Cassidy, Carla - Midnight Wishes

by Midnight Wishes(lit)

  I hope those midnight wishes of yours eventually come true."

  She nodded, but said nothing. Luke turned and left the office. As he

  walked out of the front door, Cody bounded toward him.

  "Hi, Luke. Me and Bulldog are gonna go fishing. Wanna come?" The

  little boy gazed up at Luke, hero worship radiating in his eyes. "I'll

  bet you're good at fishing, huh, Luke?"

  "I can't, Cody. I'm leaving to go back to Chicago." Luke steeled

  himself against the hurt in the childish gaze.

  "But why?" Cody slipped his hand into Luke's. "I thought you liked

  us. I gave you my lucky nut and everything."

  Cody's hand felt so small, so trusting, in Luke's. Conflicting

  emotions raced through him. He wanted to run as fast and as far away

  from this little boy. And he wanted to pick him up in his arms and hug

  him close to his heart.

  Gently he extricated his hand and reached into his pocket. He pulled

  out the hickory nut Cody had given him. "Here, you'd better take this

  back." He held it out to the boy. "Go on, take it," he said gruffly.

  "Give it to a real cowboy, one who lives by your cowboy creed."

  Cody took the nut, his bottom lip trembling. "But, I thought you were

  a real cowboy."

  Again Luke had the overwhelming impulse to pick him up, hug him close

  and smell the sunshine freshness of his hair, the little-boy scent of

  dreams and innocence. He stifled the impulse and clenched his fists at

  his sides. "No, Cody. I'm just a pretend cowboy, and that's all I'll

  ever be." He turned and walked away, wondering how long Cody's

  disillusioned blue eyes would haunt him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  "You leaving?"

  Luke turned to see Roger Eaton standing in the bunkhouse doorway. He

  nodded. "Yeah, it's time for me to move on."

  "Things didn't work out between you and the boss lady?"

  "As well as I expected or wanted." Luke shoved the last of his things

  into his duffel bag, then slammed his locker door.

  "You need a ride into town? I'm heading in to pick up some things for

  Rusty."

  "Can you drop me at the airport?" Luke asked. "No problem."

  Together the two men left the bunkhouse and headed for Rusty's old

  pickup. A moment later as Roger drove away from the ranch, Luke turned

  in his seat and cast one last glance at the house. It was past time to

  leave.

  He was dangerously. close to losing his heart to Abby and this place.

  But he wasn't the man for her and he'd never again attempt to raise a

  little boy. Better to walk away with regrets than live with them.

  "I'm beginning to feel like the last rat on a sinking ship," Roger said

  after they had driven a few minutes in silence.

  "What do you mean?" Luke looked at him curiously.

  Roger shrugged. "Some of the guys were talking last night and several

  of them admitted they've talked to some of the other ranches in the

  area about potential jobs. If Abby goes to prison then we'll all be in

  the market for new jobs."

  "So have you started scouting around?"

  "Nab, my money's on Abby getting off for these' murder charges.

  Besides, I figure the Connors have treated me square while I've been

  here, the least I can do is show a little loyalty and not run scared at

  the first sign of trouble."

  Luke nodded. Although he didn't know Roger well, his respect for the

  wiry cowboy had just grown tenfold. He smiled inwardly as he

  remembered what Dotty had said about Roger telling her he was the son

  of some rich, important man. In his younger days Luke had thrown more

  than a few lines himself, but never one so creative.

  "Where's home, Roger?" "Wherever I hang my hat." "No family?"

  Roger shook his head. "Not unless you consider a series of foster

  homes family."

  "That's rough." "It wasn't so bad."

  The men fell silent once again. Luke could better understand now

  Roger's painting a fantasy about his father to impress Dotty. But Luke

  had never spun fantasies about his father, the man who had walked out

  of his life when he was about Cody's age, leaving an ache of emptiness

  in his wake. The same emptiness Cody must feel to want a daddy so

  badly.

  He frowned, knowing he couldn't leave town yet. He'd thought he could

  get on a plane and go back to Chicago, let the authorities deal with

  Greg's death, but he couldn't.

  Somehow he'd managed to get emotionally embroiled with Abby and her

  son, and he couldn't walk away from them until he knew for sure they

  were safe.

  Curiosity, that's all it is, he tried to tell himself. After all, he'd

  given the cocoa to Junior to be analyzed and he'd requested the phone

  records from Greg's room. It seemed only right he stick around to get

  the results and find out if his hunches were correct.

  "Forget the airport," he told Roger, his mind made up. "You can just

  drop me off at the first motel you see."

  Roger looked at him in surprise. "You aren't leaving town?"

