Where did she meet him?
How long had they been dating?
Why hadn’t she mentioned him before?
As quick as they started, the barrage of questions were abruptly cut off by a loud pounding coming from behind them.
“What’s all the noise in here?” came an unexpected voice from the kitchen doorway, where a sandy-haired man was lounging his bony shoulder against the doorway, his cowboy hat low over his eyes.
“Scotty!” Jenn was the first to see him, and launched herself into his arms, nearly knocking him off his feet. “I didn’t think you were coming!”
“Young man,” Granny said, from just over Jenn’s shoulder, “didn’t your mama teach you any manners? A gentleman removes his hat when he enters a house.”
Scotty colored and swept off the dusty blue cavalry hat, his trademark among the bull riders from back in his teen years, tapping it mildly against his thigh. He cleared his throat loudly. “Sorry, Granny.”
Granny made an indistinct snorting sound, then laughed, crowding Jenn to give her grandson a hug. It wasn’t a moment more before everyone was crowding in for a big family bear hug.
Scotty was a welcome diversion from Jenn’s flowers, a fact she noticed and was happy to accommodate. She’d rather not answer the questions her family plagued her with about her mysterious Johnny, so it was just as well.
And she was as thrilled as the rest of her family to see her baby brother. It had been a year, and he had sprouted like a beanpole.
It was only then, stepping back to allow her family more access to her brother, that she noticed Scotty was not alone. Lingering in the background behind her brother, his hip leaned negligently against the kitchen counter, his black Diamond Jim Stetson curled in his hand, was another man, a stranger to Jenn.
He was tall, six two maybe, with broad shoulders and strong arms, but with the long, wiry frame of a man who spent most of his time in the saddle. His deep, curly black hair was a little long, as if he’d missed his last haircut, and was ruffled from the removal from his hat. He was purposefully hanging back, but his posture was relaxed and his face friendly and open. Jenn guessed the cowboy could be called handsome, in a rugged sort of way.
If one were attracted to that sort of man, which Jenn definitely wasn’t.
He’d obviously come in with her brother, though he looked to be several years older than Scotty—close to Jenn’s own age, she guessed.
He didn’t look uncomfortable at being overlooked. His dark eyes, a color which floated somewhere between blue and black, were brimming with amusement and understanding. His friend was home with family, who clearly adored him. The stranger appeared to be content to wait his turn.
When the man realized Jenn was staring at him, he smiled and winked at her. Flushing, she turned her gaze away and elbowed Auntie Myra, gesturing toward the unannounced guest, knowing her aunt would jump at the chance to welcome someone new to their gathering, especially a handsome young man.
“Why, Scotty,” Auntie Myra exclaimed, “you haven’t introduced your guest.”
Scotty laughed from his belly and gestured the stranger forward, slapping him on the back affectionately. “Sorry. I was so caught up in seeing you all I almost forgot about him.”
“Well, thanks,” the stranger replied, punching Scotty’s arm hard enough to send the boy off balance and sprawling into other family members.
“I can introduce myself,” the man said, his voice deep, yet surprisingly soft-spoken, given his size. He had the slightest bit of a drawl, though not Texan nor Southern. Jenn couldn’t place it.
She was pondering this when his next words blasted over her with the force of a hurricane.
“Glad to meet ya’ll. My name’s Johnny. Johnny Barnes.”
Dead silence.
Even loquacious Auntie Myra was left speechless in the wake of Johnny’s declaration.
Jenn’s breath left her body as if she’d been punched in the gut. And it didn’t return. She wasn’t even sure her heart was beating.
Johnny?
Scotty brings a wrangler from the depths of Wyoming and his name is Johnny?
It figured. It just figured. Now she was going to have to talk her way out of this one, too, because she knew perfectly well her dear family was never going to leave it alone.
So, what if there were a million Johnnys in the world? They were still going to ask if he was the one, Jenn just knew it. And the expressions on her family’s faces only served to confirm her fears. Especially Auntie Myra, who looked as if she was preparing to pounce on the poor cowboy.
Scotty looked around, obviously confused by his family’s odd behavior. Everyone else’s gaze was on Jenn. No one was welcoming Scotty’s new friend to the household, as her younger brother had clearly expected.
“Johnny wrangles with me. I thought it would be okay to bring him along,” Scotty said, hesitantly.
Granddad was the first to recover, always the most sensible of the lot of them. “Of course he’s welcome. Johnny, glad to meet you.” Granddad thrust out his hand for a hearty handshake.
Auntie Myra stepped forward and hugged the man. Johnny returned the unexpected embrace awkwardly, and Jenn smiled despite herself. Obviously, Johnny was not prepared for Scotty’s affectionate family, as he accepted hug after hug from the women and friendly, enthusiastic handshakes from the men.
Only Jenn remained where she was, caught in a trap of her own making. She couldn’t approach the man and greet him. Stranger or friend, her family would be watching her with hawkeyes.
It took a moment, but her brain slowly started functioning again.
What did she have to worry about? This was Scotty’s friend, fresh from sprawling Wyoming ranch land. Surely her family would realize he couldn’t possibly be her Johnny.
There would only be a moment of confusion before things were set to right and she could go back to enjoying the reunion.
“So,” asked Auntie Myra in a casual tone that belied her open, wide-eyed curiosity, “Are you the Johnny we’ve heard about?”
Jenn cringed inwardly, though she reminded herself again and again there was no real danger in him answering that question. The man wouldn’t have the slightest notion of what Auntie Myra was really asking, and would, naturally, answer to the negative.
End of subject.
Johnny definitely looked stunned as he stared from face to face. But after a moment he quirked his lips, shrugged, and announced, “Guess I’ve been found out. Yes, ma’am. That would be me.”
Jenn felt her legs buckle underneath her and moved quickly to the sofa and sat before she fell down. She had no idea why the unknown cowboy had answered the way he had, but now she—and he, for that matter—had, as the old saying went, a lot of ’splaining to do.
She was suddenly furious at the gall of the cowboy. Never mind that this whole set up was her doing in the first place.
How could he say he was the Johnny? There was no Johnny! What kind of a game was he playing?
Everyone rushed at him at once, deluging him with questions.
When had he met Jenn?
How long had they been together?
And how long had it been since they’d seen each other last, what with him wrangling and all?
Johnny sent a panicked glance at Scotty, but his friend just grinned and shrugged. Obviously the boy would be no help in sorting this out.
Who was Jenn? What were these nutty