Christmas With the Mustang Man (20 page)

Boone felt as if he'd been kicked in the gut. All these years he'd never understood Newt's behavior. He'd thought of him as a worthless rebel, when all along he'd actually been a crushed young man. “Why didn't you tell me this before, Dad?”

Newt looked at him bleakly. “You thought the sun rose and fell on your grandparents. And I'd never been much good for you anyway. I didn't want to make things worse by trying to paint them in a bad light.”

“So why did you decide to tell me tonight?”

“Hayley. I don't want to see that damned ranch wreck her life, too. I don't want to see you obsess over a piece of land when you could have the love of a good woman, the devotion of a wonderful daughter. You got to give a little, Boone, or you're going to live the rest of your life alone.”

Boone wiped a hand over his face, then slowly rose to his feet. “I'd better go talk with her.”

“Boone?”

He looked down at his dad and was surprised to see a faint smile on the man's face. “Ever since Christmas I've been trying my best not to drink. And this evening when Hayley called me—I was glad. Just to have her ask me for help did something to me in here.” He tapped his chest. “I've made some awful mistakes in my life. Instead of letting myself get all festered with hate, I should've been working to be what I wanted to be. I missed the boat
with you, son. But from now on I can at least try to be a good grandfather to Hayley.”

His throat tight with emotions, Boone patted his father's shoulder. “I've made mistakes, too, Dad. But from now on I promise things are going to be different. For all of us.”

 

Two days later, Boone and Hayley shoved the last of their suitcases into the backseat of the truck. It was Monday and normally Hayley would be in school, but Boone had talked with her teachers about letting her catch up on the classes she would be missing while they were gone for a week to New Mexico.

As Boone shut the truck door and mentally went over a checklist in his head, Hayley asked, “Will Mick make sure that Miss Holiday and her babies get fed?”

“The cat food is in the barn. He's promised to take care of them. Along with Angel and Queenie and everybody else around here with a mouth,” Boone assured his daughter.

Hayley smiled, but just as quickly another worried look returned to her face. “But what if Dallas isn't home? She might be gone with her brother to the racetrack or something. Then what will we do? Go find her? I think you should call first, Dad. Wouldn't that be the smart thing to do?”

If he had to, Boone would go to the ends of the earth to find Dallas. But whether she would be glad to see him was another matter. When he'd first decided to drive down to New Mexico and propose to her, he'd wanted to do it as a surprise. And he sure didn't want to give Dallas the chance to turn him down over the phone. But Hayley's concerns were making him have second thoughts. Maybe he should call and make sure she'd be
there? After all, a thousand miles wasn't just a little leisurely drive.

“Okay. Let's go back in the house and I'll call before we leave.”

Taking his daughter by the shoulder, he urged her back toward the yard gate, but halfway there, she suddenly pointed to something in the distance. “Look, Dad. Someone is coming. Reckon it's a horse buyer? You won't let them stay long, will you?”

Boone squinted at the red pickup truck barreling up the driveway toward the ranch house. “I don't have a buyer coming that I know of. But don't worry, I'll tell him or her that we have plans and need to leave.”

The truck braked to a quick stop and he stared in disbelief as he read the insignia on the door. Angel Wings Stables Diamond D Ranch.

“Dad! It's Dallas! It's Dallas!” Hayley yelled as she began running toward the vehicle.

Boone's heart swelled as he hurried to embrace the only woman he would ever love.

M
ore than a year later on White River Ranch, Dallas wrapped her three-month-old son in a heavy blanket and carried him across the hard-packed ranch yard until she reached the big barn. Behind it, in a round training pen, Boone and Mick had been showing horses for the most of the afternoon. Now the last buyer was about to leave and Dallas waited in a secluded spot from the wind while Boone shook the man's hand.

Once the buyer had driven away, Boone walked over to his wife and son.

“You must have sold something,” Dallas said with a grin. “You're smiling.”

“I'm smiling because I didn't sell her. He wanted Fancy and I told him I couldn't let her go. She was going to belong to our son one day.” He smacked a kiss on her cheek and then on the top of his son's red hair. “So what are you and little Bodie doing out in the cold? Were you missing me that much?” he teased.

“It's not that cold,” Dallas insisted. “The sun is bright and warm today. It's almost like spring is around the corner.”

“The sight of you two is just like spring to me,” he said with a grin.

Smiling, Dallas repaid him for the compliment with a kiss on his cheek. “Actually, I walked down here to see Mick,” she said slyly. “But I don't see him around.”

