Colorado Cowboy - Includes a bonus novella

by Sara Richardson

  Her heart continued to race because (a) she’d thought the house was burning down, and (b) it seemed she’d overslept. “Why didn’t you two wake me up?” she demanded, looking at the clock. She never slept in.

  “I said we should, but Grandma told me not to.” The kid downed a cup of orange juice. “She wanted to make breakfast.”

  “And I failed at that too,” her mom said miserably. “Like everything else. All you have to do is add water and keep an eye on the stove, and I couldn’t even manage it.”

  Oh boy. Charity swallowed a sigh. She supposed she deserved that. Last night had been one of the most confusing nights of her life—first the elation of her and Dev making love and then the tirade she’d went on with her mother. The emotions had ping-ponged back and forth most of the night, not allowing her to get any sleep until sometime this morning.

  “Come on, Mom. It’s no big deal.” She went to the cupboard and pulled out Bodie’s favorite cereal. “I’ve burned pancakes before too.”

  “She has,” her nephew confirmed. “And I think there was even more smoke.”

  “I only wanted to help.” Her mother plodded to the seat across from Bodie and slumped with defeat.

  “You did help.” Charity set a bowl of cereal in front of her nephew and pulled the milk out of the refrigerator. “If you hadn’t made pancakes, I’d still be asleep.” And she had a lot to do today—somehow find a way to smooth things over with her mom, take Bodie up to the Cortez ranch so they could continue their training. And see Dev. She had to see Dev again as soon as possible.

  She put the milk down next to Bodie and tried to smile. “Thank you for trying.” She owed Tammi more than that—a solid apology for blowing up at her—but she also didn’t want to drag Bodie into the drama between them. “I appreciate the—”

  The doorbell rang, only adding to the headache that had started to build in her temples. Last time her doorbell rang before eight, it was her neighbor coming over to complain about the weeds spreading into his yard.

  “Bodie, will you get that, please?” Maybe Mr. Chan would go easier on a preteen.

  Her nephew bounded away with a mouthful of Cocoa Puffs, giving her the perfect opportunity to grovel. “I’m sorry about last night, Mom.” Charity took the chair next to her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “It’s fine.” Instead of looking directly at her, Tammi cast a forlorn stare just above Charity’s head. “I’ve already packed my things and I’ll leave as soon as I can get a flight.”

  She supposed she deserved that too. “Don’t leave like this. I don’t want to fight.” Especially not now, when she was on the verge of so much happiness. “I want things to be better between us.” For the first time, she actually thought that could be a possibility. “Maybe everything had to come out so I could get past it. But I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I know things were hard for you too, and—”

  “Look who’s here.”

  Charity didn’t have to look. Not with the pure joy she heard in her nephew’s tone. Her head turned slowly, slowly, slowly, and even though she braced herself, her entire upper body lurched when she saw her sister.

  “Mellie!” Their mother flew from the table and pulled her eldest daughter into a sloppy hug. “Oh my god. Where on earth have you been? You’ve given us all such a scare!”

  “She was in California.” If Bodie’s smile got any wider it would fall off his face. “Looking for a place to live. She found us an apartment. It’s only ten minutes from the beach!”

  Charity wanted to speak, to ask a thousand questions, but her throat had gotten gritty. She could only sit there and assess her sister. Melody looked better than she had when she’d dropped Bodie off. Cleaner. More rested, maybe? But that didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean Dev’s suspicions about her weren’t true.

  “Hey Char.” Her sister approached her with a healthy caution, as though she knew she owed her an explanation. “I didn’t want him to have to be in limbo while we searched for a place to rent,” she said, giving her son a good scrub on the head. “I wanted to surprise him. I wanted to have everything settled before I came back for him.”

  “You found a place?” Charity swallowed the grit of emotions. “You actually moved into a place?”

  “Yep.” Mel’s face beamed with pride. It wasn’t an expression Charity had ever seen her sister wear. “Right outside of Santa Cruz.” She slung an arm around her son. “You’ll love it there, Bodes. There’s the ocean, but there’re also mountains and huge redwood forests.”

