A Cowboy's Homecoming

by Leigh Riker

  Cody was already standing on the landing. He took in Kate’s panicked face. “I heard,” he said, buttoning his shirt. “I’ll fire up the Gators. Willow’s getting dressed.”

  Noah glanced at his mother, who’d come back into the room. “There are five of us,” he said, “but we need more. Mom, you’ll stay to help coordinate the search. Call down to the bunkhouse. Calvin’s not here but you can rouse the other hands.” He turned to Cody. “Forget the Gators. Have you looked outside? We’re supposed to get another foot of snow tonight.” And there was still plenty on the ground from previous storms.

  Kate’s teeth chattered. “The road’s nearly impassable. I slid down our drive and then on yours, so the trucks may not be much help either.”

  “Then we’ll ride horseback.”

  Jean said, “I’ll tell the boys to saddle up.”

  Minutes later, they all rode out of the barnyard, shoulders hunched against the icy wind and driving snow. “This is worse than the time we got caught in that first blizzard,” Noah shouted to Kate, who, on Willow’s horse Silver, was probably wishing she’d brought her own more familiar mare. “We’ll find him, Kate.”

  She drew up beside him as Cody unlatched the gate into the near pasture. Willow had taken the four-wheel drive, hoping to cover the distance on the snow-covered road between their two ranches, then, if necessary, head into town. What if Teddie tried to reach his friend Seth’s house there? Cody on Diva, his paint mustang, and four other cowboys on horses from the ranch string had set off to make a grid search of the WB. Riding Zach’s stallion Midnight, Noah went with Kate toward Sweetheart Ranch.

  They rode close together, legs occasionally brushing. The wind howled. The snow came down horizontally into their faces, like that day in the rental car.

  “I probably checked him half a dozen times tonight,” Kate said. “I knew how upset he was. I should have guessed he’d do something like this—run away.”

  But being unhappy didn’t necessarily lead to leaving home. Except, maybe, in Noah’s case too many years ago. He had a flashback of his last argument with his dad, then packing his bags. I’ll show you. “Was it because of what I said?”

  Kate shook her head. “Teddie didn’t blame you. He blamed me. He said I’d made you leave—like I did Rob.”

  “Ah, Kate. He’s a kid. Teddie has his own logic, but he couldn’t mean that.”

  They picked their way across the frozen ground, unable to see ten feet beyond their flashlight beams. Her voice fell and Noah strained to hear her next words. “He said—he’d never see you again either.”

  His gut tightened. Teddie had obviously come to view him as a stand-in father. He was afraid that, like Rob, Noah would never come back. “I should have found a better way to assure him that I’ll see him again.” Though he and Kate hadn’t settled that for themselves.

  She gave a dry sob. “He thinks you’re going to...die too.”

  Noah leaned over to brush tears from her cheeks. “Don’t cry. You’ll freeze.”

  Noah’s face already felt stiff. His heavy parka didn’t quite keep out the worsening cold, and even Midnight’s hide shivered under Noah. He wouldn’t say this to Kate, but how much longer could a small boy survive in this? Where could he have gone? And how? Certainly not on foot. He wouldn’t make it from his house to the road before hypothermia set in.

  “Kate, did you see prints around the barn?”

  “Footprints?”

  “Hoofprints,” he suggested. “Was his pony in its stall?”

  “I didn’t think to check on Spencer. I should have. I left Meg at the house in case Teddie came home and just jumped in my truck.”

  “Then our best bet is he’s with that pony.”

  A quick call to Gabe on Kate’s SAT phone confirmed Noah’s theory. Spencer was missing too. They were almost to the boundary fence a bit later when Noah spied a tiny figure on horseback in the distance.

  “There!” he yelled, and then, “Teddie!”

  It couldn’t be anyone else.

  As he called out, Noah saw the little boy shift in the saddle, then fall sideways. He tumbled off the pony into the deepening snow. Noah expected Spencer to turn tail and run for the warmer barn, but he didn’t. The gelding stood over Teddie as if to shelter him, nudging him with his nose. The two had obviously jumped the fence from Kate’s side, successfully this time, even without a gap to shoot for.

