Untamed Cowboy

by Maisey Yates

  Kaylee for her part looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing that same floral dress she had been wearing the night of her date with that other guy that Bennett had purposefully forgotten the name of already. It was different, though, because this time, she wasn’t wearing the dress for someone else. So, as pretty as she had been then, she was even prettier now.

  He felt a sense of pride as they all walked into the redbrick courthouse.

  The proceedings didn’t take long. All that needed to happen was for the papers to be signed and the court to grant the request.

  Dallas’s caseworker Grace was also in attendance, wearing what Bennett thought might be the same black jacket and skirt she had on the first time they’d met. The actual granting of custody went quickly, and they were back in the antechamber of the courtroom shockingly fast.

  Grace smiled at Dallas and reached out, squeezing his arm. “I’m happy for you,” she said. “See that you stay out of trouble. And I hope that if I ever see you again it’s at a reunion and not because of something bad.”

  “Well, if I don’t behave myself it’s not really your problem,” Dallas said, shrugging, obviously reluctant to get too sentimental with the woman who had handled his case for the past couple of years.

  “If he doesn’t stay out of trouble I’ll be surprised,” Bennett said. “He’s working too hard to get up to anything more than Xbox at night.”

  Dallas grimaced. “Child labor.”

  “The papers are signed, son,” Bennett said. “It’s too late. You should have brought that up before the judge.”

  Dallas lifted a shoulder. “Well, it’s not killing me or anything.”

  “Good to know.”

  Freda, who knew absolutely no restraint at all, pulled Dallas in for a hug, and the teenager let her, his chin touching the top of Bennett’s stepmother’s dark hair. She was a small woman, but she was a force of nature. Bennett wasn’t at all mystified as to why his father had fallen for her.

  And as far as he could tell, Dallas was falling for her too. Because if anyone else had grabbed him and attempted to hug him he had a feeling that Dallas would put up a fight. But Bennett did reach out and pat his son on the shoulder, an overwhelming tide of love and pride washing through him.

  It didn’t matter anymore that they’d spent fifteen years apart. Dallas was his son. And they were a family. Yeah, he wished they could have had all that time together, but there was no point wasting the years they did have on bad feelings. Not that they would never pop up, that was inevitable. But for his part, he was going to make an effort to focus on the good.

  “Congratulations,” Quinn said, patting Bennett on the back. “It’s good to see you happy.”

  He was happy. And his life certainly didn’t look like the picture-perfect ideal he had wanted so badly for it to be. Hell, he had been determined to make it look traditional even when Marnie had gotten pregnant at sixteen and it had been clear that traditional was not exactly a happening thing.

  So, he didn’t have that. But he had happy.

  He looked over at Kaylee, who was smiling softly, her hands clasped in front of her. She was obviously a little bit uncomfortable to be witnessing all of this. But she didn’t feel out of place to him, even if she probably felt a little bit out of place to herself.

  “You hungry?” he asked Dallas.

  “Yeah,” Dallas said.

  They walked out of the courthouse, the warm afternoon sun shining down on them. It was almost dinnertime, and apparently, going to family court made you hungry.

  “We’ll probably head on home,” Quinn said. “But we’ll see you tomorrow, Dallas.”

  “Okay,” Dallas said.

  Freda pulled him in for another hug, and he didn’t resist her at all.

  “I’ll see you guys,” Kaylee said.

  “Come to dinner with us, Kaylee.” Bennett didn’t want her to leave. It felt right having her here for this, and he didn’t want to let her go.

  “Oh, I don’t have to...” She shifted uncomfortably. “I bet you guys need some time alone.”

  “We don’t,” Dallas said.

  Bennett shot his son a look. “We’re fine. Join us for dinner. We’ll just walk someplace from here.”

  “Okay. Let me get a sweater out of my car.”

  She disappeared for a moment and Dallas looked at Bennett. “You know,” Dallas said. “You could ask her to spend the night sometimes.”

  “What?” That was the last thing he’d expected his son to stay.

  “I know what you guys are doing when you go over to her house in the evening. Can’t you just have her come spend the night? It’s not like I think you guys are playing checkers at her place.”

  “Because it’s not... That’s like...”

  That would be like they were a family. Having Kaylee spend the night, having her have breakfast with them in the morning. It just... It didn’t seem like something they should do.

  “We’ll probably just keep things the same,” Bennett said.

  Dallas looked a little bit bemused. “Suit yourself. But I’m just saying, it’s not like you’re protecting me from the facts of life or anything.”

  “Noted.”

  Kaylee returned a second later with her sweater. “Where do you guys want dinner?”

  “Where can you get a really good burger here?” Dallas asked.

  “We always have burgers,” Bennett said. “It’s like the only thing your uncle Wyatt knows how to make.”

  “Yeah, but I want a restaurant burger. With French fries. Not potato chips. And a milkshake.”

  “That sounds good,” Kaylee said. “I say we go to Mustard Seed.”

  Mustard Seed was within walking distance of the courthouse. Just down the street past Sugar Cup, hang a left on the main drag, then another left at the end. They walked down the sidewalk, and it really was hard not to feel like they were a family.

