A Real Cowboy

by Carla Cassidy

  Cassie’s cowboys. In their hearts they were still Cass’s cowboys, and it would take a long time of hard work on Cassie’s part to earn their respect and their hearts.

  Sammy stumbled on a dirt clot, but Lucas’s fast grip steadied him and they walked on. “I’m trying to talk Cassie into staying here,” he continued. “Then Mom and I could stay here forever.”

  “Are you making any progress?” Lucas asked.

  Sammy smiled up at him. “Maybe a little bit. Cassie told me she was going to start doing some paintings of the ranch. Maybe if there was someplace in town where she could sell her paintings, then she’d get rid of the shop in New York and stay here forever.”

  By that time they had reached the bunkhouse dining room, where the scent of tangy sauce, yeasty crust and cooked beef and vegetables filled the room.

  Dusty was the first one to greet them. He thumped Sammy on his hat and offered him a grin that displayed Dusty’s dimples. “Glad you’re here, Sammy. That makes you the youngest cowboy in the building instead of me.”

  “I’m glad I’m here, too,” Sammy replied. He looked up at Lucas. “Lucas is my best partner, but I like all of you.” Sammy leaned a little closer to Dusty. “Except Cookie...he scares me a little bit.”

  Dusty laughed. “Don’t worry, Cookie scares all of us a little bit.”

  Lucas and Sammy hung their hats on hooks inside the door and then found seats at one of the picnic tables. While they waited for the others to arrive, Lucas thought about the man who had been the ranch hand cook since he’d first arrived here.

  None of the men knew much about Cookie other than he had worked at the ranch for Cass when her husband had still been alive. Cookie didn’t share downtime with the other men and he definitely didn’t talk about where he’d come from or where he’d been before being here.

  He had a small one-bedroom bungalow on the property and, as far as they all knew, spent his off time there alone. None of them even knew how old he was, although the guesses ranged from forty-five to sixty-five. He had the kind of unlined face and a strong physique that made it impossible to gauge his real age.

  Thoughts of Cookie flew out of his mind as the rest of the men began to arrive, each of them greeting Sammy with high fives and knuckle knocks. Sammy beamed with happiness and Lucas was reminded of just how much he trusted these men, how much they had become his family.

  Even though Cass was gone, her cowboy “children” lived on, caring about each other, supporting one another as she would have wanted them to do.

  He didn’t want to think about what would happen if Cassie decided to sell. He would have to face that particular pain if and when it happened.

  Tonight he just wanted to focus on Sammy and pizza. And that was what he did. The rest of the men came in and the dining room filled with laughter as they gobbled up Cookie’s delicious variety of pizzas and teased Sammy and each other.

  Sammy took the ribbing well, especially seeing how the others reacted good-naturedly to jabs and taunts from each other. Lucas knew the kid probably felt as if he was part of a special club.

  It was a special club...a pack of society rejects who had found safe haven and love in the heart of a special woman, and no matter what happened in his future, these men were forever in his heart as brothers.

  Sammy ate two big pieces of pizza and drank a large glass of milk and then pronounced himself full to the brim. Lucas ate three pieces of pie and then they lingered a little while just enjoying the fellowship.

  It was after six thirty when Lucas and Sammy started the walk back to the house. Once again Sammy grabbed his hand. They walked in silence for a few moments and then it was finally Sammy who spoke.

  “Can I tell you a secret?” he asked.

  “You can tell me anything,” Lucas replied.

  “I love you and I wish you were my dad.” Sammy didn’t look at him as he spoke the words.

  The wistful tone in his voice pierced through all of Lucas’s defenses. His tongue seemed to twist in his mouth as he thought carefully before speaking.

  “I love you, too, Sammy, but you know I can’t ever be your dad.”

  The boy finally looked up at Lucas and gave him a sad little smile. “I know, I just wanted you to know what I felt inside.” He gazed toward the house. “It looks like Mom and Cassie are home.”

