Boots and The Rogue: Ugly Stick Saloon, Book 10 by Myla Jackson

for a split second, and then he shook his head. “Don’t wait on him. He might be late.”
    “Oh.” An unexpected pressure squeezed against Jessie’s chest and she turned away, hoping Angus and Colin hadn’t seen the disappointment in her face.
    The men hurried off to wash up.
    By the time they returned, Jessie had the lasagna on the table and a bowl of fresh salad made of vegetables from Mrs. M’s garden.
    Angus glanced around. “Where’s Mom?”
    Jessie set a basket full of garlic bread next to the salad. “She’s getting ready to go on her date.”
    Angus stopped with his hand on a chair and frowned. “Date? What date?”
    Colin grimaced. “Didn’t I mention? She ran into Carl Landers in town.”
    With a quick headshake, Angus asked, “What does this Carl Landers have to do with Mom going on a date?”
    “Mr. Landers asked your mother out to dinner tonight,” Jessie said.
    Angus’s eyes widened. “And she agreed?”
    Jessie nodded.
    Colin shrugged. “So?”
    “Do you realize they used to call him Heartbreak Carl back when Mom and Dad were in high school?” Angus yanked the chair out from under the table and sat down.
    Colin’s brows quirked upward. “Again…so? That was over thirty years ago.”
    “I don’t want Mom to get hurt.”
    Jessie grabbed a spatula and dug into the lasagna, cutting long rectangles of the cheesy, mouthwatering dish, and filled Angus’s and Colin’s plates. Then she served up the salad in the small bowls beside each man’s plate, shaking her head as the men worried over their mother. They probably had a hard time seeing her as anything other than their mother who’d been married to their father. Mrs. McFarlan was first and foremost a woman with a lot of good years left in her.
    “We’ll just have to keep an eye on them.” Angus shoved a forkful of lasagna into his mouth.
    “Keep an eye on who?” Mrs. McFarlan appeared in the doorway, looking as trim and pretty as a schoolgirl, wearing a cream-colored dress and low-heeled pumps. Her hair brushed her shoulders and she wore eye makeup, lipstick and a light dusting of blush.
    Jessie smiled. “You look wonderful.”
    “Is the dress too young for an old woman like me?” Mrs. M turned like a model on a runway.
    “Not at all,” Jessie said. “It’s perfect and you’re not an old woman. You look young and alive.”
    The two brothers rose from the table.
    Angus scowled. “What’s this about you going on a date?”
    “I’m having dinner with Carl Landers.” Mrs. M took Jessie’s hands. “Did my boys compliment the chef?” She cast a stern glance at her sons.
    Colin saluted. “The lasagna is great. Tastes a lot like yours, Mom.”
    She smiled. “Ah, but I didn’t cook it. Jessie did.” She turned Jessie around. “Colin, did you bother to tell Jessie how pretty she looked in her dress?”
    Jessie’s cheeks burned. “He mentioned it.”
    “Mom, she’s gorgeous, and I told her.” Colin grimaced. “Well, not in so many words.”
    “Angus?” his mother prompted.
    “Jessie, you look great,” Angus said and turned to his mother. “Now, what’s going on? I’ve never known you to go on a date. Why the sudden interest?”
    His mother tilted her chin. “You and your brothers might think your mother is too old to care about anything other than her sons and this ranch. I’ll have you know, I might be older than you, but I want to live and have fun and fall in love again.”
    “But what about Dad?” Angus said softly.
    Mrs. M’s lips firmed. “Listen to me.” Her brows angled toward the bridge of her nose. “I loved your father more than anyone in this world. When he passed, I thought I would die with him.” She shook her head, her eyes glistening. “But I didn’t. It’s been eight years. I think he’d agree that I’ve grieved long enough. Like I’ve asked you boys to get on with your lives, I’m taking my own advice and getting on with mine.”
    Jessie’s heart squeezed at the emotion in