  Well, they were family. So why wouldn’t they feel like it? Dallas was his son. Kaylee was someone he couldn’t imagine life without. He’d eaten here with her countless times through high school and beyond. She was woven into the fabric of his life. Every step of sidewalk in this town, he’d walked with her over the years. He could hardly remember a time without her. Didn’t want to. That was family.

  Mustard Seed wasn’t too packed yet, the diner a popular spot for just about everyone. At breakfast time it was filled with senior citizens, at lunch groups of friends and adult parents and children, and at dinner...basically everyone.

  The little place was eclectic, with small creatures made out of silverware adorning most of the available surfaces—an alligator made from bent spoons, a peacock made with forks and knives—a counter with red stools that had buckets of dry erase markers on it so that people could color on the metal countertops.

  The windows were always decorated with washable paint, indicative of each season, and right now, the names of the graduating seniors had been scrawled across the windows by the kids themselves.

  It was a tradition at the diner for the kids who were leaving town to sign their names at their favorite local spot. Bennett had done it himself, so had Kaylee before they had gone off to school. But they had come back. Not everybody did.

  Still, it filled him with a sense of nostalgia when he walked in, seeing all those names, remembering when he and Kaylee had written theirs.

  And now he was bringing his son here. In three years when Dallas graduated, his name would be up there.

  Something in his chest felt tight.

  They took a seat at one of the tables and Lucinda, the owner of Mustard Seed, greeted them immediately. “Hi, Bennett,” she said. “Kaylee. And who is this?”

  “This is my son,” Bennett said. “Dallas Dodge.”

  Lucinda’s dark eyebrows shot upward. “Your son?” She blinked. “I know I haven’
t seen you in here in a while, Bennett. But not this long.”

  “I’m a surprise,” Dallas said.

  “I’d say,” Lucinda agreed. “So, what will you have to eat, surprise child?”

  “A bacon cheeseburger. French fries. And a strawberry milkshake.”

  “Sounds good.” Lucinda didn’t write the order down. She didn’t have to. She remembered everything. She looked at Bennett next. “Surprised dad?”

  “I’ll have what he’s having.”

  “Same,” Kaylee said, “but sweet potato fries. And make my shake a chocolate one.”

  Both Bennett and Dallas shot her strange looks.

  “Sweet potato fries?” Dallas asked, curling his lip.

  “She’s a monster,” Bennett said.

  Dallas shook his head. “Why, when you could have good, regular French fries, that are not too sweet?”

  “Like God intended.”

  “Excuse me,” she said. “I don’t need the Dodge men to gang up on me.”

  “You need better taste in fried foods,” Bennett said.

  “I will stand on my principles,” Kaylee responded. “I will not give in to peer pressure.”

  By the time their food arrived the restaurant had begun to fill up with rowdy teenagers, some young families and a few couples. Dallas was watching the chaos around them thoughtfully, and Bennett wished he knew what his son was thinking.

  Next year, Dallas would be going to school—not with these kids, since they were graduating—but with the teenagers that came into Gold Valley from surrounding areas and from town.

  It wasn’t a particularly large school, but he would make friends there. He would start to be a part of this. If he chose to. But then, that was what today had been about, really. Bennett had chosen to make it permanent in a legal way. Dallas had been there. Dallas had watched the court papers being signed. Had stood by while the judge ruled that Bennett had full custody.

  Dallas had chosen it too.

  And eventually, even if it took a while, he wouldn’t just be part of Bennett’s life, part of the Dodge family, he would be part of Gold Valley.

  Bennett wanted that for him. Wanted it so badly it made him ache. To give his son not just himself, not just his love, but this life that he had chosen to live. This life that had been full of pain, yes, but so full of happiness too.

  He understood now. That kind of deep nostalgia people talked about with parenting. That desire to pass certain things on to your children.

  He more than understood it. He felt like his chest was being pried open, a thousand and one feelings he’d never had before all stuffed inside of him.

  Feelings he’d never let himself have.

  Feelings he’d been avoiding since he was a child.

  They finished eating and brought their ticket up to the register, paying Lucinda before heading outside.

  It wasn’t dark yet, the sky just beginning to deepen in color. High school kids were out on the sidewalk, getting rowdy. Driving their trucks down the two-lane street and revving their engines.

  Bennett looked over at Kaylee. “Remember when we used to do things like that?”

  “Yes. I had a bigger truck than most of the boys,” she said, smiling impishly. “The results of a summer spent bagging groceries.”

  “You were pretty badass.” He bumped her shoulder with his, then reached out and took hold of her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

  She looked up at him, her eyes wide. But she didn’t let go.

  Dallas, for his part, didn’t say anything. But he was watching them closely.

  They took the walk back toward the courthouse, toward where they’d parked, slowly. Bennett wasn’t in a hurry to break this moment. Where everything just seemed good and clear. Right.

  “Why don’t you come over for a beer?” Bennett asked Kaylee.

  She blinked, her eyebrows lifting. “Oh, you’re not coming over to my place?”

  “I just thought we should hang out at the house tonight.”

  “Okay,” she said, clearly confused.