  “Hopefully they had a nice time at their girlie dinner,” Lucas replied, grateful when Sammy giggled. The conversation had gotten too real for Lucas and the last thing he wanted was for Sammy to be a casualty of Lucas’s unwillingness to have anything permanent in his life.

  Thankfully, by the time they reached the house, Sammy ran inside and began to share with his mom the total awesomeness of pizza dinner in the bunkhouse dining room with all the other men.

  Nicolette looked gorgeous in a deep purple blouse that highlighted her green eyes and long tailored black slacks that made her legs appear to go on forever.

  “How was the lady meal?” he asked when Sammy finally paused to take a breath.

  “Wonderful,” Cassie replied. “We had cucumber sandwiches cut in little squares and a spring salad with all kinds of goodies and blueberry scones with honey butter.”

  “Cucumber sandwiches?” Sammy pretended to retch.

  Nicolette laughed and Lucas hated that before the night was over he’d have to steal that laughter away. He couldn’t go to bed tonight without sharing with her what he’d learned from Dillon that afternoon.

  But now wasn’t the time or the place. He would find the time later in the evening when the two of them were alone. He knew she’d be upset and he didn’t want Sammy to witness any of that.

  The evening hours passed with Sammy showing Lucas how to play his favorite game on his player while Nicolette and Cassie small-talked with each other.

  Finally Nicolette and Sammy disappeared upstairs for bath and tuck-in time. Soon after Cassie followed, murmuring a good-night to Lucas.

  Once he was alone, he went into the kitchen and made a short pot of coffee, deciding to have a cup while he told Nicolette the latest news.

  She would not be happy that Del hadn’t talked. In fact, she’d be devastated when she learned he was lawyered up with one of the best defense lawyers in the Midwest.

  He had a cup of coffee before him and was seated at the table when she came into the kitchen. “I think I’ll join you,” she said as she went to the counter and fixed herself a cup of coffee and then sat across from him at the table.

  “Did Sammy behave for you tonight?”

  He couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips. “Sammy always behaves with me. That kid has a heart as big as the sky. Did you have a good time out with Cassie?”

  The twinkling in her eyes told him his answer. “Cassie and I always have a good time together. We know each other so well and we become like teenagers when we’re alone together. I think Adam might have a crush on her.”

  “Is it reciprocated?” he asked.

  “Cassie thinks he’s hot, but I don’t think she’ll let things get out of control. She appreciates everything he’s doing for her, but I think that’s about the extent of her feelings for him right now.”

  She looked so relaxed, so at ease as she sipped her coffee and leaned back in the chair, and he knew he was about to destroy any well-being she felt.

  “Cucumber sandwiches, huh? Doesn’t sound too filling to me,” he said, aware that he was putting off the inevitable.

  She laughed. “Actually, the entire meal was quite filling. It was lovely and feminine, and everything we ate was also beautiful to look at. Cassie particularly enjoyed it. I’ve never really been into fancy-schmancy food.”

  “A lot of the women in Bitterroot love the place,” he replied. “I suppose they figure it’s a little piece of civilization in a no-count town.”

  “Bitterroot doesn’t strike me as a no-count town. It’s a lovely little town plunked down in one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen,” she replied.

  H
e took a sip of his coffee and then set the cup back down. He drew a deep breath and released it slowly. It was time to come clean. “I heard from Dillon late this afternoon.”

  She sat forward, the glitter of her eyes now a single beam of focus. “Did Del talk? Did he say why he wanted to take Sammy?”

  “Unfortunately no. In fact, Del immediately lawyered up and is now represented by a high-dollar, high-power defense attorney. He was arraigned this morning and charged with conspiracy to kidnap a child. His lawyer pled him not guilty. The only good news in all of this is he was in front of a hard-nosed judge who ordered no bail.”

  She stared at his mouth as he spoke, as if needing to see the words as they fell from his lips besides hearing them.

  When he’d finished, all her features appeared to droop downward. A frown crossed her forehead and her eyes lost their twinkle. Her beautiful lips bowed down, and with a trembling hand she carefully placed her cup back on the table.

