Teacher's Christmas Cowboy (Trinity Falls Sweet Romance - Icicle Christmas #5)

He felt bad thinking about her needing to hire people in for little handy jobs like that. But without a man around, things would be harder for her.

Jared saw her again in his mind, standing in that brave posture on her front porch, her sweater pulled around her small frame, and felt a pang in his chest.

But it was just sympathy. Nothing more than that.

4

CORA

Cora drove Sylvester home from their first day at each of their new schools, smiling as she guided the car under trees and past golden fields, even though she was exhausted.

Sylvester was bursting with stories about his second-grade classroom, his teacher, and all of the other students.

“And the lunch is way, way better,” he was saying. “We had chicken with mashed potatoes and corn and peas, and tater tots, and a cookie.”

“That sounds delicious,” Cora told him.

The high school cafeteria had smelled good at lunchtime too, but she had been too busy to eat anything. She was looking forward to the pulled pork she had put in the slow cooker this morning.

“Who’s that?” Sylvester asked suddenly as they pulled into the driveway at last.

She was surprised to see that the man from yesterday was back.

She had spent five minutes in his company, but it was unmistakably him. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark hair that brushed his collar, bright blue eyes, and a neat beard.

Today, he wore his cowboy hat again, but the jacket from yesterday was abandoned in her yard, along with an array of tools, a sawn-off piece of fresh lumber, and her old mailbox, dirt-encrusted post and all, which he must have pulled right out of the ground in a real feat of strength, like Paul Bunyan.

The more she looked at him, the more he looked like Paul Bunyan, with that beard and the red flannel that stretched to barely contain his arms as he hammered the new mailbox into place on its new post.

“He’s strong,” Sylvester pointed out.

“Sure is,” she said, clearing her throat and tearing her eyes from the man to park her car.

She had no idea what had gotten into her. Cora had never been exactly boy crazy, and when she fell for Arthur Davies it was because she respected and admired him first, and then noticed his soulful brown eyes.

In all her life, she had never wasted time looking at someone’s shirt stretching over their muscles.

Sylvester hopped out of the car with his backpack and scampered back down the long driveway to investigate, leaving Cora no choice but to follow.

“Hello,” Sylvester said cheerfully, before she had a chance to say anything herself.

“Hi there,” the man said, turning away from his work immediately, and brushing his hands off on his jeans. “I’m Jared Webb.”

She watched in wonder as Sylvester stuck out his own hand.

“Sylvester Davies,” he said, shaking Jared’s hand. “And that’s my mom, Cora.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Jared said, his blue eyes flashing up to hers.

“Why don’t you run in and get started unpacking your school bag,” she told Sylvester.

“Okay,” he said, looking a little disappointed.

But this man was a loose cannon. She didn’t know a thing about him, and she didn’t particularly want him hanging around her son.

“See you later, Sly,” Jared said, grinning at the boy.

“Sly,” Sylvester repeated, delighted as he ran for the house. “Sly.”