A Cowboy's Redemption

by Marin Thomas

  “Your competition giving you a hard time?”

  Cruz nodded. “I can take their ridicule, but the fact that I won clear as day but the judges scored me low is more than I can handle. The rodeo community doesn’t believe I deserve to win or even compete because of my prison record. Never mind that I once wanted to win a national title, I couldn’t even make a living at rodeo the way things are now.”

  “Ever thought about coaching a new generation of bronc riders?”

  “What do you mean, ‘coach’?”

  “You’ve been hiding in your room since you got here. Why don’t you come with me and I’ll give you a tour of the ranch. Show you what we’re doing here.”

  Fitzgerald was right. Cruz couldn’t feel sorry for himself forever. No matter that things didn’t work out between him and Sara, she wouldn’t want him to fall back into his old ways. Out of respect for her, he’d face the future—whatever it held for him—and make the best of it. He grabbed his hat and stood. “Let’s go.”

  Fitzgerald escorted Cruz through a series of barns on the property and introduced him to the ranch hands who cared for the horses. “Do you grow your own hay or buy it?” Cruz asked after they’d left the hay barn.

  “Mostly we grow it. Depends on the weather each year. Six years ago we had a drought and I spent a lot of money on grain.”

  Grain was expensive, but Fitzgerald came from money and lots of it, so Cruz doubted they’d suffered any hardships. “Does your family still race horses?”

  “Yep. After my father passed away—”

  “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. My mother talked about selling the horse farm and moving out here to the ranch with us, but my sister wouldn’t let her. Bree and her husband invested in a horse named Strawberry Fields, and the colt won several events and brought in the money needed to keep the farm going.”

  “You ever miss your old life?”

  “You mean rodeoing?”

  Cruz nodded.

  “Sometimes. I watch the young kids busting broncs and every once in a while I get the itch to hop on for a go-round.” He chuckled. “Then I fall on my ass and decided my best days in rodeo are behind me.”

  They stopped at Fitzgerald’s truck. “Hop in and I’ll drive you out to the school.”

  “School?”

  “Yep. We built a school on the property and every morning the kids ride a bus out to the building.”

  “Who drives the bus?”

  “Yours truly.”

  The drive to the school took five minutes. The building was nestled among a stand of trees. “This is real nice.”

  “We’ve got twenty-two boys staying here right now, and three girls.”

  “When did you start taking in girls?”

  “When Judge Hamel called and read me the riot act.”

  “Judge Hamel cares about kids.”

  Fitzgerald busted up laughing. “I recall you didn’t think too highly of the woman when she sentenced you to do community service at the Gateway Ranch.”

  Cruz grinned, and they hopped out of the truck. “Maria won’t mind the interruption.” Before Cruz had a chance to object, the school door opened and he was escorted inside.

  The classroom went quiet and Maria stopped writing on the whiteboard. Her eyes widened, then welled with tears when she saw Cruz.

  “Aw, jeez, Ms. Alvarez, don’t cry.” Before Cruz realized what he was doing, he rushed to the front of the classroom and hugged his former teacher.

  He was surprised by the fierceness of her hug and how it made him feel as if he’d come home. Maria was the mother he’d never had and always wished for.

  She released him and smiled at the class. “Kids, this is Cruz Rivera. One of my first students.”

  Cruz nodded to the teens who stared at him with blank looks.

  “When did you get here?” she asked.

  “A short while ago.”

  “You’re not leaving soon, are you?” she asked.

  “No. I’ll hang around.” For however long it took him to figure out his future.

  “Good. I’ll see you at supper.”

  “You might see him before that.” Fitzgerald spoke to the class. “Mr. Rivera is an accomplished bronc buster. For those of you having trouble with spurring when you come out of the gate—” he nodded to Cruz “—this is your man. No one spurs better. As soon as you finish your homework today, head out to the corral and Mr. Rivera will give you some tips.”

  They left the school and as soon as the door shut behind them, Cruz said, “Why’d you say I’d help them?”

  “Because they need help and you’re just the man to give it to them.”

  Cruz didn’t think he could help anyone, but he felt a surge of pride that the man he’d once idolized still believed in him. The good feeling didn’t last long. Even if he found a purpose in life, the empty feeling in his heart would never go away if he couldn’t be with Sara.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What’s the matter with you, Sara?” Linda, a coworker, asked when Sara checked her phone at work for the umpteenth time.

  “My father-in-law took off.”

  “What do you mean, ‘took off’?” Linda shuffled through the patient folders lying in a stack at the nurses’ station.

  “He said he was going away for a couple of days. I thought maybe he was homesick and he wanted to return to Papago Springs, but when I asked him if those were his plans, he said no.”

  “So where’s he headed, then?”

  “He wouldn’t say. He just told me to make arrangements for someone to watch Dani while I worked.”

  “He didn’t give you much notice.”

  Sara shoved her phone into her pocket. “I thought he’d call and tell me where he went.” Or how he was. For all she knew, José had driven off the road and was lying in a ditch.