  “Teddie!” Kate kept shouting as she spurred Silver into an awkward gait as fast as the mare could travel in this snow.

  Noah followed on Midnight, the stallion fighting the bit, but Noah stayed in the saddle. Kate reached her boy first, slid off the horse, then gathered Teddie into her arms. She laid her cheek against his head and wept harder than she had before.

  “Bunny, you scared me...scared both of us.”

  “It’s dark out here,” Teddie said, shaking all over. Ice crusted his jacket and hood, his mittens and even his eyelashes.

  “Where on earth were you going, Teddie Bear?”

  “To see N-N—Mr. Bo-dine.”

  Noah dismounted beside her. “Let’s get him home, Kate. And call his doctor.”

  “What if Sawyer can’t get through? And the clinic’s closed. We’d have to take him to Farrier General—”

  “Sawyer will try. In the meantime, we need to get Teddie’s core temperature up.”

  She didn’t seem to hear anything he said. She wouldn’t let go of Teddie, even when Noah tried to pry him from her. “Let me carry him. Midnight’s bigger, stronger than the horse you’re on.”

  Kate wouldn’t agree. Finally, not to waste time, he lifted Teddie into her arms on Silver, and Noah remounted Midnight with Spencer trailing behind to the house at Sweetheart Ranch. There, Noah carried Teddie inside, where Meg took over, murmuring soft reassurances that everything would be all right. A man Noah didn’t recognize stood behind her.

  But any introductions could wait for later.

  Noah left Kate and Teddie to be cared for, took the Bodine horses to the barn; cooled, then put them in empty stalls; blanketed them with the spares he found and filled water buckets. No one was riding any more tonight. He’d worry about getting home later.

  He stopped to visit briefly with Lancelot. The colt looked stronger and had gained some weight, which he was glad to see before he left town. Then he pulled out his cell phone to call the WB. “Teddie’s safe,” he reported. “Mom, let the others know, okay? He’s home now.”

  “Thank heaven. Willow’s here already. The road was empty. The hands are riding in as we speak to get warm and regroup. I’ll tell them the good news.” Her voice quavered. “I’m glad you found that little imp. Give him a kiss from me.”

  “I will.” And one from Noah too.

  He hung up, then went back to the house, poured himself a mug of the hot coffee Meg had prepared. She informed him that Sawyer McCord was on his way. Then Noah went upstairs to make sure Teddie was all right.

  About Kate, he wasn’t certain.

  Tonight—Teddie’s escape—had pulled her out of her safe space. Frightened her.

  He didn’t suppose she would leave it again.

  * * *

  AS HE’D DONE when Lancelot was sick, Noah didn’t leave Sweetheart Ranch until dawn. He’d sat with Kate by Teddie’s bed, talking softly to him. He’d assured the boy he would come back again to Kansas—unlike poor Rob—and that their friendship would endure. To Kate, he hadn’t said much at all.

  Yet Noah had an extra day to make his case with her. His plane was probably boarding right now in Kansas City. He was still thinking what to say when he finally reached the WB’s barn. Noah had driven home with Calvin, who’d picked him up in one of the ranch trucks, apologizing because he hadn’t been there last night to help. The rig behind carried Silver and Midnight. By now, the snow reached a man’s knees and would have been cold
, hard going, if not impossible, on the way home even for the tough WB cow ponies. The pickup slid up to the barn doors.

  “What a night,” Willow’s voice said when Noah walked in. She poked her head out of the first stall, a pitchfork in hand. “Cody went back to bed, but I keep thinking what might have happened to Kate’s little boy out there in the dark, the storm.”

  “Me too.”

  “How is he, Noah?”

  “Bundled under half a dozen blankets, snuggled up with his mom. Sawyer couldn’t believe he’d ridden Spencer out in the storm, but by the time he arrived, that warm bath and some blankets, another hot cocoa had helped to warm Teddie. Sawyer said he’ll be all right.” Once he’d unloaded Midnight and led him to his stall, he said, “Thanks for helping, Willow. I appreciate it.”

  “I didn’t do it for you.”

