Sherry glanced up to see Heather marching toward them, hands on hips. Her eyes were indignant as she stopped and talked briefly to her father and Luke before flinging her arms in the air and striding over to Ellie and Sherry.

“What did he do now?” Cody’s daughter demanded. “He said something stupid, right?” In a display of complete disgust, she slapped her sides. Then she lowered herself to the blanket. “I tried to coach him, but a lot of good that did.” She eyed her father angrily. “No wonder he never remarried. The man obviously needs more help than I can give him.”

Ellie and Sherry exchanged a smile. “Don’t try so hard, Heather,” Ellie said.

“But I want Dad to remarry so I can have a baby brother or sister. Or one of each.”

“Heather,” Sherry began, “your father said something about a project you were involved in, and then he immediately seemed to regret mentioning it.”

“He’s never gonna let me forget it, either,” the girl muttered. “Neither is anyone else in town.”

“You have to admit, it was rather amusing,” Ellie added.

“Oh, sure, everyone got a big laugh out of it.”

“Out of what?” Sherry wanted to know.

“My 4-H project. I’ve been a member for a few years and every spring we work on one project for the next twelve months. One year I raised rabbits, and another year I worked with my horse, Misty. This spring I gave the whole town a big laugh when I decided my project was going to be helping my dad find a wife.”

“You weren’t serious!” Sherry was mortified.

“I was at the time, but now I can see it wasn’t a great idea,” Heather continued. “Anyway, everyone talked about it for days. That’s one of the worst things about living in a small town. Dad was furious with me, which didn’t help.”

“That’s why you were so excited when you met me,” Sherry said in a thoughtful voice.

“You’re darn right, especially when I found you sleeping in Dad’s bed.”

Sherry shot a glance at Ellie and felt her face grow warm. “Cody slept in the guest room.”

“My friend Carrie Whistler spent the night before at my place, and I was supposed to change the sheets, but I forgot,” Heather explained to Ellie, then turned her attention back to Sherry. “You’re just perfect for Dad, and I was hoping you might grow to, you know, love him. You’d make a terrific mother.”

Sherry felt tears burn the backs of her eyes. “I don’t think anyone’s ever paid me a higher compliment, Heather, but love doesn’t work that way. I’m sorry. I can’t marry your father just because you want a baby brother or sister.”

“But you like him, don’t you?”

“Yes, but—”

“Until he said something stupid and ruined everything.” Heather’s face tensed.

“Why don’t you let those two figure things out for themselves?” Ellie suggested to the girl. “Your interference will only cause problems.”