A Cowboy's Christmas Reunion (Mills & Boon Cherish) (The Boones of Texas, Book 1)

by Sasha Summers

  He took a deep breath. “I don’t appreciate your tone. And we’ve talked about this. You’re never in the way.” He shook his head, searching for the right words. “I understand wanting to spend time with your mom. If that’s what you want to do tonight, then go ahead. But don’t think you have to go or that I want you to go, all right?”

  Eli’s anger faltered, his blue-green eyes going wide.

  “You’re going on a date with someone he can’t stand.” Amy’s words were quick, tipping the scales in resentment’s favor. “Of course he doesn’t want to stay. How do you expect him to feel, Hunter?”

  There wasn’t anything he could say to that, not without making things ten times worse. He hated that Amy put words in Eli’s mouth, that she had no problem using Eli to vent her thoughts and opinions. But Eli was old enough to speak up now. How many times had his son challenged him? Until Eli set Amy straight, Hunter’s hands were tied. He watched Amy leading him toward her truck. “You want to get something to eat first? Some hot chocolate or something?”

  Hunter stood waiting, hoping for some sort of look or acknowledgment, some sort of softening in his son. But Eli never looked back. Hunter watched Amy’s taillights disappear.

  “You okay, Dr. Boone?” Dara asked.

  Hunter nodded, working hard at a smile. “I’ll give ya’ll a hand.” He set to work beside the others, getting the trailer ready for the drive back to the ranch.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The phone was ringing. Josie glanced at the clock. It was three in the morning.

  Who would call at this hour? Her mom? Lola?

  She sat up, pulled on her robe and ran to the phone. Not that her dad would hear it, since he took his hearing aids out at night.

  “Hello?” She was a little breathless and barely awake, so it came out like a croak.

  “Josie? Miss Stephens?” The voice was high, strained and scared. “It’s Eli. Eli Boone.”

  “Eli?” Josie came fully awake in seconds. An ice-cold weight ballooned in her stomach. “Is everything okay?”

  “I guess...” There was a tremor in his voice. He was scared. “Didn’t know who else to call.”

  “It’s fine.” She prompted, really worried now. “You can call anytime.”

  “Yeah...” Eli’s voice broke. “Can you come get me?”

  Something was very wrong. Her fingers tangled in the phone cord as she processed his words. “Where are you?” She spoke as calmly as possible.

  “My mom’s hotel room. Roadside Motel, next to the gas station and the bar.”

  “Off the highway?” she asked, knowing which place he was talking about and hoping Eli was wrong. She had a hard time believing Hunter would approve. To hear Lola talk about it, if something shady or illegal was happening, it had to have started at that bar. Of course, Lola was known for dramatics... Still, the bar was in the middle of the hotel parking lot where Eli was. “Where’s your mom?”

  “Don’t know. Woke up and she was gone. She’s not answering her cell phone.”

  “Did you call your dad—”

  “I called Uncle Fisher and Uncle Ryder, but they didn’t answer. Dad’s working. And he’d get really mad and they’d fight and I...I just want to go home.” He cleared his throat. “Will you come get me, please?”

  Josie’s heart was in her throat. “I’ll be there in five minutes.” There was no way she could refuse him.

  “Thanks,” he murmured, then hung up.

  She tugged on her father’s boots, pulled her black wool coat over her blue plaid flannel pajamas, grabbed her rental car keys and headed out the door. It was eerily quiet up and down Main Street. Most of Stonewall Crossing was asleep, the storefronts darkened and the streets deserted. She drove on, reaching the edge of Main Street as it intersected the highway. The Roadside Motel was there, off the on-ramp, next door to a run-down bar and a twenty-four-hour truck stop. She might not have any kids, but this was not the sort of place you left a child alone.

  She pulled into the parking lot, focused on the windows of the motel for any sign of Eli. She slammed on her brakes as room seven’s curtains dropped and the door opened. Eli all but ran out, a duffel bag over his shoulder and his cowboy hat on his head.

  He nodded at her as he climbed into the car.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  He nodded again.