  “Oh, it sounds wonderful!” Tammi came back to the table too. “Doesn’t it sound wonderful, Charity?”

  “Yeah.” And a little too good to be true. How did her sister find enough money to secure a rental in California? Bodie said someone gave them a bunch of money. Was Dev right? Had she really resorted to stealing?

  “It’s going to be amazing,” Melody chirped. “A whole new start for us, Bodes. You’ll love it there.”

  “I can’t wait!” Bodie dug back into his cereal, looking more energized than he had since he’d ridden Ace the other day. But the protective instinct Charity had honed over the last month tore at her stomach. How could she let Bodie go with his mom when she still had so many concerns? She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. “Hey, Bodie, why don’t you go get changed so we can head up to the ranch for our training session?” That would give her and Melody a chance to talk.

  “Training session?” Melody studied her son.

  “Aunt Charity’s teaching me how to ride Ace. So I can be a barrel racer.” Bodie finished off his cereal and downed the milk.

  “Oh. That’s great.” Melody flashed a fake smile. “But I’m afraid we don’t have time for training. We have to get on the road.”

  “You’re leaving?” Pain spiked through Charity’s chest, clutching at her heart. “Now?”

  “It’s a long drive.” Melody grinned at Bodie. “I’m supposed to start working at the winery on Monday and I want to get you all settled before you start school out there.”

  “Sweet!” Her nephew hopped up and carted his bowl over to the sink. “I’m gonna go pack my things!”

  Charity tried not to take his enthusiasm too personally. He loved his mom, she knew that, but she still wasn’t convinced this would be a good move. “Mom, why don’t you go help Bodie?” she asked. They didn’t need their mother here for a tough conversation.

  “Sure. I’d love to help.” Tammi scurried off with Bodie as though eager to be useful.

  Once they’d gone, Charity stood up and faced her sister. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

  “Of course I’m sure. Why?”

  Tone, Charity reminded herself. “I’ve been worried. You completely disappeared. You only called me once, and you didn’t even talk to Bodie.” If she was simply getting their happy new life all ready, why hadn’t she been honest about it from the start?

  “I knew leaving was tough on him,” Melody said in a reasonable manner. “So I wanted to get things figured out and make the transition as easy as possible.”

  Okay, based on her sister’s complete calm and practical explanation, it seemed Charity and Dev had both been wrong to be concerned. But she still had to come out and ask. “Are you in trouble? Are the police looking for you?”

  “What?” Melody’s laugh sounded genuine. “No. Are you serious? You think I’m running from the law?”

  “I didn’t know.” For some reason, Charity couldn’t seem to grasp relief. Maybe because she didn’t want Bodie to go. “How was I supposed to know, Melody? You up and moved Bodie out of school and just showed up on my doorstep. Forgive me if I started thinking through some worst-case scenarios.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her sister hugged her. A real, tight hug full of affection. She pulled back. “I should’ve handled everything differently. I know that. I just…I want things to change. I want everything to work out for me and Bodie this time. Things have never been good for us, but that’s all going to change now. T
his is like a second chance.”

  “Okay.” Charity had to fight the tears. She was so torn between happiness that her sister seemed to be getting her life on track and complete devastation that she was taking Bodie away. “You know I’ll help you however I can. I don’t want to lose touch with you two again.”

  “You won’t. I promise.” She said it with such sincerity that Charity had no choice but to believe her.

  “Hey, why don’t we all go out to breakfast together? Before Bodie and I get on the road? I’m dying for a huge stack of pancakes,” her sister said. “It’ll be my treat.”

  “Sure. That sounds good.” Though she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Not with the sorrow leaking into her stomach. “I’ll just go check on Bodie. See if he’s ready.” Not wanting her sister to follow, she rushed down the hall and almost bumped into her mother.