  "Not yet."

  Roger shot him a look of speculation. "I heard you're Foxwood's half

  brother. I guess if I were you I wouldn't want to leave until somebody

  was in jail for the murder."

  "Not just somebody. I want to make sure the right person is in

  jail."

  Roger nodded and pulled into the parking lot of the Owl's Nest Motel.

  "It's nothing fancy, but I've heard it's clean and has kitchenettes,"

  he said as he came to a stop.

  "I'm sure it will be fine." Luke stepped out of the cab and leaned in

  the window. "Thanks for the ride." With a wave of his hand, he

  stepped back and watched as Roger pulled onto the road.

  When the pickup had disappeared, Luke turned and headed for the motel

  office. Within minutes he was ensconced in room number ten. Just as

  Roger had said, the room was nothing fancy, but adequate, and in any

  case Luke didn't intend to be here long.

  He walked to the window and pulled back the heavy, dark draperies.

  Staring out the window, he tried to focus on the view, but his mind

  filled with a vision of Abby as he'd last seen her. So strong, so

  independent, yet there had been a whisper of vulnerability in her eyes.

  Although he'd wanted to tell her not to push him out, that she needed

  him because he seemed to be one of the few who believed she might be

  innocent, she'd used the one argument with him that he couldn't fight

  against. Cody.

  He dropped the draperies in front of the windows, effectively blocking

  the sunlight. The last' thing he'd want to do was hurt Cody. That's

  why it was better this way, that he keep his distance from both the

  little boy and Abby until Greg's murder was solved and Luke returned to

  Chicago.

  He thought of his apartment at home. It was not so terribly different

  from this motel room. Functional, adequate, but cold and without any

  warmth or personality. And that reflected his life.

  He'd made a conscious choice long ago to live his life alone. His

  experiences with Greg made him wary of ever having children and his

  parents' broken marriage had stolen any belief in love forevermore.
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  Someday Abby would find the man who would make her midnight wishes come

  true. She'd find a man who'd love her, help her raise Cody and share

  all the hope deep in her heart. But that man wasn't him.

  With a weary sigh, Luke stretched out on the bed, his heart filled with

  a deep ache. It's grief over Greg's death catching up with me, he

  thought. But he couldn't explain why when he closed his eyes, his mind

  filled with a vision of Abby and the pain only deepened.

  "WHAT DO YOt NEED, Michael?" Abby looked up from her paperwork.

  Michael Kimbers, one of the ranch workers, stood in the doorway, hat in

  hand. "Uh..I'm giving you my notice. I'll be leaving at the' end of

  the week."

  Dismay swept through Abby. "Is there a problem? I mean, you've been

  with us for--what?--almost a year."

  Michael's face reddened slightly and he worked the rim of his hat

  between nervous fingers. "No problems. I just received another offer

  of employment."

  "May I ask from whom?" There had always been an unwritten code among

  the ranchers in the area that luring workers from one ranch to another

  wasn't done.

  "Henry Carsworth. He's offered me near double what you're paying

  me."

  Anger swept through Abby. "But Henry Carsworth doesn't have a

  ranch."

  Michael nodded. "I know, but he told me he expects to have something

  in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime he has some other work

  lined up for me to do." The young man smiled apologetically. "I'm

  sorry, Miss Abby, but I can't turn my back on that kind of money;"

  Abby drew a deep breath and stood. Walking around the desk, she held

  her hand out to Michael. "I understand. But you know there's always a

  place here for you if things don't work out with Mr. Cars-worth." '

  "I appreciate that." Michael released her hand, then with a nod,

  turned and left.

  Abby swallowed hard and turned toward the window. Damn Henry

  Carsworth. He was attempting to tighten the noose around her neck,

  shove the gasping ranch into the abyss of failure.

  She stared out the window at the place she loved, the place where her

  heart would always be no matter what the future brought. Although now

  her heart would forever be divided between this ranch and Luke.

  Closing her eyes, she remembered waking that morning and the emptinesS

  that had swept through her as she thought of Luke's absence. Despite

  her resolve, he'd become a part of her life.

  She couldn't forget their lovemaking and cursed him for reawakening

  those feelings in her. Luke had reminded her that she was a woman,

  with a woman's needs. And what she needed most was for him to love

  her.

  She shook her head and returned to the desk, but her thoughts remained

  distant from the work at hand.

  She'd done the right thing in sending him away. Although Cody had been

  hurt to discover Luke was leaving, his hurt was minimal to what it

  would have been had Luke remained. Yes, she'd done the right thing.

  "Abby?"

  She jumped as her sister came into the room. "Oh, you scared me half

  to death."

