Home on the Ranch: Colorado Cowboy SEAL

by Laura Marie Altom

  “Well...” Lulu paused for dramatic effect. “Turns out Mary’s carjacker was a felon. His name is John Paul Matthews and he’s wanted for a whole slew of convenience store robberies down in Louisiana. How he found his way up here, I’ll never know, but thank goodness we have our very own big, strong Navy SEAL to help out when the sheriff isn’t around.”

  “I’m retired,” Laredo said.

  “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.” Kyle tipped his beer to him. “Face it, you’re a hero. My deputy took Mr. Matthews to a nice, comfy cell, so now all we need to worry about is getting Miss Smith’s car back on the road.”

  “Working on it.” Laredo fished the motel room key from his jeans pocket, then slid it across the brown laminate table past coffee cups and saucers filled with piecrust crumbs. “No tires tonight, Mary, but I got you a room. I’ll run you over as soon as you’re ready.”

  She frowned. “We already talked about this.”

  “Look...” He leaned in. “Your car is currently in a field. You’ve been through a traumatic event and you and your baby need a safe, quiet place to grab some shut-eye. I already paid for the room. You’re not in any way beholden to me. But I do feel bad about your tires.”

  “You saved my baby’s life. You’ve done enough.”

  “Honey,” Lulu said, “take the room.”

  Mary nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Come on.” Laredo rose from the booth. “I’ll give you a ride.”

  “That’s okay,” Lulu said. “I’ll be happy to drive her. I haven’t visited with Sarah in ages.” Sarah Ziegler had taken over the motel when her parents retired to Arizona. Luckily, she hadn’t been on duty when Laredo booked the room.

  Dandelion Gulch was a hotbed of single women on the prowl for potential husbands.

  “Sounds good. I’ll hit up Jimmy first thing in the morning about the tires.” Laredo limited trips to town in hopes of staying off the groom candidate roster. It sucked that he’d have to make a return trip tomorrow, but he’d deal. His more pressing issue was getting safely home tonight. “Mary? You okay with this plan?”

  “Yes. Thank you. You’re very kind.”

  Laredo winced.

  Actually, he was a selfish bastard for resenting the time this stranger had already unwittingly taken from his day. And tomorrow. His whole point for leaving the Navy and moving to this lonely corner of the world was to escape. Hide. But none of that was feasible when he was surrounded by flirting women and now a random violent crime.

  “See y’all in the morning.” With a backward wave, he retreated from the diner.

  Unfortunately, the sound of clicking heels followed.

  “Not so fast, cowboy.” Lulu passed, cutting him off before he reached the door. “I wanted to thank you for helping with this fiasco. It’s not every day a man literally tackles a criminal while helping a lady in distress.”

  “No problem.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “I don’t mean to be rude,” he said, “but I’ve got even more ladies in distress back home. If I don’t feed my hens, they’ll bust into the house and peck me to death in my sleep.”

  Lulu laughed. “You’re so funny.” Hand on his forearm, she added, “Just know that if you ever find yourself needing a favor from me—anything at all—I’m here for you. It must get lonely out there on your ranch, and a man has needs that—”

  “Whoa.” He lowered his voice, ensuring no one else could hear. “Hon, you are a smart, savvy businesswoman and just about the hottest firecracker any man could hold, but I’m not in the market, okay?”

  “I’m confused. Do you bat for the other team? If so, I could hook you up with—”

  He sighed. “Nothing personal, but I really just want to be left alone.”

  Making the already awkward moment all the more difficult was Mary. Laredo glanced up, accidentally catching her gaze. In the moment, she looked as hollow as he felt.

  What was her story?

  Why did he care?

  “I know you don’t mean any of that,” Lulu said. “I understand that as a proud man who’s served our country, you’ve seen things I can’t even imagine. But that doesn’t mean—”

  “I’ll see you the next time I get a hankering for meat loaf.” In case of crocodile tears, Laredo took off, punching open the door with its chirpy bell, then making a beeline for his truck.

