Cindy Kirk - A Jackson Hole Homecoming

He and Adrianna had been about to join their friends at one of the many tables set up for the event. But when Tripp saw his parents, he touched Adrianna’s arm. “My parents just arrived.”

“Oh.” She inclined her head. “Shall we sit with them?”

Tripp searched her eyes to make sure the offer was sincere. Because he’d come with Adrianna, his first loyalty was to her. But he knew how much it would mean for his parents to share the meal with them. “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Adrianna turned toward their friends. “Tripp’s folks decided to come after all, and we promised to sit with them.”

As expected, their friends understood.

Tripp’s mother’s face lit up when she saw them approach. His father’s lips lifted in a slow smile.

“You look pretty this evening,” his dad said to Adrianna.

“Thank you, Mr. Randall,” Adrianna said, blushing prettily.

Frank lifted a brow. “Are we going to have to go through this each time we see each other?”

“Frank,” Adrianna said, gazing at his father through lowered lashes. “How nice to see you again.”

Was Anna flirting with his dad?

His father chuckled.

Yep, and his dad was loving every minute of it.

Tripp cast a sideways glance at his mother and found her watching the exchange, a tremulous smile on her lips.

“I wasn’t sure you’d be here,” his mother said to him. “I know Jim Ferris isn’t one of your favorite people—”

“Kathy.” His father spoke sharply, though in an equally low tone. “Jim is our host.”

His mother’s cheeks turned a bright pink and an uncomfortable silence descended over the foursome.

“I see a table for four over there,” Adrianna said.

“Are you inviting us to eat with you?” his mother asked, obviously not wanting to read anything into her comment.

“Only if you want to,” Adrianna said quickly.

“Yes, Mother,” Tripp said, almost at the same time. “We’d like you and Dad to eat with us.”

“Offer accepted.” His father sounded almost jovial. “It’ll give me a chance to get to know this little lady better.”

His dad smiled warmly at Adrianna and Tripp realized he must make it clear to his parents that he and the pretty midwife were just friends. But not now.

He wanted them to enjoy the evening. And he didn’t feel like answering their questions as to why he wasn’t interested in Adrianna.

Conversation flowed easily over dinner and for a normally shy person, Adrianna talked a great deal. Although his parents were very adept in social settings, his suspicions were that Anna’s talkativeness had more to do with a second Crazy Coyote Margarita that the waiter brought her than his parents’ natural friendliness.

His mother continued to smile warmly at Adrianna, which worried Tripp. But she’d been doing that all through dinner. The two women had bonded over their inability to eat anything cooked with an intact face.

Then she’d asked Adrianna about her work. His mother’s eyes shone when Adrianna had gushed about how much she loved delivering babies.

But when his mother lifted a brow and a gleam filled her eye, Tripp shifted uneasily in his seat.

“I assume you want children of your own?” his mother asked.

“I do,” Adrianna said without hesitation. “But I need to find a husband first.”

When his mother’s gaze slid pointedly to him, Tripp realized he should have seen it coming.

He ignored the look she shot him and stabbed the last piece of pork on his plate. “Did I tell you that our emergency department received another honor?”

“Honey—” his mom’s tone turned chiding “—can’t you forget about work for one evening?”

He resisted the urge to point out that she and Adrianna had been talking about her “work” for the past ten minutes.

“Your mother is right.”

Tripp couldn’t believe his father was agreeing with his mom. Frank had been a businessman as well as a rancher for most of his life. He understood that events such as tonight’s barbecue were as much about business as socializing.

“We appreciate the fact that you’re encouraging Tripp to get out more,” Frank said to Adrianna.

Whoa, what had his father said? Tripp had been the one to invite Adrianna to this event, not the other way around.

“He can be somewhat of a workaholic.” Adrianna cast him a teasing glance and motioned for the server to bring her another Crazy Coyote.

“Are those good?” his mother asked.

“Delicious,” Adrianna pronounced.

“I’ll have one, too,” his mother told the server.

Tripp resisted the urge to groan.

His father settled back in his chair, looking amused. “So you enjoy being with my son.”

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.