  "Sorry." Belinda flashed her a smile of concern. "Are you all right?"

  She sat in the chair opposite the desk.

  "I'm fine. I just wish things were different." "You're talking about

  Luke."

  Abby nodded. "When Greg left, I swore I'd never get involved with

  another man. I had Cody. I had you and Colette. I had this ranch,

  and I was so certain that was enough to completely fulfill me."

  "You've always been the strongest, the most independent of the three of

  us," Belinda said. "But, Abby, everyone needs somebody special."

  "I know, but it doesn't matter how I feel about Luke. He left

  yesterday to go back to Chicago.."

  "And you didn't tell him that you are in love with him?"

  Abby looked at her sister as if she'd lost her mind. "Why on earth

  would I do something like that?"

  "So that you wouldn't have any regrets late'." Belinda's cheeks

  pinkened attractively. "I've always been sorry that I never told Derek

  how I felt about him. I've always wondered if telling him I loved him

  wiuld have changed things between us and he might have stayed here."

  "But that's different," Abby protested. "You and

  Derek dated, you had a real relationship. Luke and I had a

  relationship based on lies. He was here for one thing and one thing

  only, to find me guilty of Greg's death. "

  "But he no longer thinks you're guilty."

  "It doesn't matter. Oh, Belinda, don't you understand? Love never had

  anything to do with me and Luke. I was a fool to allow things to go as

  far as they did between us. And there's a part of me that hates him

  for letting things get so out of control." She thought of the taste of

  Luke's lips, the heat of his hands stroking her body. She shook her

  head. "In any case, it's too late. He's gone." Again the emptiness

  rang hollowly through Abby's heart.

  "Speaking of gone.;.I'm taking Shadow over to the Walley ranch later

  this afternoon. They think they might be interested in buying him."

  "That'would be great." Shadow was a fine Arabian horse and his sale

  should bring a fair price.

  "I thought I'd take Cody with me. He always likes visiting the

  Walleys'. Okay with you if he comes with me?" '

  "Fine." Abby stood. "Let's go get some lunch. I'm tired of twisting

  numbers and trying to make our bottom line better than it is."

  "It will be great to have Colette and Hank home tomorrow," Belinda said

  as the two sisters worked side by side to get lunch on the table.

  "They should be here first thing in the morning. I just wish they were

  coming home to better news."

  "Abby, things will be okay. You know Mama used to always say it's

  darkest before the dawn."

  "It's been dark a long time and I see no hint of the dawn," Abby

  replied ruefully.

  As the afternoon waned on, the darkness seemed only to thicken. Two

  more ranch hands came to Abby to put in their notices, stolen away by

  Henry Cars-worth's bulging wallet and big promises.

  When Belinda and Cody left with the prize horse in the trailer, Abby

  sat on the front porch, exhausted of spirit. Up until now she'd

  managed to hold on to a modicum of hope that they could save the ranch,

  that somehow they'd get a lucky break. Now even hope seemed a luxury

  she couldn't afford.

  If they lost the ranch, she knew Colette and Hank would be all right.

  Hank was a good man, and he'd do whatever it took to provide for his

  wife and daughter. He'd quit his job to help with the ranch, but he

  could always go back to law enforcement.

  Belinda worried Abby. Belinda had tried living away from the ranch for

  a while, but had hated it. This ranch was as much a part of her as it

  was of Abby. And like Abby, a piece of Belinda's soul would die if

  they lost the ranch.

  Abby steadfastly refused to think of where she might be or what she

  might do if they no longer had their home. For all she knew, a prison

  might be her address for the next hundred years of her life
. And that

  possibility was too grim to consider.

  The ranch was quiet for the moment. No ringing hammers, masculine

  shouts, nothing to break the peace and serenity of evening's approach.

  It was Friday night; most of the men would have already left the ranch

  for a night out on the town.

  Abby listened to the lullaby of nature, the stir of the warm breeze

  through distant trees, a bird's song as it flew overhead, a buzz of a

  bee seeking a plump flower. How long did she have to enjoy these

  simple things? Would she be able to remember them from a jail cell?

  The sun had just begun its descent, painting the sky with orange and

  pink streaks when a cloud of dust announced a car's approach.

  Abby stood, steeling herself mentally for whoever it might be and

  whatever news they might bring. She used to look forward to company,

  enjoyed entertaining people in her home. It saddened her to realize

  that in the space of the last couple of weeks, she'd changed so

  drastically, now certain company meant bad news.

  As the small red economy car came into view, she didn't recognize it.

  But as it pulled to a stop and the driver's door opened, surprise shot