Her Homecoming Cowboy (7 page)

Colt’s memory was suddenly shuffling through years of files.

Luke leaned forward again and his somber brown eyes hit Colt in the gut. “Is there a possibility you could have a son?”

“What?” Colt asked, thinking he had heard wrong. But one look at both Luke’s and Jess’s expressions and he knew they were serious. Dead serious.

“You said they look familiar to you. Maybe it’s because when you look at Leo you see some of what we’re seeing,” Jess said.

“And we don’t know what Annie’s sister looked like. Maybe they looked alike,” Luke added. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

“Well...” He rubbed the back of his neck with the hand of his good arm and thought about his past. He’d eased his loneliness with whoever happened to catch his attention. None of the relationships had ever meant anything and he’d always been careful.... Well, truthfully, he knew there were times when that just wasn’t true. “The truth is, maybe.”

“That would mean Annie moved here for some reason but is hiding the truth,” Luke said. “I’ve only met her once, but I didn’t get the impression that she was a deceptive person.”

“I need to go,” Colt said brusquely, standing so quickly that his collarbone retaliated painfully.

He stepped from the porch.

“Colt, what are you going to do?” Jess said.

“Don’t do anything rash. It’s only a hunch, nothing concrete.”

Luke’s words halted him. “I need to think. That’s all. Tell Montana and Gabi I’ll talk to them later.”

He didn’t slow down again until he was at his truck.

Was it true? Could Leo really be his son? Sure, there could be other explanations, but there was something about Leo that even he recognized as more than hero worship. Leo was only six, after all. The way he bit his tongue when he concentrated. And then there was the way he stood. Colt wasn’t one to jump to conclusions. But he was going to observe both Leo and Annie more closely. Because if Annie had something to hide, then he was going to figure it out.

What are you going to do if it’s true?

As he pulled his truck to the side of the road, gravel shot out from beneath his tires, and if he’d been on pavement he’d have burned rubber. He wasn’t daddy material.

He’d never been daddy material and nothing had changed.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel and his forearms strained with the pressure as his thoughts raced.

What am I going to do if it’s true?

* * *

“Annie, can you help me for a minute?” Gabi called, poking her head around the door of the clinic.

“Sure.” Annie pushed out of her chair and hurried to follow Gabi into the back room. Gabi was standing by the squeeze chute out by the small outside corral. She and Susan were about to leave for an on-site vaccination job of a herd, and Susan was double-checking her supplies on her truck before she headed out.

“Annie, we’ll be at Ross Denton’s for most of the day, but if you need us, use the radio and you’ll get us.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.” She walked over to where Gabi was holding a contraption that looked like a hole puncher. Gabi had acted all morning long as if she had something on her mind. She’d been quiet, and Annie thought Gabi might be preoccupied with her wedding plans, but worried that it wasn’t the case.

“Can you check the number on this heifer with the records and make me a printout?” Gabi’s watchful eyes met hers.

“Sure.” Annie wasn’t certain how to take the look. Making a mental note of the number, she headed back into the office. Within moments she’d pulled the info up and took the printout back to Gabi. Susan was heading out by that time, leaving Annie alone with Gabi.

“Thanks.” Gabi took the page and studied the information on it.

Annie turned and started to head back to the office.

“Did your sister go to many rodeos?”

Annie stilled her nerves at the question. She hadn’t missed how Gabi had watched Leo from day one. Did she know? Annie was having a hard time hiding the truth of Leo’s identity, but that was for his safety until she knew the right decision to make. But Annie couldn’t lie outright to Gabi. When asked a direct question, she had to answer truthfully. “Yes, actually she did. Jennifer loved the rodeo.”

Gabi tapped the printout on her thigh. “She liked bull riding especially. And Colt best of all?”

“Yes.” Their eyes held on that answer. Annie waited for Gabi to say more. For her to come out and ask if her sister had spent time with Colt. After a minute, Gabi nodded, then turned back to her work.

Annie didn’t move. She tried to decide whether to smooth out what had just transpired or to slither back into the office like the snake she felt she was. Had Gabi been waiting for her to tell her something? To make a confession about what she suspected?

