Boone’s Bounty

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Oh, sweetheart, I can’t right now. I will. Later I will.” She hated not being able to enjoy Josh’s first experience with snow. She hated this whole mess, in fact. A bolt of pure anger shot through her. Damn them, all of them, for not putting this little boy first in their lives. Damn them for taking her dad’s high-speed boat out on such a foggy day. Damn them all for dying. Now Josh had no one but her. Somehow, she would have to be enough.

  A buzzer sounded when she opened the office door. She hurried inside, adding her wet tracks to the ones already covering the carpet. A very tall cowboy stood at the scarred counter, his back to her while he filled out a registration form. He looked at least seven feet tall, but Shelby guessed part of that was due to the heels of his boots and the crown of his hat.

  The desk clerk, an older man with glasses, peered around the cowboy. “I’m really sorry, but I just rented our last room.” He pointed to the No Vacancy sign in the window. “We’re full up.”

  “Surely there’s somewhere you can put us,” Shelby said. “I only need a cot for Josh. I can take the floor. We’re desperate.”

  The cowboy laid down the pen he’d been using and turned to look at her.

  The sheer size of him made her take an involuntary step back. Then she looked into his eyes, which were an incredible shade of green. But more than that, they were the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. Although she had no logical reason to feel better, she did.

  “You forgot Bob.” Josh clapped his cold hands against her cheeks and forced her head around so she had to look at him. “Bob, he needs someplace to sleep, y’know,” Josh explained, his blue eyes earnest. He looked so cute, with his hat on crooked and the chin strap dangling down.

  “I know,” she whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Well, that makes it really hard,” the clerk said. “Even if I could figure out something, I’m afraid we don’t allow pets.”

  “The dog’ll probably be okay in the car for the night,” the big cowboy said quietly. “You and the boy can take my room.”

  Shelby realized how close to the surface her emotions were when the offer made tears gather in her eyes. “Oh, I couldn’t —”

  “Bob, he’s not a dog,” Josh said. “He’s my friend.”

  The cowboy frowned. “You left another kid out in the car? It’s mighty cold out there for a—”

  “No, it’s not another kid,” Shelby said. “Bob is—”

  “Awesome!” Josh said.

  “Yes, he is,” Shelby said as she looked the cowboy in the eye and hoped he would get the message as quickly as the patrolman had. “He’s so awesome that he can make himself invisible if he wants to.” She lowered Josh to the floor and took off his hat. “As a matter of fact, Josh, I happen to know he can sleep anywhere, because he told me so. He could even sleep under your bed if he wanted to, and be perfectly comfy.”

  Josh’s forehead crinkled in thought. “You’re sure?”

  “It’s one of his special tricks.” She glanced over at the cowboy to see if he was buying the story.

  He was. His smile was gentle as he inclined his head just the faintest bit in her direction, letting her know he had Bob all figured out.

  That soft, understanding smile made her insides quiver a little, reminding her of pleasures she hadn’t enjoyed in quite a while. And it would be a while longer, considering how her life was going these days.

  “Then it’s settled,” the cowboy said. “You, the boy and…Bob can have unit six.”

  “But what about you?” She desperately wanted the room, but she felt guilty taking him up on his offer.

  “No problem.”

  She gazed into his ruggedly handsome face. If they were in a movie, she’d suggest sharing the room, platonically, of course. Her tummy quivered again. But this was no movie. She turned to the clerk. “Is there anything else? Maybe a large closet, or—”

  “I’ll be fine,” the cowboy said. “Don’t worry about a thing. The café’s open twenty-four hours. I’ll just stretch out in a booth and make myself at home.”

  “But—”

  “Hey. I’m used to such things. If the weather wasn’t so nasty, I wouldn’t have even bothered with a motel. I’d have slept in my truck, which I’ve done a million times. So it’s no big deal for me.” His gaze rested on Josh. “I want to make sure that little cowpoke gets his rest.”

