Page 77 of Cowboy Needed

By the time they were done, Zane had bundled up the girls and come out to help.

Allie and Chrissy were adorable, and Zane seemed…happy.

God, he was glad to see that. He figuredthatwas Ichabod’s Christmas present. Michael had told him some tales about what all Zane had done in the city, and that young man was unrecognizable in the teen he knew.

Sometimes a guy needed a chance and a place to start over.

He was proud of the kid.

“So, what’s for supper?” Zane asked.

“Lasagna.” Ellis winked. Zane loved that stuff.

“Cool. I’ll eat before we go out, then.” Zane grinned at him. “Katie’s obsessed with vegan food.”

Ichabod chuckled softly. “Oh, it must be love.”

Zane’s cheeks went red. “Da-aad.”

“Hey, son, nothing wrong with compromising for your loved one,” Ellis told him.

“True that. We all do things for people we care about—that’s love.” Ichabod winked at him, stuck out his tongue. “For instance, I hung up the singing Jingle Fish.”

Ellis chuckled. “Well, now, that’s something. Dad will be amazed. That thing was the bane of his existence.”

“Yes, but you love it. I saw you carefully putting the batteries back in.” Ichabod winked at him.

“Don’t make kissy faces, old dudes.”

“Hey, now, brat,” Ellis said. “Be kind to us. Wait until you see how old my dad is.”

Zane gave him a bright, glinting grin. “Is he like, a boomer or a Gen X?”

He snorted and bustled the babies back toward the house. “He’s so a Gen X-er. He’s an older Gen X but totally not a boomer.”

“Zane, Grandpa Vic was a boomer.” Ichabod explained.

Zane blinked. “Oh. Right. All you guys are confusing.”

“Yeah, well, we can’t help it. Being old.” Ellis flipped the kid off behind Ichabod’s back, and Zane cackled in a maniacal sort of way.

“Anyway, I like the fish,” Ichabod mused. “It reminds me that my cowboy is a weird little man.”

“That’s me, baby. The gayest cowboy ever.”

“Dude, no. You should see the stuff that’s on the internet, right? Like, on your phone. You do know how that works?”

Ellis was going to kick that kid’s butt. “I don’t know, man. Are the internets that thing that has the tic-tacky and the snippy-snappy?”

Zane’s eyes went wide, and he swore the kid paled some.

Ichabod waited for a count of five before bursting out laughing, bending over to slap his thighs. “Oh my God, you should see your face, Zane. Your dad used to say he’d never met a modern cowboy who wasn’t born with a smartphone in his hand. You know that was for your benefit.”

Zane grinned, but he was still a touch pale. “I never know with you two.”

“Hey, I have a website. I update it. I take pictures!”

“Dad, I take your pictures. You’ve always got clay on your camera lens, so everything’s always blurry.”