Her Homecoming Cowboy by Debra Clopton

gonna turn that down.”
    She was startled by Colt’s offer and her heart tugged at the way he grinned at Leo. Maybe, this could all work out. A surge of joy ran through her. But then...did she even have the fixings that went into an omelet? Please, please let it be so.
    “Better yet, would you help me make my world-famous omelet?”
    Oh, that got a huge nod from Leo that Annie thought was going to break his little head right off his body.
    “Do you have eggs?” Colt asked.
    Heading to the fridge, Annie worried about how many she had as she tugged open the door and pulled out the container. She cringed. “I have only four.”
    Colt looked from her to Leo. “Well, how about this. I’ve got plenty of eggs at my place. What about y’all drive me to the fence line, we walk over to my cabin and then have dinner there?”
    Annie felt the oddest tremor in her stomach. Who was this guy? He was definitely not the same guy they’d met yesterday morning.
    “Can we, Annie Aunt? Please.”
    There was no way she could turn this down, and there was no reason to. She’d come here to get to know Colt Holden, and God had paved the way for that to happen.
    Still, she would not be swayed after only two days. “We’ll come over, but only if you’re sure.”
    He hesitated for a brief moment and a shadow passed across his expression. “I’m sure.”
    Annie’s insides quivered. All the way to his house, she told herself this attraction was understandable. The man was gorgeous and he was being kind to Leo.
    Leo. She needed to remind herself that this was about Leo. Going to Colt’s was a good chance for her to see Leo’s daddy in his own home. What could be better than that? With the constant fear of someone realizing how alike Colt and Leo were, she was thankful that things were moving along so quickly.
    Otherwise she didn’t know what she was going to do.
    * * *
    “Now for my secret ingredients.” Colt handed Leo a green container that had Tony Chachere’s Seasoning written across it. Annie had seen the Creole seasoning but never used it. “This is a little spicy, but you’re going to like it. Give those bad boys a good shaking of that.” He indicated the bowl of eggs and milk. Leo turned his big eyes up at him and grinned.
    “You betcha.” Leo accepted the can of spices, then turned it upside down and shook it like there was no tomorrow.
    Colt grimaced. “Okay, that should do it.” When Leo continued shaking the can of stout Louisiana spice, Colt took it from Leo’s hand, laughing. He hadn’t quite expected such an enthusiastic response. He met Annie’s twinkling gaze across the kitchen. She was sitting at the small breakfast bar that served as his dining room table in the small two-bedroom cabin. She’d offered to help, but there was only so much room in his bite-size kitchen. So instead she sat and watched.
    He wasn’t sure what he was doing. Why had he asked them here? What had gotten into him when he’d said he would stay for dinner in the first place? He hadn’t expected how easily he’d jumped into the situation with his offer to cook omelets. Looking at Leo twisted his guts by reminding him of the little boy who’d lost his life because of Colt, but he couldn’t ignore that Leo drew him. Something about the little boy could not be ignored. The fact that his heart seemed lighter in Leo’s presence—and Annie’s, too, for that matter—did make his guilt heavier. He was going to have to deal with that, because there was no way he could tell the kid no. No way he could shove the kid away as he’d done at their first meeting, when he’d handed him the rope and driven off.
    Colt had never been one to hurt kids. He’d had enough hurt in his own childhood, as a boy who knew his parents didn’t care about him. There was no way he could add pain to a kid’s life. Being a champion bull rider, he’d always had kids hanging around him and considered it a privilege to give them a little of his time. If