Nerves rattling, Annie went back to the office. She had a big decision to make.

Chapter Seven

A
sound woke Annie and she sat up in bed. Footsteps outside on the porch. Annie glanced at the clock—it was two in the morning. Who would be on her front porch at two in the morning? It sounded like there were a couple of people. Swinging her feet to the floor, Annie tiptoed to her door and listened. From her room it was a straight shot down the hall to the back door. Because the door had a paned-glass window in it, she peeked around the corner to see if she could see anyone. But it was dark on the porch, and if she saw shadows she couldn’t tell.

There was a faint bit of light coming into the hall from the night-light in the bathroom next to the kitchen. The light glinted off the back doorknob. It was just enough light for her to see the doorknob turn. Someone was trying to get into the house!

Annie had had a bad day—she’d spent the rest of the afternoon at work attempting to keep her mind on track and do her work, while trying not to panic about telling Colt about Leo. Then she’d picked Leo up from day care and he’d been running a fever. She’d spent the evening getting his fever down and taking care of him, which had effectively halted any thoughts she’d had of going to Colt’s and confessing. And now, to top off an already horrible day, she had someone breaking into her house!

Trying not to let the person or persons on the other side of the door see her, she peered around the bedroom door again. Squinting, she struggled to see who stood on the other side of the glass, but there wasn’t even a shadow. The thudding, which sounded as if the people were tiptoeing in heavy boots, had her straining to glimpse the trespassers. Her heart pounded with fear.

What should she do? She’d never had someone try to break into her house before. Her heart thundered in her chest and her hands shook as she grabbed a candleholder off the dresser. She needed to get to Leo’s room. And then she needed to get to her cell phone—it was in the kitchen. But who would she call? Cell service was terrible in the Mule Hollow area, and the ground line hadn’t been hooked up yet.

“Do
not
panic,” she told herself. “When I am afraid I will trust in the Lord. When I am afraid I will trust in the Lord.” She muttered the Bible verse under her breath in a chant several times. Then moved silently down the hall and slipped into Leo’s room. He was asleep and she gently touched his forehead, which was cool to the touch.
Thank you, Lord
. She sent up the silent prayer and then moved to the window.

Peering into the darkness, she saw no one moving about this side of the house.

She checked to make certain the locks on the windows were securely fastened. Then she tried to decide what to do. It was times like these that she really hated being single. She didn’t think about her situation often. Didn’t think about how she had set herself up for a life alone. She’d never met a man she trusted. Not enough to allow herself to get close to him, to think about maybe sharing a life together. But it sure would be nice to feel protected.

A noise from the kitchen area set her back on high alert—a scratching sound from the windows around the breakfast area. Tiptoeing into the hall, she flattened her back against the wall and looked toward the kitchen window.

* * *

Colt sat on his back porch and stared at the stars. The moon was barely a sliver tonight, leaving his surroundings shrouded in darkness and shadows. Kind of how he felt on the inside. Colt believed in God. He’d given his life to the Lord years ago, but somewhere along the way he’d gotten off track. Started thinking about becoming a champion, being driven by that desire to prove something about himself. He’d gone to some of the church services held by rodeo preachers like Chance Turner, who’d hung up his traveling boots and settled in at the Mule Hollow Church of Faith. But most of the time he’d been too busy getting from one rodeo to the next. Or layin’ in late from...“spending time” with one of his adoring fans. Colt’s gut tightened with guilt.

Had he fathered a child from one of his so-called fans? Had he brought a child into the world by his carelessness?

Distressed, he’d almost driven to Annie’s on Sunday night right after talking with Luke and Jess, but he’d caught himself. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for him to go accusing someone of something this important while he was so angry. And he’d been angry, all right.

Holding back had taken a lot of effort as he’d paced the fence line between their houses most of the day and racked his brain trying to pull up a face from his past about seven years ago. Someone who reminded him of Annie. Or Leo.

Blank as a chalkboard, his mind had come up empty. Had he been with that many women? By the world’s standards, no. But by God’s standards, even one was too many. If she was the wrong one.

Is Leo my child
?

If it turned out that he was, what was he going to do about it?