  “If you don’t hear from him by the time your shift ends, then leave a voice mail threatening to file a missing-persons report.”

  “I just might do that.” She perused a patient chart. “Benji didn’t eat much for lunch again.” The little boy had had an emergency appendectomy two days ago. Sara suspected he missed his dog, Buddy. “I phoned his parents and asked them to bring Benji’s dog with them when they come to visit.” Hopefully seeing his pal again would lift the little boy’s spirits.

  “I’ll keep an eye out for his furry little friend.” Linda left the station to check on a patient.

  “Hey, Benji,” Sara said when she entered the eight-year-old’s room. His roommate, Sam, had gone home that morning, so Benji had the place to himself. “Feeling hungry yet?” He shook his head. She pulled out her stethoscope and listened to his lungs. “All clear.”

  She placed a notepad and box of crayons on his lap. “My daughter, Dani, has always wanted a dog.”

  “That’s a weird name for a girl.”

  “Dani is short for Daniella.” Sara nodded to the crayons. “She’d love to see a picture of Buddy.”

  “How come she can’t have a dog?”

  “I work all day and Dani is at school. There’s no one at home to take care of a dog.” Until now. If José made up his mind to live with them permanently, maybe she could talk him into letting Dani pick out a puppy.

  “My mom takes care of Buddy when I’m in school.”

  “I bet Buddy misses you and wonders where you are,” she said. “Maybe you could draw a picture of yourself and have your mother take it home to Buddy.”

  Benji’s eyes brightened at the suggestion and he opened the box of crayons. Right then a text message beeped on her phone. Buddy had arrived. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “What?”

  “We’re going out on the patio for some fresh air.”

&nb
sp; “I don’t want to go outside.”

  “You have a special visitor waiting for you,” she said.

  “Who?”

  “Buddy.”

  Benji threw back the covers and was halfway out of the bed before he winced and cried out.

  “Not so fast, young man. You’re still sore from the operation.” She helped Benji into a wheelchair and then wheeled him outside. He shouted Buddy’s name as soon as he saw the dog. Buddy’s ears twitched, then the Great Dane let out a loud woof when he recognized Benji. The dog loped across the patio, skidding to a stop in front of his master. As if the dog knew Benji’s health was frail, he lowered his massive head and rested it in Benji’s lap.

  Tears filled Sara’s eyes at the precious picture boy and dog made. As soon as she figured out what was going on with José, she’d take Dani puppy shopping. Maybe a new dog would help them all move on from their time with Cruz.

  Sara escaped the patio for a few minutes, then returned with a lunch tray and handed it to Benji’s mother. “I bet Buddy will help Benji eat today.”

  Benji’s mother nodded and a few seconds later, Benji was eating his oatmeal. Leaving the family alone, Sara returned inside and checked on her next patient.

  Three hours later, Linda caught Sara in the hallway and whispered, “José left a message for you at the nurses’ station.” She disappeared before Sara could question her. Why had José called the nurses’ station and not her cell phone?

  “This message is for Sara Mendez. Tell her José will be home late tomorrow. Thank you.”

  He couldn’t have said where he’d gone? The more Sara thought about it, the more she believed he’d returned to Papago Springs. Maybe he’d wanted to pick up a few more of his things or just check on the place. Or maybe Sofia’s memory had called him home.

  Had she been selfish in wanting her father-in-law to live with her and Dani? What was she going to do if he decided to return to the cantina? She couldn’t drive down there to check on him every weekend. They had to find a solution that made everyone happy—if only Sara knew what that was.

  * * *

  “LEAN BACK, BEN!” Cruz shouted at the teen trying to keep his seat on a bucking bronc. The boy was a quick learner and had potential, just like Fitzgerald had said.

  It hadn’t taken long for Fitzgerald to talk Cruz into becoming a full-time employee at the Juan Alvarez Ranch. He’d put Cruz in charge of mentoring the older boys—at-risk teens who’d been sent to the ranch as a last resort. If they didn’t straighten up, the next time they got into trouble they’d end up in detention centers or jail. Cruz was doing his best to convince them not to travel down that road.

  He didn’t like sharing his experience in jail with the boys. He wished more than anything that his stories were about a successful rodeo career and not his time in prison—the price he’d paid for making bad choices.

  The bronc reared, then came down hard enough to shake the kid loose. He flew over the horse’s head and landed in the dirt with a thud. “Good ride, Ben!”

  The teen crawled to his feet and limped over to Cruz. “I fell off. How is that a good ride?”

  “A rodeo cowboy never falls off his horse. He gets bucked off.”

  “It’s all the same if you land on your ass.”

  Cruz grinned. “We’ve got to work on your spurring. You’re not keeping a steady rhythm and it’s throwing you off balance.”

  “How long did it take you to learn to spur?”

  “Longer than I would have liked it to. Remember, nothing worthwhile comes easy.” He shook his head.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Cruz wanted to laugh at himself every time he repeated a phrase Fitzgerald had once spoke to him.

  “I’m not giving up. I’ve got the best bronc rider around to teach me.” Ben smiled. “I’m taking advantage of it.” He joined the other teens.