  He almost sighed. As she turned away, he took the pitchfork from her. “Listen, I can’t leave today after all—I need to rebook my flight—but I’ll be out of your way tomorrow, no more reminders that I skipped your wedding. Before I go, how can I at least try to heal the rift between us?” Not that his attempt to do the same with Kate and their relationship had worked. That was still up in the air too.

  “I think you said everything before, Noah.”

  “I didn’t say this.” He held her gaze, remembering all the years when she was little, then growing, and finally an adult. “You’re the best sister a guy could ever have, and I hate seeing such distance in your eyes. Especially because I caused it. I’m sorry,” he said again. “I wouldn’t have spoiled your beautiful wedding for anything—”

  “Except that sudden flight to London.”

  “Wish I could have missed that plane.” He did sigh. “The launch of our new branch office has been nothing but one mess after another, and before I knew it, instead of flying to Kansas, I was on my way to the UK to put out yet another fire. By then, I was exhausted—so was Brent—and I barely knew what day it was, or I would have handled that crisis differently, not gone at all.” Or was he so fixated on making a success of J&B that he’d made the wrong choice? “I would have been here instead, but at least next week the new branch will be official, which opens up the whole European market. Things should settle down.”

  “My brother, the captain of industry.”

  He shook his head. “Not quite. Please forgive me, Willow.” He cupped her face in both hands. “I promise, I’ll never miss another big occasion in your life and Cody’s.”

  “What about the small ones?”

  He couldn’t lie. “I’ll do my best there too.”

  “What’s the catch—I have to name my firstborn after you?”

  He smiled a little. “Well, middle name, maybe.”

  Willow snickered. “You really are a wheeler-dealer. How could I forget? When I was a kid, you always bartered with me over chores. Conned me, really, into mucking stalls for you with a promise to buy me a new saddle or take me to Disney World.”

  “Worked, didn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I’m no longer that little girl. I’m onto you, big brother.” She actually snorted. “I’m a much better negotiator now.”

  Noah saw his chance to shift the conversation a bit from his own shortcomings. “I’m really proud of you. I’m sure your training business will take off like a rocket come spring, and Cody’s a great partner. I’m also glad you’ll be living on the WB as Mom gets older.”

  “So will Zach and Cass, probably.”

  Noah wasn’t sure of that. Zach’s resentment of Noah was a factor; he just might decide to leave the ranch permanently to get back at him. And where was he at the moment? No one had heard from him. “If so, Mom will be in her glory—grandkids running around everywhere.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of things,” Willow murmured, but with a blush. “Cody and I have enough to do this first year.” She covered Noah’s hands with hers, and with their banter about the WB, he’d felt a shift in the break between them.

  “I love you, Willow,” he murmured, “with all my heart.”

  She cleared her throat. “That’s what family does. We love each other—even you.”

  “Even me,” he said, kissing her forehead. His father being the exception about Noah.

  After a moment, Willow drew back. “Now. Since you’re still here, and I no longer feel like taking a skillet or riding crop to you, let’s get these stalls cleaned.”

  Noah grinned. “At your service.”

  “I’ll let you do the hard work.”

  * * *

  THAT EVENING KATE read Teddie his favorite book, Janie Wants to Be a Cowgirl, then tucked him into bed with an extra kiss. She’d given him so many in the past twenty-four hours Teddie was now scrunching up his face beforehand, saying, “Ewww,” but Kate couldn’t resist. Having him safe and well at home was a huge blessing. As she went down the stairs, she hoped she wouldn’t have nightmares as she had last night—or what was left of it once she’d finally fallen asleep.

  Tonight at least, she was especially grateful to be in her warm house, her little family sheltered from the last of the storm that would blow out by morning. Snow lay in drifts everywhere on Sweetheart Ranch, and Gabe would need to plow again tomorrow. She felt another pang of loss. Had Noah’s plane left on time that morning?

  A quick rap at the front door made her pause on the last step, and Noah’s face suddenly appeared in the window. Kate did a classic double take.

  “Noah. I thought we’d said goodbye.” That was, before Teddie ran away.