  “Bodie can’t find his boots,” Tammi said, scurrying past. “I told him I’d check the garage.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” That was perfect. Then she would have a minute alone with him.

  Charity quietly pushed open the door to his room and walked in. “How’s it going?”

  “Good. I think I got everything.” He still hadn’t stopped grinning, his face so full of hope.

  She looked around what had become his room. It no longer felt like the guest room because it had become his. He belonged here. She had half a mind to barricade the door so she could keep him here. But you have to let him go. He would be back with his mom, and that was really where he belonged, but that didn’t stop her heart from snapping in half. Don’t cry. Whatever she did, she had to show him she was happy for them. “I’m gonna miss you a lot, kid.” The burning in her throat intensified.

  “You will?” Bodie slipped on his backpack and studied her.

  “Oh yeah.” Screw it. She gave up on fighting the tears. “I know I haven’t been easy to live with, but I love you, Bodie. And I’ll always be here for you. You can call me anytime. In fact, I hope you’ll call a lot.”

  “I will. I promise.” He patted her arm like he didn’t know how else to make her feel better. “And you weren’t so bad to live with. If I was gonna pick someone to live with besides Mom, it would probably be you.”

  She tilted her head. “Probably?”

  “Okay, fine. I love you too, Aunt Charity.” He gave her an affectionate, albeit quick, version of a hug. “But don’t get all mushy about it.”

  “Too late,” she whimpered, prying her arms away from him. God, maybe it was better he was leaving now. If she’d gotten this attached in a month, she’d hate to see herself when he left for college.

  “Do you think you could say goodbye to Gracie for me?” It was the first time she’d ever heard him sound shy.

  “I have a better idea. Why don’t you write her a note? We can leave your phone number so you guys can stay in touch.” The poor girl. She’d probably be devastated when she found out he’d left.

  “You think she’d want to stay in touch?”

  “I think she’ll be sad if you don’t.”

  That made him smile.

  “Come on, come on, come on.” Melody appeared in the doorway. “Let’s get going. We’ll eat at the Farm Café on our way out of town. It got five stars. I Yelped it.”

  “It’s the best breakfast in town,” Bodie said, trotting off with his mom. “Wait until you try the chocolate milk.”

  They all ambled down the hallway, where they met Tammi by the front door.

  “Don’t worry. I know where it is,” Bodie told his mom. He took his boots from his grandma and turned to Charity. “We’ll meet you guys over there.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, choking back more tears. Wow, she really had to get herself together. Charity quickly gathered her purse and keys and led her mom out to her rental truck. After they’d climbed in, she couldn’t find a way to break the sullen silence.

  “All right,” her mom finally said. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” Charity backed down the driveway, but then paused before they’d made it to the street. She slipped the truck into park. “I can’t help but feel like something is off with Melody.” Or maybe she wanted something to be off. Maybe she wanted a reason to keep Bodie here with her.

  “I worry about her too.” Tammi faced her. “She’s not strong like you. You survived so much all on your own.” Guilt weighted the words. “Melody is too much like me. I thought about it all night, after what you said. You were right. We never had money and I was always afraid. I couldn’t give you the safety or security you needed. I couldn’t give you a mom to be proud of, or an example of what a strong woman looks like.”

  Charity closed her eyes. “I shouldn’t have lost it like that. It wasn’t fair. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m glad you did, honey. It had to come out. And it made me realize how proud I am. You made yourself better than me. You can’t even imagine how deep my regrets go.” Her jaw wobbled. “But I hope we can fix it. All of us together. You and Melody and me and Bodie. I hope we can figure out a way to be a family.”

  “We will.” Charity had spent most of her life running from people when she should’ve run toward them. Bodie. Melody. Her mom. Dev. She’d been too afraid to fight for them, but she wouldn’t let fear stop her anymore.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dev finished off his fourth cup of coffee and pushed the mug away.

