The Cowboy's Double Trouble. Judy Duarte

cost the older Rayburn siblings when it came to dividing their inheritance. She’d heard their father had been worth jillions, so maybe the money didn’t matter that much. Either way, she suspected there was some kind of honor between them, which was nice.

      While she didn’t know much about the Rayburn side of the family, she did know something about Braden’s maternal grandfather.

      Gerald Miller had ranched in Brighton Valley for years. He’d even spent time on the town council for a while. And Shannon Miller, Braden’s mom, was involved in the women’s auxiliary at the Wexler Community Church. They were what Elena’s father called buena gente—good people.

      When Braden looked up and caught Elena studying him, her cheeks warmed and she quickly turned away.

      Okay, so maybe there was another reason she’d flushed with embarrassment when he caught her gaze just seconds ago. She hadn’t been just noting his furrowed brow.

      She’d also been checking out his profile, his chiseled cheekbones and his square-cut jaw.

      He stood, drawing her attention, and returned to the freezer with a long, lean cowboy swagger.

      “You want another Popsicle?” he asked, as he turned to face her, a dimpled smile on his handsome face.

      “No, thank you. One is enough.” She’d already spent enough time with him and had opened up in an unexpected way. All she needed was to lower her guard to the point of doing or saying something she’d regret in the morning.

      Braden was the kind of man who could turn a woman’s head, but Elena wouldn’t let her attraction get out of hand. Of course, that was easier said than done when her hormones were triggering romantic thoughts that were totally inappropriate.

      She blamed it on the stillness of the house in the evening and the admiration she felt for him because he was trying so hard to do right by Beto and Bela. But she couldn’t continue to chat with him tonight. It could only lead to trouble—or, at the very least, temptation. She had a job to do. And while it was far removed from anything she’d created on her vision board back in January, she would see her commitment through. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she loved her stepmom, but Elena had made a vow to herself that she would never settle down as some country housewife and pop out a bunch of babies, especially with a former rodeo cowboy.