  Bennett wasn’t exactly sure what the endgame was. But he didn’t feel like leaving Dallas tonight, not after signing those papers. And what Dallas had said outside the courtroom kept on ringing in his ears.

  She could spend the night, you know.

  Yes. She could.

  And his resistance was...

  He just didn’t want to think about it right now. He didn’t need to.

  Kaylee released her hold on his hand and walked over to her truck, and Bennett and Dallas got in theirs, heading back toward Bennett’s place. It wasn’t dark yet, the sky a pale blue with flat, watercolor clouds resting over the top of it. But soon enough the sun would start sinking behind the mountains, turning the fields into mottled spots of gold and deep blue.

  “I’m going to go feed the horses,” Dallas said as soon as they pulled in, getting out of the truck and heading over to the barn.

  “Was he trying to give us time alone? Or is he really that excited about doing chores?” Kaylee asked, moving over to where Bennett was standing. She didn’t touch him, which he thought was funny. But then, he realized they didn’t do a lot of casual touching. He would kiss her, and once he had done that, once he was holding her in his arms, she would often put her hand on his chest or somewhere else. But when they were talking, when they were walking together, there was no casual, relationship-type touching.

  He supposed it was for the same reasons that he had never had her spend the night at his house. It felt like a relationship then. But...was it not one?

  He had convinced himself that they could do this just to get through. But there was no getting through right now. He was through. He had signed the paperwork with Dallas, and Dallas no longer felt like something that had upended his life. He could scarcely remember a time when he had wanted to marry Olivia Logan. All of that upheaval... It was done with. He felt settled now.

  But he didn’t feel like taking his relationship with Kaylee back to friendship only. Not even a little bit.

  In fact, he couldn’t imagine it. There was no plan that felt like it would fix that. And no controlling a damn thing.

  That made a strange, sharp pain hit him in the chest.

  “Dad!”

  Bennett whipped his head around and looked toward the barn, responding to the word dad, even though aside from being sarcastic, Dallas had never called him that before.

  Bennett didn’t even think. He took off running. Heading toward the sound of his son’s voice. He heard footsteps behind him that let him know that Kaylee was running right along with him.

  When he entered the barn he didn’t see Dallas. “Dad, it’s Lucy.”

  Bennett moved to Lucy’s stall and looked in. The horse was lying on the ground, rocking back and forth, seemingly unable to stand.

  Hell.

  Bennett went into action, and so did Kaylee. Bennett had a strong suspicion he knew exactly what was happening, given the horse’s past history and her current health issues. Acute laminitis. She hadn’t been showing signs or symptoms before this. And that meant there was still time to try to reverse some damage. Before the bone in her leg became a problem that couldn’t be solved, only managed. And that was a pretty grim future for a horse.

  If she didn’t end up requiring euthanasia.

  He had a bad feeling Lucy had been into the grain and was on an overload. He had done his best to limit her, but it was entirely possible she’d managed to sneak some if she was able to get into Shadrach’s or Meshach’s stall.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Dallas asked.

  Bennett explained the situation as best as he could to Dallas, and then started giving him orders. Bennett set up a mobile X-ray, getting ready to examine her hooves.

  He took images of all four, and when he confirmed that the
front two were affected, Kaylee wrapped the horse’s hooves in the hot packs. Then Bennett gave her a dose of mineral oil to counteract some of the grain and set up an IV to administer fluids.

  “It looks like the rotation isn’t as severe as it could be,” he said, eyeing the images from the X-ray. “Basically, we have a couple of days to tackle this really aggressively,” Bennett said, keeping his eyes level with Dallas’s. “Otherwise she’s never fully going to get rid of this problem. And it’s going to spring up all the time. And for a horse...it’s not a good situation. Their legs have to carry a lot of weight.”

  “How did you not know she was sick?” Dallas asked, getting angry now. “Why didn’t you know that something was wrong?”

  Bennett shook his head, at a loss. “It happens. I was trying to control her diet, but she is an animal and she only knows what she wants. Not what’s good for her.”

  “What the fuck good are you if you can’t even tell when an animal is getting sick? That’s your job.”

  “Yes,” Bennett agreed. “It is. But these situations can turn quickly, and I didn’t see any signs. I swear to you, if I had I would have done something.”

  “Right. Or maybe you just don’t care very much about her, because she’s old and I’m the only one who rides her anyway.”

  “Every animal on my ranch is here because I rescued them from a bad situation. I care.”

  Dallas’s lip curled. “Right. I forgot. You like to take in strays.”

  Bennett took a deep breath, trying to keep from getting angry.

  But it was Kaylee who spoke, softly and over the top of his anger. “He doesn’t take in strays,” she said. “He takes in what he cares about. What should have been with him all along. And gives them the care that they always deserved. He does it the best that he can, but if he can’t see the pain, how is he supposed to treat it?”

  Dallas didn’t say anything to that. Kaylee reached out and put her hand on Dallas’s shoulder, squeezing it hard. “Lucy is going to have to let Bennett take care of her. She’s going to have to let him give her what she needs. But see, he couldn’t, because he didn’t know this was happening. He can’t take care of you, or me or Lucy if he doesn’t know there’s a problem, Dallas. We have to let him. You have to let him.”