  “Who hired the lawyer?” she finally asked.

  “An anonymous source.”

  “I suppose I should at least be satisfied that both Jeff and Del are in jail, but that’s little comfort when now we can assume Del was just another link in the food chain and I don’t know who the man behind the curtain might be.” She narrowed her eyes. “You said Dillon called earlier. Why didn’t you tell me all of this immediately?”

  “I didn’t want to ruin your dinner out with Cassie.”

  “I should be angry with you, but actually I appreciate that.” She released a weary sigh. “I’ve been on pins and needles all day wondering what Dillon had found out from Del, and now I know he found out nothing and that means Sammy is still in danger and we have no idea when somebody will strike at him again.”

  He needed to touch her, to somehow find a way to comfort her. He wanted to banish the fear that once again simmered in the depths of her eyes.

  He reached across the table with his hand, grateful when she leaned forward to grasp it. “A real cowboy doesn’t make promises easily, but I promise you now that I’m not going to let anything bad happen to Sammy. I’d kill for that kid. I’d die for him.”

  He was surprised to realize it was true. He’d give his life to save Sammy’s. As her fingers squeezed his more tightly and tears glistened in her eyes, he realized he was more than a little bit in love with Nicolette, as well as her son.

  * * *

  He would die for Sammy. Lucas’s words played and replayed in Nicolette’s head long after she’d gone to bed. He would give his own life to keep her son safe.

  She’d believed him without question. His affection...no, his love for Sammy was evident anytime the two of them were together. It shone from Lucas’s eyes, was evident in the way he touched Sammy’s shoulder or patted his back with encouragement.

  Lucas had come from a place where he’d not known his own father, but that absence hadn’t stripped him of his ability to love a child, to be the kind of man who would make a wonderful father.

  I ride alone.

  His words of warning were the last thing she thought of before she finally fell asleep. She awakened to the sun peeking over the horizon and the scent of coffee wafting up the stairs from the kitchen.

  Lucas was probably up and around. It was still too early for Cassie to stumble out of bed. In fact, before she’d gone to her bedroom the night before she’d told Nicolette that she had no early morning meeting with Adam or anyone else this morning and intended to sleep in.

  It was Saturday morning and she couldn’t believe everything that had happened in a mere week. There had been two attempts to kidnap Sammy and she’d made love with a special cowboy. It felt as if she’d been here a month rather than a mere week.

  She closed her eyes and wished she could sleep in a little longer, but her mind was already awake and overworking as she thought of the information Lucas had told her last night.

  She knew Jeff Bodine had been hired by Del Hawkins to kidnap her son. Was Del the man in charge? Why would he want Sammy?

  Was it possible that Del ran some sort of child-trafficking scheme and had somehow seen Sammy? Had Del developed some kind of sick obsession for Sammy?

  There was no question her son was a handsome little boy, with innocence oozing from him. The idea of anyone stealing him away and destroying that innocence nearly shattered her.

  The thoughts that flooded her mind chased her out of bed and into the shower. There, as warm water pummeled her body, her brain continued to work overtime.

  An anonymous donor? Who would step forward to pay for Del Hawkins’s defense? Somebody was throwing around money as if it was candy. Who could it possibly be?

  Maybe it was time she call her ex-husband and see if he had any information about what was happening here. This idea didn’t spur her immediately out of the shower. The best time to contact Samuel would be sometime later in the afternoon. If he’d stayed true to form, and she had no reason to believe he’d changed, he would have partied most of the night away and wouldn’t awaken until mid-to late afternoon.

  He always shut off his cell phone when he went to bed and ordered the servants not to disturb him unless he was in some sort of danger.

  She still couldn’t imagine Samuel having anything to do with what was happening, but maybe he had some nefarious associates he could name for Dillon to investigate.

  She had to do something in an effort to figure this all out, and Samuel was the only person she could think of who might have come into contact with somebody who might see Sammy as a treasured hostage.

