Ask Anyone (27 page)

King's face flushed. “Let's not get into all that now. The point is, it's here. Puts a finishing touch on things, don't you think?”

It took a little while to get the horse into place, but as soon as it was, King motioned for Bobby and Jenna to climb on the carousel.

“The two of you deserve to have the first ride. Let's see how this thing works.” He winked at Jenna. “Who knows, you might even catch the brass ring.”

She reached for Bobby's hand. “I've already won the best prize in town.”

“Then I'll grab for it,” Bobby declared, looking around at his assembled family of clever sneaks. “Something tells me I'm going to need all the luck I can get.”

S
ome things in life required drastic measures, King noted as he watched Bobby and Jenna circling around on that magnificent carousel, looking happier than he'd ever imagined when he'd gotten the idea to steal that horse right out from under their noses.

The plan had come to him on Sunday night on the day Jenna had had that horse delivered and set all of this into motion. Walker and Tucker had told him how Jenna had gotten under Bobby's skin straight off. Even Anna-Louise had dropped a few hints about the way the wind was blowing between Bobby and Jenna. King had never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, no pun intended.

The carousel paused, and Walker pulled Daisy and Tommy on to join Bobby and Jenna for a ride. Darcy scrambled onto a white horse like a princess who'd been born to ride. Tucker stood back, staring at them, looking just a little too lonesome to suit King.

Well, he'd done okay by Daisy and by Bobby, he decided, gazing at them with satisfaction. Now it was Tucker's turn. Tucker had always been the independent
type. He was the kind of man who liked to do things for himself, who liked to think it was his job to protect anyone and everyone around him. It had just about killed him when his mama had died. For a time he'd even blamed King for not doing something to save her. Tucker had been too young to understand that there was nothing either one of them could have done to save her. The sorrow of that terrible time was still with Tucker. He'd been keeping a close watch on everyone else he loved ever since.

It was going to take a helluva woman to capture Tucker's interest, King concluded. Somebody with a little spirit, a little daring and a whole lot of heart. She was also going to require a little patience, because Tucker was going to be a hard sell. That was one reason King had saved him for last. He'd wanted his oldest to see Daisy and Bobby settled and happy, so he'd start to believe in the power of love again.

King would start working on settling Tucker's fate first thing in the morning—just as soon as he delivered his daily bouquet of posies to Frances. After all, there came a time when even a stubborn man realized he couldn't take a good woman for granted.