit on the floor.
    “These boots weren’t made for sitting cross-legged.”
    “I can,” Todd announced, plopping down in front of the coffee table.
    “Well, I’m not as young as you, so my bones won’t move as easily as yours,” Joel teased.
    April solved the problem when she pushed the leather ottoman close to the table, which Joel sat on to play the game.
    After several minutes of play, Joel spun the spinner to see how many blocks he should move. The next move fell to April, but she only got a two, much to her sons’ delight. She shrugged off the bad move. Joel admired her teasing attitude. Here was a woman who wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, as she’d demonstrated earlier by pitching in with the hard work in the barn. His mom and grandma were like that. Lately, he’d run into too many ladies who enjoyed playing cowgirl, but if it affected their nail polish, well, forget it.
    “Dinner was mighty good, April. When you cook for yourself, you appreciate when someone else does the cooking.”
    “So, did you cook for yourself?” Wes asked as he took his turn.
    “When Gramps and I had to do the cooking ourselves, we used a Crock-Pot, but it’s nice to have someone else in charge. And your mom does a good job.”
    Both boys grinned at their mother.
    “When my sister came back to the ranch, well, she refused to be the only one responsible for dinner. She’d been in the army for over ten years.”
    The boys’ eyes widened.
    “We each had days when it was our turn to cook. ’Course, if you didn’t cook, you cleaned up. No one got away without pitching in. So when you help your mom with the dishes, remember that a captain in the army did the same.”
    It took less than five minutes to conclude the game.
    “We need to check on the horses and finish any chores that need to be done before I leave for the night.”
    The boys grew somber as they put away the game.
    “Thank you,” April whispered as he set the game box on the