  Thankfully, Lulu and her heels didn’t follow.

  What did?

  Mary Smith’s haunted expression.

  Chapter 2

  Robin woke unsure where she was.

  Who she was.

  Heart pounding, it took her minute to realize she was safe. No one here knew her real name, and as long as she remained Mary Smith to them, all would be well. She was safe. Tucked in the motel room the kind stranger—Laredo—had procured. White walls. Western-themed art. Beige carpet and a floral spread atop a comfortable bed.

  A few more blinks followed by deep breaths brought her fully awake.

  Lark fitfully cried.

  “Coming, sweetie...” Wincing from the purple bruises along her back and rib cage, Robin went to the portable crib the motel had provided, lifting her six-month-old into her arms for a comforting squeeze. “Shh... It’s okay. Mommy’s here. Let’s get you fed.”

  Robin hugged Lark with one arm, then used her free hand to bunch the pillows. Back in the bed with the comfy mound of pillows behind her, she lifted her T-shirt, welcoming the instant relief of her milk flowing when the baby hungrily latched on.

  The room was silent save for Lark’s soft moans and grunts.

  Robin closed her eyes, trying to relax. But it was hard.

  She had to keep reminding herself that the worst was behind her. That every passing car on the highway wasn’t en route to find her. The sheriff not only didn’t know who she was but didn’t care.

  Deep breaths, she reminded herself.

  In and out.

  Nice and slow.

  In and—

  A knock on the room’s door startled her, which in turn interrupted Lark’s breakfast. A fact that the baby protested with an angry wail. Part of Robin was afraid to open the door—terrified of who may lurk behind it. Another part of her was tired of running. Of being afraid. That woman covered herself for modesty, clung to her crying baby, then peered through the door’s peephole.

  When she saw Laredo, a rush of air vacated her lungs.

  Just as she remembered from their previous encounter, he was tall and solid and under ordinary circumstances, just the right sort of man she may have turned to for a protector. But she was no longer that woman and she certainly didn’t have the luxury of trusting anyone other than herself.

  Her only goal was to leave this town ASAP.

  The best thing Laredo had going for him was his ability to assist her with that short-term need.

  Upon opening the door, she stepped back to grant him entrance. “Come on in. I’m not quite ready, and it’s chilly.”

  “Thanks.” For a moment, he froze as if not sure how to react to the sight of a mother breastfeeding her child—no matter how discreetly. “Um, want me to come back in a few?”

  “No. She’s almost done.”

  “Great.” With a nice recovery, he wagged a paper sack and a drink holder carrying two divine-smelling coffees. “Two weeks ago a new coffee shop opened down the road. Clovis specializes in the sort of gourmet doughnuts you might see in a big city. What she doesn’t get is that around here glazed or a nice chocolate Long John suit most folks just fine. Anyway, sorry about this monstrosity of a frosted extravaganza—” he handed her the bag “—but I was running late, and this was the simplest of all she had left. Well, aside from the bacon variety, which I have to admit sounds too scary to even try.”

  “You always talk this much?”

  He chuckled. “No. But
you’re a breath of fresh air. Most of the women around here are what I can only describe as hungry. They see a new man and pounce. The smart thing to do would be introducing them to one of my single SEAL friends. Jed would do. I’ll give him a long overdue call.” He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “At first, the attention was flattering. But then it got old. I moved up here for solitude. Sadly, every woman in town seems to have her own agenda, none of which jibe with mine.”

  Robin cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly is your agenda?” Her baby was still hungry and rooted at Robin’s covered breasts.

  He removed his hat, pressing it to his chest before nodding to the nearest of the two chairs flanking a small, window-front table. “Mind if I have a seat?”

  “Not at all.”

  “My agenda...” He took one of the coffees before sitting. “Now there’s a loaded question. The simplest answer? I’m here trying to homestead but having a devil of a time. Most folks think I’m a bit off my rocker. Others don’t have a problem with calling me flat-out crazy.”