  “Did you leave your mom a note?” Josie asked. “So she doesn’t get back and worry over you?”

  Eli snorted then.

  “She will, Eli.”

  “I left a note,” he grumbled, hugging his duffel bag close.

  “Okay, good. Want me to take you home?”

  He looked at her. “Yeah.”

  “You’re shivering,” she said, turning up the heat as he snapped his seat belt into place.

  “Heater in the room was broken.” He shrugged, holding his hands out to the warm air.

  She looked at him, fighting back a million questions. Rage wasn’t an emotion she was familiar with. But right now, she was so furious with Amy she could barely see straight.

  Eli looked at her.

  Amy and anger could wait. She searched his face. He was so mature for his age, but she knew he had to be hurting right now. “We should call your dad,” she murmured.

  “He’ll get all riled up.” Eli frowned. “You don’t understand.”

  And while Josie thought Hunter had every right to get upset over his son being left in some off-the-highway one-night-stand motel, she suspected Eli wouldn’t want to hear that. “You’ll talk to him as soon as you get home?”

  He nodded.

  She didn’t want to be in the middle of anything. She didn’t want to keep secrets from Hunter, not where Eli was concerned. “Thank you.” She beamed at the boy.

  He was watching her closely. “Dad said your mom wasn’t the best in the world.”

  She answered carefully, trying to decide what she should or shouldn’t say. “That’s true.” She added, “She loved me. I know she did the best she could by me.” Josie put the car in Drive, turning them in the opposite direction. “She didn’t really know what to do with me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She hesitated for a minute. “My mom wasn’t the motherly type. She was more interested in her...hobbies.” Men, marriage, weddings, that sort of thing.

  “Guess my mom and your mom have a lot in common.” His words were soft, but sad.

  Even though she wasn’t her mother’s biggest fan, it was a hard comparison to hear. “You think so?” she asked, offering Eli the chance to vent. Whatever had happened between Amy and her son, he’d needed rescuing tonight. And he’d called her to do the rescuing.

  “Rodeo calls and, bam, Mom’s there. I call?” He shook his head, anger coloring his words. “She doesn’t show up when she says she will. But when she does, she’s full of...of it.” His hold on his bag tightened. “She believes what she says when she says it, but it never lasts. Like tonight, telling me and Dad we were staying in town, ordering pizza and hanging out.” He sucked in a deep breath, calming a little before he went on. “Dad always tells me to be careful—to not get my hopes up. And that really bugs me, because I hate that he’s right about her. If he’d just believe in her, she might change, you know?”

  She knew exactly what he wanted to hear. “Nice thought, that someone can change someone else. I wish it was true.”

  “It might help.”

  “It might.” She retreated a little, desperate to keep him talking. “But my experience is change is a personal choice, Eli.”

  “I guess... She’s my mom, you know?”

  “I do.” And she did. She really did. She smiled at the boy again.

  “Dad doesn’t get it. His mom was the best.”

  “She was,” Josie agreed, remembering Mags Boone with real affection. “She was pretty much the perfect wife and mother. She kept a neat house, always had food on hand for anyone who stopped by, and looked put together without trying.” Josie laughed
. “Of course, I was used to my mother, so Mags was like a real-live fairy godmother. She liked everyone—”

  “She didn’t like my mom,” Eli interrupted.

  Josie could imagine that. Mags had always been fiercely protective of her boys. Sure, Amy hadn’t gotten pregnant on her own, but Mags would have found a way to believe it wasn’t Hunter’s fault. It was the first time Josie ever felt even the slightest twinge of sympathy for Amy. One glance at the ten-year-old boy and the sympathy was gone.

  “I don’t think they ever made Mom feel welcome,” Eli muttered. “Maybe that’s why she leaves. Maybe she comes back, thinking things will be different. Then she sees it’s still the same and there’s not enough here to stick around for.”

  She looked at Eli and ached. You are enough. She blinked back tears. He was enough. Amy had this amazing boy’s love and she chose to leave. She sniffed, tears dangerously close to spilling over. If he was hers, he’d have been her world and she’d make sure he knew it.

