Wyoming Sweethearts by Jillian Hart Page B

cleared his throat and washed the bread down with a few gulps of root beer. “Did you want to sit and keep us company?”
    “I’d like to, but I can’t. My grandmother is expecting me.” As if on cue, an electronic tune chimed deep in her bag. She took a step back. “That would be her. She’ll want to know how things went with George.”
    “Will she set you up on another blind date?”
    “Heaven knows she will keep at it.” Nothing couldhide the love she held for her grandmother, and it was an amazing sight. “Bye!”
    “Bye.” Sean cleared his throat, doing his best not to watch her walk away. If he had the slightest hook of a grin on his face, his uncle would be sure to notice. More talk of a rebound romance was the last thing he wanted. A man needed his privacy. The door whooshed shut and she was in plain sight through the glass as she ambled to her car.
    “Bacon double cheeseburger.” The waitress slid the plate on the table in front of him. “And your usual, Frank. I piled on the onion rings. I know how you like them.”
    “Thank you kindly, Connie.” Frank said something else, but the words were lost to Sean as he watched Eloise open her car door.
    The wind played with her hair, tossing it across her face. She moved with the grace of a dancer and she shone with the quiet beauty the Bible spoke about. His chest cinched tight, making it hard to breathe. Frank couldn’t be right, could he? These feelings he had for her weren’t romantic, were they? Was he on the rebound?
    No. Sean dismissed the idea and bowed his head as his uncle said the blessing.
    Low rays of sunshine slanted through the orchard of fruit trees and onto the rows of the garden patch. New green sprouts speared through the earth to unfurl their stems and leaves. Eloise, changed out of her work clothes and into something more practical for chores, stabbed her cane into the soft grass as she crossed her grandmother’s back lawn.
    “There’s my sweet pea.” Edie Tipple looked up fromher weeding. A welcoming smile wreathed her face. “I already got a call from Madge. She said her grandson thought you were real nice.”
    “He had many good qualities, too.” Eloise eased down across from her grandmother. “I’m still not looking to get involved, Gran.”
    “I mean to change your mind. You never know when the right man will come along.” Trouble glinted in her grandmother’s green eyes. She tugged at the brim of her hat to keep the sun out of her face. She looked adorable in her pink checkered blouse and pink pants. “I figure on helping you find that right man.”
    “A woman doesn’t need a husband to be happy.” As if they hadn’t had this conversation before, she plucked at a budding dandelion in the feathery fronds of new carrots, careful not to disturb the growing vegetables. “Look at me. Happy.”
    “Yes, so I see.” Gran didn’t sound convinced. “You work all day and spend your evening helping an old lady weed her garden.”
    “You aren’t old to me, Gran, and I like hanging with you, just like I used to when I was little.” She plucked a tiny thistle sprout, taking care not to rip the tender roots as she pulled. “Remember when I practically lived here?”
    “You, your older sister and I baked every afternoon. Cookies and brownies and pies. Your brothers would eat everything we made.” Gran laughed at the good memories they’d shared.
    This awesome evening was another great blessing in her life. Time spent with Gran listening to the wind whistle through the grasses and feeling the sunshine on her back made her troubles seem far away. “You don’thave to set me up anymore, Gran. I can find my own man when I’m ready.”
    “I can’t seem to help myself.” She inched down the row and hunkered over the new section of carrots. Weeds were helpless against her practiced assault. “I can see you didn’t fall in love with George. I was hoping he was the one.”
    “Sadly, no. Not even close.” She pulled a