  A sense of rightness filled Cruz. He appreciated the respect of the older boys—some were wary of him, because he’d spent time in jail. Others, the ones who’d been members of gangs, weren’t intimidated—more in awe of him that he’d gotten out of prison and hadn’t returned to his old way of life. Whatever the reason, he was happy he was needed.

  “How are they doing?” Fitzgerald stopped at his side.

  “With a little more work, Ben’s got a chance of making it as a bronc buster.”

  “He reminds me of you when I first saw you ride.”

  It was a long time coming, but Cruz had to say it. “I’m sorry I let you and Maria down. You two were the only ones who cared about what happened to me, and I screwed up.”

  “We never stopped believing in you, Cruz. It just took you a little longer to come back to us.”

  “What do you mean, come back to you?”

  “Maria always believed you’d make a good teacher.”

  “That’s crazy. I hated school.”

  “Not school learning. She believes you have the ability to reach kids others can’t. You’ve proven her right since you started working with the boys. They study you. Listen to the way you speak to others. Watch your mannerisms and how you react to situations. You’re an exceptional role model. Just like Maria thought you’d be.”

  “You two have more faith in me than I have in myself.”

  “We’re glad you took us up on our offer to join the team. We’ve needed someone like you for a long time.”

  Cruz didn’t say anything. He liked his job. Liked working with the boys. Especially liked having a place to call home now. Even his parole officer approved of his new job and had lifted some of the parole restrictions—he was now free to travel to Albuquerque.

  There wasn’t an hour in the day that he didn’t give a passing thought to seeing Sara again. He yearned to look at her pretty face. Know that all was well with her. And he missed little Dani. But it was best he had no contact with them. Dani deserved a father she could be proud of, not a father with a past like his. He imagined the hurt Dani would experience the first time one of her friends couldn’t play at Dani’s house, because the parents were afraid Dani’s ex-convict father might harm their child.

  “You’re not happy here, are you?” Fitzgerald said.

  “What do you mean?”

  His boss grinned. “I know you like the job and the ranch. You get along with the other employees. But you’re lonely.”

  Cruz chuckled, the laugh sounding odd to his own ears. “I’ve been pretty much alone the past twelve years.”

  “You miss Sara and her daughter.”

  Cruz sucked in a quiet breath.

  “I could tell there was more going on between you two than you pretended when I stopped by Papago Springs.”

  “It’s over.”

  “What happened?”

  “I’d rather not talk about it.” There wasn’t anything anyone could do to change Cruz’s past.

  “Looks like you might have to talk about it anyway,” Fitzgerald said. He nodded over Cruz’s shoulder. “You’ve got a visitor.”

  Cruz turned from the corral and recognized José sitting in the Jeep Maria drove. What the heck? She stopped the vehicle a few feet away and got out, José following her.

  “Look who stopped by,” Maria said.

  Cruz stepped forward and offered his hand. “This is a surprise, José.”

  Fitzgerald held out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Mendez.”

  How had Sara’s father-in-law known where to find him?

  As if Cruz had voiced the question out loud, José said, “I called your parole officer and he told me where you were working.”

  “Cruz will give you a tour of the ranch, Mr. Mendez.” Maria signaled for her husband to follow her and the two walked off.

  “Sara doesn’t know where I am,” José said.


  The older man knew exactly what Cruz was thinking and it unnerved him.

  “Are she and Dani okay?”

  “Depends on what you mean by ‘okay.’”

  Cruz’s heart thudded to a stop. “What’s wrong?”

  “Ever since you left, Sara’s been moping around the house and working long hours at the clinic. She’s hardly home for Dani—not that I mind taking care of my granddaughter. But I don’t like seeing my daughter-in-law so depressed.”

  Cruz hated hearing that Sara was having a difficult time. He wished he could hug her and promise her that everything would be okay, but he’d probably only make things worse.

  “What happened between you?” José asked.

  Hadn’t Sara told José that he’d been involved with the same gang that had been responsible for his son’s death?

  “She’s in love with you, you know.”

  The news made Cruz both happy and sad. “I told her something about my past and she made up her mind that we couldn’t be together.”

  “I came all this way to find out the truth and I’m not leaving until I hear it.”

  Cruz glanced at the group of boys who were within hearing range. “Let’s take the Jeep to the pond.” Fitzgerald had dug a fishing hole on the property and kept it stocked with blue gill. The ride took only a few minutes, then they got out and walked to the water’s edge.

  Cruz picked up a pebble and skipped it across the water’s surface. “I wish I didn’t have to tell you this.”

  “Just spit it out.”

  “Back in high school before I landed myself in prison, I was pledging the Los Locos gang.” José didn’t speak, so Cruz continued. “The same gang who shot your son.” Cruz walked off, then stopped and stared into the distance.

  “My daughter-in-law is special. I don’t think I ever knew how special until my son died.”

  The old man would get no argument from Cruz. Sara was a one-of-a-kind woman.

  “Sara loves and respects you, José. She won’t be with me because it would betray you and your son.”