  Eli continued, “Guess I feel like I need to make up for that.”

  “Oh, Eli, that’s a big job for one man.”

  He nodded. “Guess so.”

  “All you can do is love her,” Josie said. She glanced at Eli, who was staring out the front windshield, jaw clenched and hands fisted in the straps of his duffel bag. Life could be hard. But for someone like Eli, with a family who would move heaven and earth for him, it didn’t need to be. She tried again. “We have something else in common, Eli.”

  “What?” He glanced at her.

  “Our fathers are amazing. My dad would bend over backward to help me out. He’s always there, full of advice.” She paused, shooting him a conspiratorial look. “Even when I don’t want him to be.”

  Eli nodded, his short laugh a relief.

  “He’s the person I call when my world is falling apart. Or when I have news I have to share with someone because I’m bursting with excitement, ya know?” She glanced at him.

  “Yeah.” His answer was soft.

  “I am sorry about tonight, Eli.” She turned onto the road leading into the Boone ranch. “I wish I could make it better.”

  There was silence before he asked, “You do?”

  She swallowed. “I do. I really do.” She slowed down as a rabbit sprinted across the road and into the opposite field.

  “You can drop me here,” Eli said, pointing at the Lodge. “Dad’s working emergency duty.”

  “I know you’re worried about your dad being mad. But if he is mad, it’s because he loves you so much.” She kept the car and the heater running. “Talk to him, Eli, okay?”

  “I will. I gotta sort out what I’m going to say.” Eli nodded, gathering his things.

  “That makes sense,” she agreed.

  “Thanks for the ride.” He looked at her, a shadow of a smile on his face.

  She watched him climb the steps of the Lodge, waiting until he was safely inside before turning around and heading back into town. Thoughts of Eli and Hunter and Amy went ’round and ’round. Should she call Hunter? She didn’t know if she’d done the right thing. Eli had called and she’d responded. Maybe she’d overstepped, but surely Hunter would understand.

  By the time she parked her car at the bakery, her head ached. She slumped over the steering wheel, second-guessing every minute since Eli’s phone call.

  The bakery lights flipped on, startling Josie. She glanced at the clock on the car dashboard. Five o’clock. Dad would be up, making coffee, letting the dog out and getting things ready for the morning. She watched as Lola and her father appeared, smiling and talking, carrying mugs of coffee. It was a glimpse of her father’s future and she liked what she saw.

  Now, if only she had a crystal ball to see what her future looked like.

  * * *

  HUNTER DIDN’T SEE Amy’s truck in the parking lot. Where were they? He’d texted her he was on his way. He yawned, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He’d been called in to scope a Great Dane who’d managed to swallow his tennis ball on a rope. After a two-hour surgery, the ball and rope were removed from the dog’s stomach and intestine. One thing he could say about his job, it was never boring. He still found real satisfaction working with animals, even when he got next to no sleep.

  Once he picked up Eli, he’d go see Jo at Pop’s, get some kolaches and go home for a few hours of sleep.

  He knew Jo’s time clock was ticking. He knew she loved New Mexico, and the job she’d been offered was right up her alley. But she needed to know that he wanted her to stay, with him, here. And he was going to make sure he said that, no misunderstandings or miscommunications.

  He stepped out of his truck at the same time Amy’s truck plowed into the Main Street Hotel’s lot. Her vehicle bounced as she came to a complete stop, then her door flew open and she charged at him.

  “What the hell is the matter with you?” she yelled.

  He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. He was too tired for her drama this morning. “Morning to you, too.”

  She poked his chest with her finger. “Morning? Are you shittin’ me?”

  “Where’s Eli?”

  Amy paused, took a step back. “What do you mean?”

  He waited.

  “She came and picked him up this morning,” Amy snapped.

  “Who came and picked him up?”

  “Josie.” She frowned. “You didn’t send her to get him? She said you did. She said you called her to come get him.”