  There was little comfort in the fact that Jeff had said he’d been instructed not to hurt Sammy. Del had apparently wanted Sammy alive and well, but accidents happened and little boys were so achingly vulnerable.

  She finally got out of the shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and a purple T-shirt. She decided once again to keep Sammy in the house for the day, although she knew he wouldn’t be happy with the arrangement.

  He’d much rather be outside where the breeze smelled so clean you could wash in it, where the cowboys worked in the pastures and he could pretend that he was old enough to be one of them.

  Once dressed, she made her way downstairs and found Lucas standing at the window and staring outside. Guilt ripped through her. He should be outside, doing his chores and joking with the other cowboys. He should be sleeping in his own bed instead of in a little twin bed in her son’s room.

  “Good morning,” he said without turning away from the window.

  “Good morning to you,” she replied. She remained standing in place, her gaze lingering on the broadness of his shoulders, the muscles she knew that were now hidden beneath his black T-shirt.

  Heaven help her but she wanted him again. She remembered the feel of those muscles naked against her, the mindless pleasure she’d found while they’d made love, and the desire to do it all over again blossomed inside her.

  She wanted his mouth on hers, his hands sliding over her naked skin. She wanted to experience the wonder of being with him again and again.

  He turned from the window and for just a moment she saw the same kind of desire she felt shining unabashed from his eyes. It was there only a minute and then it was as if curtains crashed down to hide his emotion. His eyes darkened and became unreadable.

  She broke the gaze and walked to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. “I’ve decided I’m going to give Samuel a call later this afternoon and see if he can shed some light on what’s been happening here.”

  Lucas moved away from the window and leaned with one hip against the counter near the table. “I thought you believed he had nothing to do with this.”

  “I do, but he tends to surround himself with losers and lowlifes. Maybe he angered somebody and that somebody is seeking some sort of crazy revenge.”

  She shrugged. “I have to do something, try to somehow come up with anything that might help find answers. Samuel is pretty much the only link I can think of that hasn’t been pursued at all
. I just need to make sure we’ve covered all the bases.”

  “When you make that call, I want to be there with you and I want it on speakerphone.”

  She looked at him in surprise. “Why?”

  “I don’t know him. Maybe I’ll hear something in his voice that you won’t notice because you know him so well.”

  “I used to know him so well, but okay,” she agreed. “In the meantime I intend to keep Sammy inside the house again today.”

  He raised a dark brow. “You’re going to have to get pretty creative in keeping him occupied.”

  “We could always do the roping thing again,” she said, and then felt her cheeks warm as she remembered Lucas roping her and reeling her toward him.

  He’d pulled her so close to him that she’d seen the flare in the pupils of his eyes, felt his warm breath on her face, and once again desire for him had danced in her veins. But he’d quickly dropped the rope and stepped back from her as if she was a special kind of poison.

  “I think maybe I’ll grab some of Cassie’s paints and a canvas and let him work on an art project. That will keep him busy for an hour or two.”

  Lucas nodded and then stepped back in front of the window. She wondered if he was remembering that moment when he’d wrangled her so close to him, their mouths mere inches apart before he’d released her.

  “I know you’d rather be out there on your horse with your partners,” she said, her voice laden with the guilt that weighed down her heart.

  “I’m where I need to be.” His tone was flat. “I’m where I want to be,” he added, this time his voice filled with a hint of emotion.

  Once again he turned to face her. “I’m here until I know with certainty that Sammy is safe from any harm. I made you a promise last night and I intend to keep it.”

  “I don’t know how we got so lucky to find you,” she replied softly. Her heart filled with love, a love that she wanted to declare to him, but wouldn’t. She wouldn’t burden him with her love.

  I ride alone.

  His statement had been a warning to her that he had no intention of falling in love, of becoming a part of a family, and she would do well to remember that. She couldn’t help the way she felt about him, but she’d be a fool to fantasize that there was any kind of a future between them.