  Shelby’s heart swelled with gratitude. Right when she needed a knight in shining armor, one had appeared. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said, her voice husky from the lump in her throat. And those damn pesky tears kept trying to well up in her eyes. She blinked them back. “You’re a very nice man.”

  “Don’t mention it.” With a touch of his fingers to the brim of his hat, he walked past her out into the snow, leaving behind the scent of leather and denim.

  “What a gentleman,” she said, thinking how well it fit the tall cowboy. He was truly a gentle man.

  “He is, at that,” the clerk said. He was gazing after the cowboy with an expression of great respect. “Those booths are made of molded plastic. I’d hate to spend the night in one.”

  “I’ll have to find a way to repay him,” Shelby said as she fished in her purse for her wallet and took out her credit card. Belatedly she thought to glance at the registration form the cowboy had left on the counter. She caught the name Boone Connor printed boldly across the top line before the desk clerk whisked the form away and crumpled it up.

  Boone. She smiled. What a perfect name for him. He’d definitely been a boon to her, that was for sure.

  Josh tugged on the leg of her jeans. “Can Bob and me read those? They gots horsies.”

  Shelby glanced to where Josh pointed and saw some western magazines on a table. She looked up at the clerk. “Is it okay? He knows not to tear pages out or anything.”

  “Sure, it’s okay.” The desk clerk smiled down at Josh. “Go ahead and read the magazines, son.”

  Shelby watched Josh go over to the table, carefully choose a magazine, and climb up in a ratty overstuffed chair before he started slowly turning the pages and muttering to himself, pretending he was reading. Every once in a while he glanced beside him and pointed out something in the magazine. Obviously he was sharing the experience with Bob.

  “He’s a fine boy,” the clerk said. “You must be a proud momma.”

  “Oh, I—” Shelby caught herself before she told the clerk she was not Josh’s mother. It was an automatic response, one she’d become used to giving because she’d taken care of Josh so much.

  She’d once calculated that she’d spent more time with him than Patricia had. That had turned out to be a blessing, all things considered. If Josh had been closer to his mother and his grandparents, he would have been more grief-stricken when they had disappeared from his life. As it was, he seemed sad and definitely a little confused, but not overwhelmed.

  Shelby was obviously the most important person in his world, but now was not the time to advertise the fact that Josh was her nephew, not her son. And besides, some day she hoped to be his mother, legally. If only Patricia had left a will, that wouldn’t be so damned complicated, either.

  She brushed the thoughts away and smiled at the clerk. “I am very proud of Josh,” she said.

  2

  ALL SIX BOOTHS in the small café were full, but Boone had expected that. Later on, as people returned to their rooms, the place would empty out. Then he’d stake out a booth for the night.

  He’d forgotten the bench seats were the hard plastic kind. Oh, well. He would have done the same thing, even if he’d remembered. He would have done the same thing if the seats had been made of barbed wire. A woman with a little kid needed a motel room more than he did. A pretty woman. He pushed the thought aside. He wasn’t in the market for a pretty woman.

  Taking a stool at the counter, he ordered a cup of coffee from the café’s only waitress. Her name was Lucy according to the tag she wore, and she was definitely pregnant. She also looked worn-
out, probably from handling a bigger crowd than usual.

  “You live around here, Lucy?” he asked her as she poured him some coffee.

  “Not too far away.” She moved with precision that came from experience. “Why?”

  Boone glanced out the window before looking back at her. “The way it’s coming down out there, seems like you ought to head home while you still can.”

  She gave him a weary smile. “That’s right nice of you to think of that. As a matter of fact, I am leaving in about another hour, after we get these folks fed. The couple who owns this place said they could handle everything. No need for Mr. Sloan to hang around the motel office now that the rooms are all rented, so he’s gonna come over here and help Mrs. Sloan so I can leave.”

  Boone nodded. “Good. You got four-wheel drive?”

  “Yeah. My hubby’s coming to pick me up in the Jeep.” She looked down shyly at her belly. “He’s sort of protective these days.”

  “He should be,” Boone said.

