Getting Lucky (A Nugget Romance Book 5) by Stacy Finz Page A

foreseeable future.
    “Lucky?” his mother called from the kitchen. “How does it look?”
    “Beautiful. Smells good, too.” He whiffed in the mouthwatering aromas coming from her stove.
    God, his mama could cook. For twenty years she’d kept house for Raylene and her family at the Rock and River. Now he made sure she only kept her own. As far as Lucky was concerned, Cecilia Rodriguez should spend the rest of her days doing whatever made her happy. Cooking for her friends and family, volunteering at her church, working on her needlepoint, and maybe dating Jake Stryker. Lucky hadn’t made his mind up about that one. Without a doubt his mother should have a man in her life. Lucky just didn’t know if Jake was the right one.
    From what he’d heard from Owen, the biggest mouth in Nugget next to Donna Thurston, Jake had been divorced three times. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of the man. But Jake sure seemed to make his mama happy. Ever since she’d met him at Clay McCreedy and Emily Matthews’s wedding, Lucky had never seen her smile so much.
    The doorbell rang and Cecilia came out from the kitchen. “Should I get it or should you?”
    Lucky’s lips quirked. He’d never seen his mother this fussy. “I’ll get it, Ma.”
    He swung open the door to find both females dressed in their Sunday best. Katie had on a pink polka-dot dress—he was getting to think that pink was her favorite color—and little shoes covered in silver sparkles. But it was Tawny who made him do a double take. She looked like a freakin’ runway model in a figure-hugging green sweater-dress that matched her eyes. Her hair had been pulled up, with little wisps around her face. Lucky had to turn away for fear of staring.
    He just wasn’t used to seeing her looking like this. Elegant, he guessed was the best way to describe it. Since he’d come back into contact with her, she’d always been casual, with her hair down and her boots on.
    “Hey. Come on in.” He picked up Katie and spun her around. His daughter. Just hearing her giggle, knowing that she was part of him, gave him the oddest sensation. A combination of warmth and fierce protectiveness.
    “Hello, Katie.” Cecilia held her arms wide and Katie tentatively moved into them.
    “Hi, Ms. Rodriguez.”
    “ Abuela ,” Cecilia said. “That’s grandma in Spanish.”
    Katie looked over at her mother and Tawny gave her an imperceptible nod.
    “Hi, Abuela .”
    “Good pronunciation,” Cecilia said, and hugged Katie a little closer. “You hungry?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “I have so many good things for you to eat.”
    “She’s been cooking all day,” Lucky said.
    “Thank you for having us, Ms. Rodriguez,” Tawny said, handing Cecilia a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers. In return, Cecilia gave Tawny a weak smile and Lucky knew they were in for a long evening.
    As they followed Cecilia and Katie into the kitchen, Lucky whispered, “Compliment her house and food a lot. That’ll butter her up.”
    “You have a lovely home, Ms. Rodriguez,” Tawny called to Cecilia’s back, and Lucky smothered a grin.
    “Thank you. Lucky bought it for me.”
    “He’s a good son,” Tawny said, and Lucky gave Tawny a thumbs-up.
    She shook her head and smiled.
    On the kitchen counter, Cecilia had put out appetizers. Queso fundido , a cheese dip, served with chips and veggies, stuff Lucky’s mother thought a kid would like. And from the looks of Katie dredging chips through the sauce, Cecilia had succeeded.
    “I’m glad she’s eating,” Tawny said. “Lately the only thing she’s interested in is sweets.”
    “That’s because you’re not feeding her the right things,” Cecilia said, and Lucky saw Tawny bristle.
    “Ma,” he admonished.
    “I just mean you have to be clever.” She turned to Katie. “Try it with some celery sticks, mija .” And Katie dutifully obliged.
    “Would you like to see the rest of the home, Tawny?” Cecilia asked, and Tawny responded that she would