A Cowboy to Marry by CATHY GILLEN THACKER Page A

to deny it.
    It was now or never, she thought. Time to jump in all the way.
    Or let this chance to start moving on pass her by. She inhaled deeply, stepped closer to Holden and dived in. “We’re talking about being each other’s rebound date.”
    â€œThat’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” Paige declared as her husband joined them.
    â€œCrazy like a fox, maybe,” Kurt declared in amusement.
    Holden put on his tool belt. “All we’re looking for is a short-term thing to get us over the hump.”
    Genuinely worried, Paige said, “Hearts get broken this way.”
    â€œOurs won’t,” Libby retorted, as Holden wrapped a companionable arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
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    N EVERTHELESS , an interesting question had been raised. And it stuck with Libby the rest of the afternoon.
    â€œDo you think Paige was right?” she asked Holden much later, when they were working at her home.
    Volunteers had moved the living-room furniture to the garage for safekeeping. The large space was now filled with the partially disassembled child-size tables and chairs, and the waist-high bookshelves that comprised the newborn to age three section of the library.
    Holden opened a box labeled A-C and set it next to the appropriate shelf for her, then returned to his task of putting legs back on tables. “Paige wants us both to be happy. She’s just not sure this is the way.” He paused to drive in a screw with a battery-powered tool. Finished, he set the table right side up and turned to Libby with a smile. “I, on the other hand, think we’ve come up with a great plan to get ourselves back in the saddle.”
    His confidence was catching.
    â€œYou’re right,” she said, bolstering her courage. She knew Holden would never hurt her. She was foolish to worry.
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    A N HOUR LATER , the work was done and Libby and Holden stood back, admiring the newly assembled toddler section. It was just as it had been, Holden noted with satisfaction, right down to the wooden train table and the colorful charts and posters on display.
    Looking flushed and disheveled, Libby turned to him. Her high ponytail bounced from side to side and she had dirt smudged across her casual cotton sweater and jeans. She had never looked prettier. “Did you eat anything at the library?
    Holden shook his head. “I was too busy.”
    Admiring you…
    â€œThen you must be starving. Because I am!”
    Holden saw the opening and took it. He removed his tool belt and set it aside. “Want to go out?”
    Libby looked down at herself and then him. He was just as grubby as she was. “Would you mind eating here?”
    Was she kidding? She was a fantastic cook.
    â€œNot at all.” In fact, he was happy to see her feeling comfortable enough with him to invite him to stay. It reminded him of all the dinners he’d had there with her and Percy, before the accident. Some with Heidi, some without. It hadn’t mattered. He’d always had a good time in Libby’s kitchen. Maybe because she was like the women in his family, able to put people at ease….
    She led the way back to the kitchen, where she turned on the oven and put a pan on the stove. Then waggled her eyebrows at him facetiously. “Have your culinary skills improved any?”
    Was it Holden’s imagination or was it already getting hot in here? He lounged against the counter, trying to stay out of her path. “I can boil water,” he joked.
    â€œWant to try and help me, anyway?”
    This was something, Holden knew, that Percy had never been willing to do. “Sure,” he said. If this was a test regarding his dating ability—as it suddenly seemed to be—he was determined to pass it.
    â€œOkay, then.” Libby got an armful of ingredients out of the fridge, another from the pantry. She paused to pull her V-neck sweater over her head and