  Her cheeks turned a happy shade of pink. “I’m hoping for a boy, but Gary doesn’t care what we have, so long as the baby’s healthy. I—” She paused and broke eye contact as someone in a booth called her name. “Excuse me. Table two needs some looking after.” She bustled out from behind the counter and hurried over to the booth in question.

  Boone had the urge to take over for her so she could put her feet up until her husband arrived. Sure, some activity was good for a woman in her condition, but not this much. He’d make a damn poor waitress, though, and he doubted she’d let him help her, anyway. Leastways not after he’d broken a few dishes and mixed up a couple of orders.

  So he sipped his coffee and thought about whether Jessica had worked too hard while she was pregnant with Elizabeth. She should have notified him right away when she found out she was pregnant. Thinking of her struggling through the pregnancy and birth by herself drove him crazy with guilt.

  The coffee had warmed him up considerably, so he took off his leather jacket and laid it across his lap. Then he unsnapped the breast pocket of his shirt and took out the note he’d gotten from Jessica. He’d read it about a million times, yet he still needed to keep looking at it to convince himself this wasn’t some bad dream he was having.

  Dear Boone,

  I’m counting on you to be a godfather to Elizabeth until I can return for her. Your quiet strength is just what she needs right now. I’ve left her with Sebastian at the Rocking D. Believe me, I wouldn’t do this if I weren’t in desperate circumstances.

  In deepest gratitude, Jessica

  The letter was dated more than two months ago. She’d gotten the zip code wrong, so that had delayed it some, and then when it had finally arrived in Las Cruces, he’d been on the road hunting up horseshoeing jobs.

  Still holding the letter, Boone rubbed his chin and gazed out the window at the steady snow. Snow had landed him in this fix in the first place. More than two years ago he’d let his three best buddies—Sebastian Daniels, Travis Evans and Nat Grady—talk him into a skiing trip in Aspen. He didn’t belong on skis any more than a buffalo belonged on roller skates, but he’d gone for Sebastian’s sake. They’d all nearly gotten themselves killed in an avalanche while they were blundering around on the slopes.

  Jessica Franklin had been working the front desk of the ski lodge, and it was their dumb luck that they’d struck up a friendship with her and she’d offered to go with them that day. Otherwise Nat would’ve been toast. Jessica had figured out where he was buried and had kept her head, directing the rest of them to help dig him out before he smothered.

  “More coffee?” Lucy asked as she passed by again.

  Boone glanced at his cup. It would be a long night, and he could probably use the caffeine. “Sure,” he said, smiling at her. “And thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  After she left, he resumed staring out the window, and his thoughts returned to his predicament. He wished he could think about something else, but he couldn’t. If only he hadn’t gone to the avalanche reunion party last year. He’d thought the idea was kind of morbid, but once again he’d gone along with the crowd.

  Besides, he’d needed the distraction. Darlene had just announced that she was breaking up with him to marry that dork Chester Littlefield.

  As it had turned out, Nat hadn’t made it to the reunion party because of some prior commitment. That had left Boone, Jessica, Sebastian and Travis to celebrate. Boone didn’t usually drink much. Over the years he’d seen what liquor could do to a man while watching his father’s bouts with the bottle.

  But that night, thinking about Darlene, he’d guzzled everything in sight. Sebastian and Travis had put away a fair amount themselves, but Jessica, being a good friend, had stayed sober so she could drive them back to their cabin and see that they all took some aspirin before they tumbled into bed.

  And that was when Boone figured he’d stepped over the line and dragged Jessica into bed with him. Sober he’d never have considered such a thing. But drunk and depressed about Darlene, he might well have.

  He was sure Jessica knew he hadn’t meant to, that he didn’t think of her like that. Hell, he’d probably called her Darlene in the middle of it all. So Jessica had shouldered the whole burden when she found out she was pregnant. But now she was in some kind of trouble and had asked him to be a “godfather.”

