Deb Kastner - The Cowboy's Surprise Baby

Electricity bolted through him at Jo’s words. His gaze locked with Tessa’s. She looked every bit as shocked as he felt.

Not the June BBQ. Anything but that.

“She was telling me she’d like to see the teens get involved this year. We usually relegate them to set up and clean up, and I suggested that they might want to do something different this year—entertainment. The band we contracted with backed out on us. Slade and Samantha have pulled together some musicians for dancing, but Alexis really wanted the kids to do something special for the townsfolk, give them a little show. Do you think you two could get together and work something up for us? A scene from a musical, perhaps? The planning committee would sure appreciate your efforts, my dears.”

Was she kidding? A scene from a musical? No way was that going to happen. Cole and Tessa had first met—first kissed —performing a scene from a musical. And they had broken up at the June BBQ. The beginning and the end of their relationship.

Cole had no intention of helping those kids do anything, musical or otherwise. Working with delinquent teenagers wasn’t even in his skill set. Besides, he wasn’t going to the barbecue, much less participating in it.

“Why don’t you ask Marcus?” he suggested through gritted teeth. “He’s the boys’ counselor, after all. He ought to be the one leading this thing, don’t you think?”

Jo barked out a laugh. Even Tessa chuckled.

“Honey, that man cannot carry a tune for a second, much less an entire musical number. He’s as tone-deaf as a rock. As I recall, you have a beautiful baritone voice. Surely you’ll step up and share your talent for the good of the community—and the teenagers.”

Jo was goading him—and she was good at it. He remembered all the many times growing up when she’d set him on the right path. Part of him instinctively reacted as if he were still a child, but he was a grown man now, and he had no intention of being pushed into a situation that would be nothing but trouble for him, and for Tessa, too.

Why wasn’t she speaking up?

“We’ll see what we can do,” Tessa said.

What?

“Great! Can’t wait to see what you two come up with.” Jo scuttled away before he gave his own answer—which would have been a no . He didn’t even have the opportunity to raise another objection, not that Jo would have listened to it.

Cole leaned into Tessa’s personal space, meeting her emerald-eyed gaze square on. “What are you thinking?” he demanded. “You know as well as I do that we can’t do this.”

“I admit it’s not ideal.”

“Not ideal ? It’s plain crazy.”

Tessa sighed. “We would have given in eventually. You know Jo. I just saved us having to scrap with her.”

He hated that Tessa was right. Jo would have won in the end, stubborn woman that she was. But how could they get over... everything ...to work together in such a capacity? At the moment he couldn’t even go there in his mind.

“I can’t see how this is going to work,” he muttered crossly.

“That makes two of us. But it has to happen, Cole. We have to put our differences aside for the sake of the teenagers. They deserve the chance to do something good and to experience the community’s positive response to their actions.”

Honestly, his mind wasn’t on the teenagers. It was on himself and his own discomfort. Was this the Lord’s design to give him the opportunity to step out in faith—and completely out of his comfort zone? If it was, it was way, way out.

Right out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.

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