  “Are you? Crazy?” While juggling the baby, she managed to take the second coffee. Her first sip was sheer bliss—cream and lots of sugar. “This is great by the way. Thanks.”

  “You like it?”

  “Love it. Lucky guess on how I take it.”

  He waved his hat. “Wish I could take the credit. Clovis—owner and barista—says that’s the local favorite for women around your age.”

  “My age, huh?” She’d meant the question as a lighthearted jab, but he wasn’t laughing, and neither was she. Ducking back behind her coffee, she wished he’d make more small talk. When he didn’t, because emotional and physical abuse had taught her to cover awkward silences with polite chatter, she said, “I really do appreciate your help. Is the mechanic’s shop far?”

  “Nah. Just a hop and skip down the road. If it wasn’t for the baby and your luggage and the lack of a sidewalk, I suppose it wouldn’t make a bad walk.” He rose, taking his coffee, but leaving her with the doughnut. “Soon as you’re ready, I’ll be waiting out in my truck.” He hitched his thumb toward the motel’s lot. “Take your time. I need to make a couple calls and answer emails.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No worries.” He’d said that last part with one foot already out the door. Once he closed it behind him, she shivered. But not because of the temperature. It had been so long since she’d been around anyone besides her husband or his family. Her isolation had been crippling. To now not only speak to another man but be alone with him in a motel room was frightening. She didn’t feel the slightest hint of danger from Laredo, but the monster from whom she’d escaped.

  Robin finished feeding her fussy baby, then made quick work of packing the room, grabbing the few items she’d taken from her bags before dressing, smoothing her hair into a ponytail and brushing her teeth.

  A sliver of golden sunlight filtered through a part in the curtains. From her crib, Lark clucked and cooed.

  “Listen to you, my little chicken.” Robin scooped her from the crib. “Do you like the sun?” She kissed the baby’s chubby cheek. “Me, too.”

  As she forced a few deep breaths, hugging her baby close, tears stung Robin’s eyes. I’m free. I’m actually free. And it felt surreal. As dazzling as that sliver of sun.

  Her freedom transformed her spirit into one of the dust motes dancing through the air.

  She shivered again.

  This time from the relief of not waking up to fear for what her day might hold, but anticipation. Her tires would soon be fixed, and she and Lark would be back on the road. With each mile, they’d grow safer and safer.

  As for the possibility of the new monster chasing them?

  She bravely refused to give that fear life.

  For now, all that mattered was this day. This moment when all was well, and her baby shimmered in sunbeams.

  After eating the doughnut that was absurdly over-decorated with mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate chips, Robin kissed Lark once more before changing her diaper. She next used a warm, wet cloth to give her a bath, then rubbed her tiny limbs in pink lotion. Upon being dressed in a fresh pink onesie, Lark smelled as good as she looked.

  After settling the baby into her carrier, along with a pink teething ring, Robin fastened the safety straps. She next made quick work of repacking the baby’s supplies.

  With the room clear, her satchel and diaper bags slung over her shoulders, aggravating the bruises on her back and ribs with each step, Robin left Lark’s carrier near the table while she opened the door on a swirling light fog. In spots, the sun was doing its best to punch through, but the eerie desert landscape might as well have been another planet.

  “Let me help,” Laredo said, already out of his truck.

  “Thanks.”

  He took her two bags, leaving Robin free to return for Lark. “Hope you don’t mind,” he said, “but I grabbed the base from your baby’s carrier out of your car. I know we’re only going a short way but figured it’s always best to err on the side of caution.”

  “True. Thanks.”

  He opened the passenger-side door. “Let me help. It’s a high reach.” Taking the baby’s carrier, he soon had it snapped into the base. “All set.”

  “How do you know so much about baby equipment? It took me a few weeks to perfect that move.”

  “Long story with no good answer.”