  Boone didn’t buy that godfather label, not for a minute. He was the baby’s father. When he’d called the Rocking D, he’d found out that Sebastian and Travis had gotten letters naming them as godfathers, too. But those other letters were a smokescreen. Sebastian was too honorable to have done such a thing, and Travis was too experienced to be caught like that. Besides, Jessica easily could have shoved those two guys away, considering they were drunk.

  But even drunk, Boone had the strength of two men. Jessica wouldn’t have been able to get away. He hoped to hell he hadn’t hurt her. He’d spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her for being a brute. And he would never touch another drop of alcohol as long as he lived.

  “Mr. Connor?”

  The soft voice brought him back to his surroundings. Turning from the window, he realized the blonde and her little boy were standing right next to him. Quickly he folded Jessica’s letter, tucked it in his pocket and snapped the pocket closed. Then he stood.

  “Sorry,” the woman said. “You don’t have to get up. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

  “No problem,” he said. Women were constantly surprised by his manners, but he couldn’t help that. His mother had taught him to stand in the presence of a lady, and he couldn’t change that training now, even if he’d wanted to. “How did you know my name?”

  Color tinged her cheeks. “I looked at the registration form before the clerk threw it away.” She held out her hand. “My name is Shelby McFarland.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Shelby.” He took her soft hand gently in his, careful not to put too much pressure into his handshake. She was so delicate, he imagined he could leave a bruise if he was the least bit enthusiastic.

  He enjoyed the contact, though, enjoyed it more than was good for him. He liked looking into her blue eyes, too. He read basic goodness and honesty there, but she was wary, too, as if something was spooking her. He put that together with the way she’d argued with the Smoky about going up the hill and wondered if she was running from something…or someone.

  “And this is Josh,” she said, bringing the little boy forward. “Josh, can you shake Mr. Connor’s hand?”

  Josh nodded and stuck out his hand, but his eyes widened as he looked Boone up and down. “You’re big as a elephant,” he said.

  “Josh!” Shelby reddened.

  Boone laughed out loud. “Can’t argue with the truth, son. I’m about as graceful as one, too.” He glanced around. “I’m afraid all the booths are taken up, so if you’re here to eat, you’ll have to grab a couple of stools.” The prospect of having her sit down beside him gave him a forbidden thrill. T
hen he thought of the note in his pocket and reminded himself of his reason for being on this road in the first place.

  “Oh, we’re not staying,” she said.

  He frowned. Surely she wasn’t going back out in that snowstorm now that she had a roof over her head. And truth be told, he didn’t appreciate having his generosity thrown back in his face.

  She must have figured out he was ticked, because she put her hand lightly on his arm. “I mean we’re not staying in the café,” she said quickly. “We’ll just get something to go. We’re definitely staying in the room you so graciously gave up. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I would like to do…something in return. Buying your dinner seems inadequate, but I can at least do that much.”

  Her touch on his arm felt like the nuzzle of a timid foal. And now that he looked closer, he could see that her whole body was poised for flight. She’d glanced over at the door several times. His curiosity grew.

  “How ’bout a star?” Josh asked. “When I’m a good boy, like when I ’membered to pick up my room, you give’d me a star.”

  Shelby blushed. “Well, that’s a good idea, Josh, but I’m not sure that Mr. Connor—”

  “The name’s Boone, and I’d love a star.” He probably shouldn’t have said that. No doubt about it, he was having trouble keeping his distance from these two.

  “Uh, okay.” She looked flustered, but she dug around in her purse and came up with a sheet of peel-and-stick gold stars. She peeled one off. “Where…where do you want it?”

  Even if he was creating a problem for himself, he couldn’t help loving this. “On my shirt’s fine.”

  She looked him over, and finally stuck the star on the flap of his shirt pocket, smoothing it carefully without looking at him. Her cheeks were bright pink. “There,” she said, glancing up. “There’s your star.”

  “And a kiss!” Josh said.

  Boone knew he should tell her to forget the kiss, but he couldn’t make himself say it. Only a fool would turn down a kiss from someone as adorable as Shelby, with her ponytail perched on her head and that sweet blush on her cheeks.