  Too bad Charity’s friends had ditched him when they’d realized he wouldn’t talk. They’d all moved to another table, which had left a seat open at his table for Hank Green to join him. Dev glanced down and checked his phone again. Why hadn’t Charity called him back yet?

  “I’ve decided we need to have a preparatory session before the next question-and-answer event,” the man said, pulling up the calendar on his phone. “What nights are you available next week?”

  “None.” He didn’t have plans yet, but he was going to leave every night open in case Charity could steal a few minutes away.

  “Okay, the next week then.” Hank squinted at his phone. “I have Wednesday open.”

  Dev didn’t even have to check his phone. “That won’t work for me.” None of it was working for him. Charity was right—it had gotten exhausting trying to be what everyone else wanted or needed him to be. Talking with her—acknowledging those insecurities—had freed him in a way. He’d likely always have to battle that desire to earn his way into people’s lives, but at least now he could stop himself before it took over.

  Hank laid down his phone on the table between them and narrowed his eyes into what might’ve been an intimidating stare if it weren’t for the plaid bow tie around his neck. That and the sweater vest. It didn’t exactly scream tough guy.

  “The election is only a few months away,” Hank barked. “You need to get your head back in the game.”

  “Here’s the thing.” Dev folded his hands on the table and leaned into them. “I’m thinking about withdrawing from the election.”

  “You can’t withdraw. You’re the best man for the job.”

  “I’m glad you think so, but I’m not sure it’s the best job for me.” The settled feeling he got from saying the words out loud confirmed it wasn’t the best job for him. “I like being out in the field. I like interacting with the community. I don’t want to deal with all of the politics involved in running the department.”

  “But you can make a difference there,” Hank argued. “A real difference. The policies are outdated and hardly ever enforced. You could have influence on the future of this county—of this town.”

  Dev could or Hank could? He didn’t ask the question because the answer was obvious. “I appreciate your—”

  “Hi.” That voice. That soft sweet tone he heard Charity use only when she talked to him.

  “Hey.” Dev didn’t know when she’d come in, only that she now stood next to his table looking radiant and happy at the sight of him. As happy as he was at the sight of her.

  “I’m glad y
ou’re here,” he said, pushing back his chair so he could stand. “We have to talk.” He had to tell her about Melody right away this time. So he gave Hank Green a look that clearly told him to move on.

  “You think about what I said, Jenkins. We’ll talk tomorrow.” The man stood and lumbered away.

  “Yes, we will.” And he’d tell him the same thing then. But that was a concern for another day. Right now, he wanted to focus only on Charity. On helping her navigate the current situation with her sister. “Can you sit for a minute?” he asked, brushing his hand across hers.

  “I’d love to, but I’ve got a whole crowd with me.” She gestured to a booth across the room, where Bodie and Tammi and another woman sat. Another woman who looked a whole lot like Charity…

  No. His heart dropped, giving him a hit of vertigo. “Is that Melody?”

  “Yeah. She showed up this morning. It sounds like she’s been in California finding a place to live. She and Bodie are leaving after breakfast.”

  The potent combination of adrenaline and dread put his body on heightened alert. Everything had tensed, from his jaw all the way down to his calves. Without turning his head, he eyed that booth again. Bodie sat next to his mom, pointing out things on the menu.

  His mind sped ahead, trying to formulate a plan. “I need you to listen to me, but you can’t react,” he murmured to Charity. “You have to smile and nod like we’re only chatting.” If Melody sensed something was up she’d run, and he’d have no choice but to make a scene.

  “What?” Charity’s eyes searched his. “God, Dev, what’s wrong?”

  As much as he wanted to protect her, he couldn’t. He simply had to tell her. “There’s a warrant out for her arrest. I just heard this morning. They got the other suspect in the robbery. A man named Cody Billings. And he told them Melody was his accomplice.”

  “No.” Her head shook in small fluid motions. “That’s not right.” Desperation edged her tone higher. “She came back for Bodie so they could start over. She told me everything’s fine. I asked her. I asked if she was in trouble with the police and she laughed at me.”