  He was beyond confused now. Why would Jo pick up Eli? Why would she tell Amy he’d sent her? Why would Eli go with Jo? He wasn’t exactly her biggest fan. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice spiked. “She has him. Why did she take him? Why did she lie?”

  Hunter watched Amy. Something wasn’t adding up. For one thing, Jo wasn’t the one with the track record for lying. “When did she get him?”

  “Must have been around seven—”

  “Where were you?” he cut in, frustration giving way to anger.

  “I was in the shower.” She shook her head. “She comes and takes our son who knows where and lies about it and you want to know where I was? Damn, Hunter, are you that blind to that woman?”

  Hunter sighed. “I’ll call Eli.”

  “Already tried,” she argued. “His phone is off, I guess.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I will talk to him—”

  “Good. Go talk to him. Now. After you find him.” She shook her head, climbing into her truck. “I’m not gonna argue with you when I could be looking for my son. I’ve half a mind to press charges against her.”

  Hunter watched her peel out of the parking lot as he climbed into his truck. Even though he was pretty sure Eli was with Jo, there was no fighting the fear in his heart until he knew for sure. He picked up his phone, headed toward home and called his father. Eli was most likely there. Those two were peas in a pod.

  “Figured you’d call.” His father answered on the first ring.

  “He there?”

  “Sleeping.”

  Hunter rubbed a hand over his face, relief so sharp he was almost breathless. “You couldn’t call?” He tried not to snap.

  “Whoa now, boy,” his father soothed. “I called the hospital. You were in surgery.”

  Hunter sighed. “Thanks, Dad. Sorry. Amy—”

  “I can imagine.” He paused. “She with you?”

  “No, but I should probably let her know where Eli is. Be there soon.” He hung up and called Amy.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “He’s at my dad’s.”

  “Oh, thank God.” Her voice was muffled. “Hunter found him.” She was louder then, her voice unsteady. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s asleep. I’m on my way.”

  “I’m coming—”

  “No.” He was going to talk to his son alone.

  “No?” She was crying then. “No? My son gets taken from my hotel room, disappears, and now you’re not going to let me see him?” Her
voice was muffled again. “No, Officer, I don’t know about pressing charges yet.”

  Hunter groaned. “I’ll call you later.” Ten minutes later he was inside the Lodge, staring down at his bleary-eyed son.

  Eli started with “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” He sat on the bed by his son. “First thing I need to know. You okay?” When Eli started crying, Hunter pulled him into his arms and held him close. Sometimes he forgot how young Eli was. Sometimes he forgot how sweet his hair smelled, how small his frame felt against him, but he never forgot how much he loved his son.

  “Yeah.” His answer was muffled against Hunter’s neck.

  “You sure?” he asked, holding his son tighter.

  “I should have called you,” he said. “She...she said you wanted me to come to Granddad’s, so I went with her.”

  He froze. “She?” He tried to pull Eli back, to look at him, but his son was clinging to him.

  “Josie...” Eli cleared his throat. “She said you were working and she was going to take me home.”

  Jo? It didn’t make sense. Jo didn’t want anything to do with Amy—she’d done her best to avoid all interaction with his ex-wife. Stirring up trouble like this, out of the blue, didn’t add up.

  Eli was sobbing and Eli didn’t cry. Even when he was a toddler, he’d rarely had tantrums. Whatever had happened, his son was torn up about it. “What’s got you so worked up?”

  “I didn’t want you to be mad at me.”

  “Worried is more like it.”

  “And M-Mom’s phone message. She was s-so worried.” He sniffed. “I didn’t mean to worry her like that. You can’t blame her or be mad at her or not let me see her anymore. It’s not her fault.”

  Hunter sighed, hearing Amy’s words. “Eli, what happened?”

  Eli sat back, frowning. “I told you.”

  “Nothing else? You didn’t talk to Jo when she was driving you home?” In his gut he knew there was more to it. “Your mom is at the police station right now.”

  Eli’s eyes went round. “Why?”

  “She was talking about pressing charges against Jo, for taking you.”