Boone howled. “Mick! He's got enough female attention without getting it from mine.”

Dallas laughed. “I only wanted to invite him to dinner this evening. I'm having your dad over, too. As a celebration of sorts for Hayley winning a spot in the choir trio at school.”

“That's nice of you, honey. I'm sure Mick will want to stay and eat. I'll ask him later. Now that all the buyers are gone, he's ridden out to the west pasture to check on the calves.”

“Oh. So we're alone,” she said, her eyes twinkling suggestively.

This time Boone laughed as he lifted Bodie from his mother's arms and snuggled his son close to his chest. “Not quite. Bodie is here to make sure his parents don't get too frisky.”

As Dallas watched her husband carry their son over to the dusty horse pen, she could only think how much her life had changed since she'd first come to White River Ranch so many months ago.

She and Boone had been married in a simple, but beautiful ceremony in the church at Pioche where Father O'Quinn had declared them man and wife. Later, in order to include her family, they had celebrated with a huge reception on the Diamond D. And since that time, the sharing between families and ranches was still continuing.

In winter, while Hayley attended school, they remained on White River and Boone stayed busy training his mustangs. In summer they traveled down to the Diamond D and spent those months in the cool mountain climate with her family, while Mick kept the ranch going here.

At first, she'd been shocked that Boone had even suggested living away from White River for any amount of time. And she'd been afraid that he would be bored and miserable once he was away from it. But to her surprise and delight, he'd settled right in and now he was looking forward to helping her brothers build a string of quarter horses to begin racing at Ruidoso Downs. As for Hayley, the girl was over the moon at having a new little brother and she was counting the days until they returned to the Diamond D, where she was more than happy to help out at Angel Wings Stables.

Joining her husband and son, Dallas gazed out at the milling horses. Fancy had foaled not more than two weeks ago and already her sorrel colt was bucking and running with strong, sturdy legs.

“That one will be just about right for Bodie,” Dallas said with a little laugh. “I have a feeling our son is going to want to get in the saddle before he can ever walk.”

Boone slipped a loving arm around the back of her waist. “But if he doesn't want to be a cowboy, that will be all right, too,” he murmured thoughtfully.

She glanced up at him. “You're thinking about your dad now.”

His mood suddenly pensive, Boone nodded. “Every person has dreams, Dallas. And sometimes a child's dreams are far different than those of his parents. I'd always said I never wanted to be like my father, but damned if I wasn't slowly making the same mistakes
he'd made. I was thinking of myself and my wants more than Hayley's. I thank God you came along and opened my eyes to so many things.”

In the past year, Newt had been working to make himself into a better person. He'd determinedly weaned himself off alcohol and was now doing volunteer work at a hospital over in Caliente. Slowly, he and Boone were building a relationship and seeing them together made Dallas very happy. “Your father is doing quite well now. Once he realized that Hayley needed him, it changed his whole outlook.”

He looked down at her. “Yeah. All of us want to be needed,” he said gently. “And I need you and our children more than anything in my life.”

Rising up on her toes, she planted a swift kiss on his mouth, then reached for Bodie. “Well, you're going to need a cook if I don't get back to the house and get dinner started.”

She turned to go, then paused, prompting Boone to ask teasingly, “What's the matter? Decide you'd rather kiss than cook?”

She pulled a playful face at him. “It's a pleasant thought. But actually, I just remembered to tell you that I spoke with my brother Conall this morning. He says that Liam is shipping a bunch of runners out to California and plans to stay there with them through the Hollywood spring meet.”

Boone's brows lifted. “Is that unusual for him? You sound puzzled.”

Dallas shrugged. “Well, he always ships runners to California at this time of the year. But he never stays that long. Something isn't clicking with him as usual.”

“Hmm. I'm sure it has something to do with the purses
or the racing schedule. Or it could be he simply wants to stay out there and enjoy the warmer climate.”

Dallas rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding? The only time Liam notices the climate is when he's studying the condition of the track. No. There's something else behind this. And I'm just wondering if he's found a woman.”

“A woman?” Boone repeated with a flicker of interest.

“That's what I'm hoping. Liam needs to learn there's more to life than crisscrossing back and forth across the United States racing horses.”

Chuckling softly, Boone pulled her and their son into the warm circle of his arms. “What Liam needs to learn about is sharing. That's what love is all about.”

As Dallas's lips met her husband's, she murmured, “Mmm. Sharing. You couldn't have spoken a nicer word, my darling.”