* * *

Annie blinked. Her heavy eyelids lifted and she had to think a minute to realize where she was—sitting on the floor in Leo’s room beside the window, her back against the wall. She’d gone to sleep sitting here at some point before dawn. After wandering silently through the house trying to catch whoever was out there, she’d finally sunk to the floor here and waited. She’d thought that if they looked in this window she’d catch them. The candlestick lay on the floor beside her. Rubbing her eyes, which felt like they’d had a sack of sand poured into them, she turned her head to look out the window—
huge
brown eyes rimmed by long, dark lashes blinked at her!

Annie screamed, scrambling on all fours away from the window. Her heart thundered and her stomach was still over there plastered to the wall where she’d been. She turned around when she reached Leo’s bed and, sure enough, there looking in the window was the hairiest big-lipped donkey she’d ever seen.

It watched her, batted the eye that was practically flattened to the glass pane, then turned its head and smashed those poochy lips to the glass as if giving the window a big, juicy kiss.

A
donkey
. After the surprise passed, relief set in as Annie realized this was her early-morning vandal.

“Whoa!” Leo was bounding off the bed behind her. “A donkey!”

As if in answer, the brown donkey rolled its big lips and grinned, exposing a mouthful of pearly whites. Annie laughed, as much from relief as from hilarity. Leo raced to the window.

“Hi, donkey,” he called, leaning over and putting his face level with the animal. “I gotta see him,” he said. Spinning around, he grinned, then raced out of the room.

Annie hurried after him. She didn’t know if this was a dangerous donkey that might kick or bite him. “Leo, wait,” she called, catching a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror as she passed. She looked frightful, with her hair all mussed and red-rimmed, sleepless eyes. Leo was out the door by the time she reached it. She was chasing him around the corner of the house when she saw Colt walking across the pasture.

She blinked her gritty eyes and raked a hand through her ratty hair, which looked as if a flock of pigeons had roosted in it. Having no time to worry how ghastly she looked, she hurried around the corner to the side of the house that Leo’s window faced. Relief washed over her when she saw the fat little donkey, sitting on its haunches and letting Leo pet it. Both animal and child looked overjoyed at the experience.

Annie skidded to a halt and let out a breath of relief.

“Look, she likes me.” Leo laid his head against the donkey’s neck and hugged the rotund little female.

Annie chuckled, and walked over to scratch her between the eyes. “Well, hi there, you little trespasser.” Who had scared her to death last night. She felt silly now, realizing that it was hooves tramping across her back porch that she’d heard. Then again, the doorknob had twisted. Could a donkey do something like that?

“Colt!” Leo exclaimed, looking past her. Annie turned to find Colt striding around the end of the house. His expression was dark, his gaze locking with hers and stilling her heart, before he gave Leo a strained smile.

“Hey there, Leo, I see you’ve met Samantha.”

“Samantha, is that her name?” Leo asked, laying his head back against the donkey’s mane.

Samantha laid her head to the side as if to touch Leo’s head, gave a loose-lipped grin, then snorted. Her tail flapped furiously against the ground.

Annie chuckled, despite knowing that something was on Colt’s mind.

“Samantha is her name. She belongs to Lilly, your landlady. She thinks she owns this place and Cort’s since they got married.”

Annie had met Lilly briefly, on Saturday. She was an energetic woman around Annie’s age with a head of dark, springy curls and a cheerful smile. Annie hadn’t known she owned a fat, little donkey that loved kids and enjoyed scaring single mommas to death.

“Can I ride her?” Leo asked, eyeing her wide back with interest.

Colt nodded. “From what I know about her, she is very kid-friendly, so that is a possibility.”

“Awesome!” Leo exclaimed. Samantha stood up, showing off her odd shape. She didn’t have smooth sides like your normal burro—but instead she was so chubby that she actually had a couple of rolls running horizontally between her front legs and her hind legs.

“Come on, Samantha,” Leo crooned cajolingly, as he’d done when talking to the puppies the day of their arrival. He raced around in a circle, then jogged off. Samantha trotted behind him.