  Okay... Could he be more cryptic? Didn’t matter. After about ten minutes, they’d never see each other again.

  Besides, she had her own secrets.

  He was entitled to his.

  After shutting the door on Lark, he took the satchel and diaper bag, placing them in the truck’s bed before rounding to the open driver’s-side door. “You’re next.”

  She understood that Lark’s safety seat made the awkward seating arrangement a necessity. Maybe if she wasn’t so emotionally exhausted, it wouldn’t be any big deal—squeezing herself into the cramped truck cab, then holding her breath when Laredo climbed in alongside her.

  The thin denim of her jeans didn’t block the rising heat between their pressed thighs. The sensation proved as unnerving as it was oddly comforting. This man had been saving her since the moment they’d met, and here he was, bright and early, charging to her rescue once again.

  “Sorry about the tight squeeze.”

  “It’s okay.”

  He took a worn leather cowboy hat from the truck’s dusty dash, then slapped it on his head. “We don’t have far.”

  They could have traveled five hundred feet but being this close to the kind stranger felt more like a journey of a thousand miles. Something about him made her hot and confused. The sooner she and Lark got on their way, the better.

  They were headed for Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where her grandparents lived. Part of her felt guilty for exposing them to potential danger should trouble find her there. But her grandmother assured her the tight-knit community knew how to look after one of their own.

  As Laredo promised, they didn’t have far to travel.

  A few minutes later, they’d reached the mechanic’s shop that looked like it had once been a gas station. Abandoned cars with windshields coated in dust had been parked alongside newer models Robin assumed were in line for service.

  Laredo parked his truck in front of a bench made of rusty tire rims topped by a bright yellow cushion.

  “I swear,” he said after turning off the truck’s engine, “Jimmy’s fiancée has made it her life’s mission to clean this place up. I don’t see it happening but bless her heart for trying.”

  Robin smiled at the sight of hanging flowerpots overflowing with red petunias. A well-swept path led through mounds of scrap metal toward the shop’s door, which had been decorated with an ivy-wrapped wreath and dangling weathered wood sign that read, HOWDY NEI
GHBORS. “I think it’s sweet she cares.”

  He grunted before opening the passenger door to take Lark from her seat. He seemed like a natural with her. Could he have had a child of his own? Or was she reading more into it than there was? Probably the latter.

  Without incident, he handed over her daughter.

  The sun had burned off nearly all the fog, and now beat with surprising intensity for this early in the morning. She wore a pale blue short-sleeved blouse and Laredo had rolled the sleeves on his heavy tan work shirt. His forearms were muscular and bronzed. Golden hairs glinted in the sun. When he brushed against her, the moment may have been brief, but the unexpected bolt of awareness for him as a man and her as a woman was not only unfamiliar, but unwelcome.

  She drew back as swiftly as he did.

  Good to see they were on the same page.

  He left her to jog ahead, opening the shop’s door for her.

  Inside the dim office that smelled of new tires and old 10W-40, a man with hair redder than the petunias sat behind a seventies-era gray metal desk, hunched over, resting his forehead against his palms.

  “Jimmy?” Laredo asked. “You okay?”

  With a start, the twentysomething mechanic with freckles that matched his hair glanced up. “Hey. I’m assuming you’re here about the tires?”

  “Yes.” Robin stepped forward. “Sorry to be a bother, but I really need to get back on the road. Do you have the tires in stock?”

  He sighed. “’Fraid not. In fact, I just got off the phone with my usual delivery service out of Grand Junction. Their truck broke an axle. They’re waiting for a replacement out of Denver.”

  “Can’t they use another?” Robin asked. The longer she stayed in the same place, the greater the risk of being caught.

  “I wish.” Sighing, the shop owner shook his head. “I’ve got six jobs ahead of yours and a fiancée who thinks my only job should be helping her plan our wedding. Every one of those vehicles need parts that are on that truck. Even worse, I need the money from those customers to make the final payment on the reception hall—Sally doesn’t know that last part.”