Free Her Summer Cowboy by Katherine Garbera - Her Summer Cowboy

with these brothers of his. Less the scary bouncer and sexy-ass cowboy and more…human. She had a feeling she was getting a chance to see the real man and she loved it.
    “Emma, this is Alec, Carson and Lane. Boys this is Emma. Those two little ones are Evan and JT.”
    “Hello, boys,” Emma said.
    “Howdy, ma’am,” Alec said, lifting his hat toward her.
    “A pleasure to meet you,” Carson said, coming over to shake her hand.
    “Wish we’d heard more about you,” Lane said. “But I’m sure we can fix that in the next week.”
    Emma bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling as Hudson scowled at his brothers. The little boys both waved at her and she waved back.
    “Can we get going?” Hudson asked. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
    “Nashville has changed you,” Carson said. “Now you’re all about the job. You can take a few minutes to chat with us.”
    “What would you have to chat about?” Hudson asked.
    “About being on tour with Alan Jennings. And how you came to meet such a pretty little gal.”
    She tipped her head to the side enjoying watching his brothers tease him. “Yes, tell them all about it.”
    He gave her a hard look and then smiled.
    “Touring is long and tiring, a lot of driving. And I met Emma when she tried to get back stage with the rest of the groupies at Alan’s tour.”
    She gaped at him as did his brothers and then shook her head. “Alan’s my grandfather but this one thought I was trying to weasel my way to the tour bus for seduction.”
    “I can see the resemblance,” Lane said, coming over to her. “Sorry my brother couldn’t see you were too much of a lady to be a groupie. Let me take your bag.”
    Lane took her bag. She smiled at him as Hudson reached over and took it from him. “I’ve got it. Let’s get out of here. I saw her just fine.”
    “Whatever you say,” Alec said. They all started walking to a big old Chevrolet SUV with seating for eight. The little boys scrambled into the back of the vehicle. Carson, Hudson and Emma sat on the bench and Lane and Alec in the front.
    The fifty-minute drive from Bozeman to Marietta went by quickly. Emma listened to the brothers talking between themselves as they caught Hudson up on all the news. Lane’s best-friend and fellow former marine, Monty, and his new bride were just back from their honeymoon in Hawaii. Carson was apparently engaged and planning a Christmas wedding.
    “Last year I asked Santa for a mommy and I got Annie,” Evan said. He was six years old and the spitting image of his dad. He smiled up at her revealing the fact that he’d lost his bottom front tooth. He was cute as could be. And reminded her of her students back in Georgia.
    “What are you asking for this year?” Emma asked.
    “A brother,” Evan said without hesitation. “Daddy said it’s not up to Santa but he delivered last year so I think I’ll stick with him.”
    “Buddy, we have to have a chat with Annie before you go asking for a brother,” Carson said.
    “Okay, Daddy,” Evan said. “But I still want one.”
    Hudson clapped his brother on the shoulder as Evan went back to playing a game on his iPad.
    “You thinking of settling down?” Carson asked as the miles passed. “This is a good place to raise a family.”
    “I know that,” Hudson said. “I’ve got a lot on my mind. Let me move back home before you have me married and settled down.”
    “What about you, Emma?”
    “What about me?” she asked Alec.
    “You want to settle down and start a family?”
    “That’s kind of personal,” she said. “Someday I want to.”
    Hudson looked at her and she smiled at him. “If I meet the right guy and we’re both ready to stop running.”
    He nodded and she knew he got it. He wasn’t suddenly going to start imagining them as a family and neither was she. No matter how appealing his brothers made it seem she wasn’t ready to take on more family. She was still trying to figure out her own.
    *
    Brotherly love