  “I changed my flight till tomorrow.” He stomped his boots on the entryway mat. His serious hazel eyes met hers. “Can we talk?”

  Kate looked around. In the family room, Meg and Mac were watching a movie together—miracle of all miracles—so Kate led the way to the more formal living room. “Teddie would be glad to see you again—” which was a huge understatement “—but he’s sound asleep.”

  “Maybe before I leave, I’ll go up. I won’t wake him. But I came to see you.” Noah dropped onto a chair, rested his forearms on his spread knees. He stared down at his linked hands. “I’ve managed to convince Willow that I’m not the worst brother in the world. I thought I’d take another shot with you.”

  Kate sat on the sofa. She began, “Noah, I was more than grateful for your help last night but—”

  “Thank heaven we found Teddie, but I can’t just let this go—us, I mean. I know I’ll be in New York and you’re here. That’s a given, but my mother’s right. That’s not enough reason to call this off.”

  “Why wouldn’t Jean say that? Above all, she misses you. She wants her family together. If that were Teddie, I would too.”

  Noah glanced at her. “Maybe that’s the point. Aren’t you curious to see where we might go? And I don’t mean New York.”

  She knew what he meant. He must remember their kisses too.

  “With luck,” he said, “we have most of our lives ahead of us. Why keep burying yourself here at Sweetheart Ranch? Rob wouldn’t want you to do that.”

  “Why?” she echoed. “Because we don’t want the same things. We never will.” She abruptly rose from the sofa. His unexpected visit was too painful. “I think you’d better go.”

  His eyes darkened. “Because I came too close to the truth?” Noah stood. He captured her fingers, tucked their joined hands against his chest. “When that man attacked Rob—slashed me too—without warning, we were fighting for our lives. Maybe I should never have offered Rob that job. If I hadn’t, yes, he might still be alive. But would he, really?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I’ve told you he wasn’t happy here. He wanted desperately to get off this ranch. He wanted more for himself, for you and Teddie.”

  “That job—that company you’re so proud of—took my husband, his father, from us! For the last six months of his life, we end
ured a wretched separation that damaged our marriage, perhaps for good. I still wish I’d had a chance to find some solution...”

  “So do I—with my own father—but sometimes that’s not possible. Maybe it’s time you faced up to your decisions, not his. I was with Rob for those six months. He didn’t feel he had any other choice. Cattle prices were down, a hailstorm had damaged the crops...he owed creditors, loans that Rob couldn’t pay.”

  “Is that supposed to be a revelation? I learned very young that times can be difficult, but situations change.”

  “Exactly,” Noah said.

  “We’re doing okay now. If Rob hadn’t run off to New York, he would have seen that for himself.”

  “But he didn’t.”

  “And you have no right to judge me—a man who abandoned his family and the WB. I wonder if that wasn’t your plan for Rob too.”

  Noah ran a hand over his hair. “My plan, if there was one, was only to help improve Rob’s situation and, I hoped, yours and Teddie’s too. Just like I tried to help with his schooling. I liked the thought of us all being there in New York, friends again, and I’ve told you what I feel, Kate, what I’ve always felt so...yeah, from a personal standpoint, I also liked the idea of having you nearby.”

  Stricken, Kate merely stared at him.

  She never knew what she might have managed to say, but she didn’t have to. Teddie must have heard their voices. He clattered down the stairs, into the room and flung himself in Noah’s arms.

  “You didn’t go!” He buried his face in Noah’s chest.

  Over Teddie’s head, Noah’s gaze held hers. Kate saw a world of hurt there, far worse than the day she’d first accused him of co-opting her child’s affections. She saw the love he had for Teddie, for her—a love, not simply friendship, that she’d never known was there.

  He stroked Teddie’s hair. “Guess I’ve already said too much.”

  He lifted Teddie and carried him toward the stairs, then up to his room. Kate didn’t follow. She stood there, rooted to the living room carpet, unable to make out their quiet conversation, only the low rumble of Noah’s voice and Teddie’s happy, high-pitched chatter. She couldn’t possibly take these last moments from them. Teddie, if not Kate, had been given a reprieve.