Despite the dull ache in the pit of her stomach, Annie chuckled. “That is a country boy’s version of ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb.’ She is the oddest little burro I’ve ever seen.”

“Yeah, I think the way she looks has to do with her getting into some old paint when she was small. She’s very mischievous, used to come inside the kitchen of Colt’s house, where she was raised prior to moving here, and eat bread out of the bread box. I think they said teeth marks are on one of the drawers.”

“Oh, my. How funny. And she must be able to turn doorknobs, too. I was wakened by a noise about two this morning and was scared to death.” She was rambling but she suddenly couldn’t help it. “I thought someone was trying to break into the house. I could see the doorknob turning and then I heard footsteps on the porch. I ended up spending a sleepless night on watch sitting beside the window in Leo’s room. That donkey was looking at me through the window when I woke a few moments ago. I must have dozed off...” Her words trailed off.

Colt didn’t say anything, the tension radiating between them. Annie had struggled for days with how to tell Colt. Sometime between last night and this morning she’d decided she had to tell him he was Leo’s daddy. When she’d settled in against the wall, it hit her all over again that Leo needed someone in his life other than her. If something ever happened to her, she’d never want him to go into the system—not when he had Colt for a father.

She started to chatter on, putting off what she knew she needed to do but wishing to be better prepared—to at least have had a hot shower and a cup of coffee. But Colt beat her to it.

“Annie. Is there something about Leo you haven’t told me?” His eyes held the wariness of a man who’d been lied to. Betrayed.

Annie’s insides trembled with the terrible knowledge that he knew she had a secret. She hated knowing she was the one he didn’t trust. Inhaling slowly, suddenly, aware that she hated seeing that distrust in his eyes. Instantly she became aware of her appearance. Not much sleep, red, itchy eyes, crazy hair and her sloppy T-shirt and shorts—not exactly a look that inspired the kind of self-confidence she needed to hold this important conversation.

She raked a hand through her hair, her fingers snagging in tangles. She took a deep breath.

“I need to know what you aren’t telling me,” Colt said.

Annie ran her tongue over her lips, which suddenly felt as parched as the poor Texas pastures surrounding them. The drought had nothing on her.

Leo’s squeals of laughter drifted around the corner of the house. A loud
eh-haw
and several snorts followed. “Do you remember a Jennifer Ridgeway?”

She could tell he was shuffling through his memory and she wondered how many women he had to sort through to find that name. That face. She knew there were lots of women like her sister, who followed those cowboys around just waiting for the chance to meet and spend time with them.

“She was my sister,” she offered when he remained silent. “She loved a good rodeo, and bull riders were her favorite. She went to see you ride many times.” She could tell by the way his brow crinkled over his right eye that he was struggling hard to place the name. “She had light brown hair, was smaller than me and had gigantic brown eyes. She and Leo looked similar. She and I didn’t look that much alike. Kind of like you not looking like your brothers.”

“I can’t place her. Or that name.”

Annie couldn’t take much more. She needed to tell him and end this torture. “She went by R.W. sometimes. Why, I haven’t a clue.”

Colt’s shoulders tightened in reflex to the initials.
“I remember an R.W.”

There was no fanfare. No aha exclamation. Just the quiet acknowledgment that they were now on the same page. Annie wanted to throw up. “Jennifer died last year. Right before she died, she told me. She made me promise to keep it a secret, but she thought someone should know the truth. You are Leo’s daddy.”

* * *

It was what he’d known, from the moment Luke and Jess had told him their suspicions. He’d tried to talk himself out of believing it, but he’d known.

He had a son.

He closed his eyes and let the truth sink in around him. There was an undeniable joy that sprang forth, unexpected. But it was there. He held his expression in check, as anger surged through him. “Why wasn’t I told?” And yet he knew the answer. He couldn’t remember many details about R.W. She, like all the other women he’d met on the road, was nothing but a blur. For that he felt a sudden and hard sense of shame. Especially in light of knowing he’d fathered a child he hadn’t even known about.

There was no one to blame but himself, and yet looking at Annie he did just that—blamed her for keeping Leo from him. “You came here with this knowledge. You knew for a year. What is it with y’all? A man has the right to know.”