The Cowboy's Texas Family

by Margaret Daley

  Her curiosity grew. “Why?” Maybe she should leave now. No, she hadn’t come all this way to leave because of Nick’s opinion of Fletcher. There were always two sides to a situation. But she made a note to be more cautious about approaching Fletcher.

  “Ned has a son, who he neglects—even leaves him alone, usually to go out to drink. Corey is only ten and shouldn’t have to take care of himself. I’ve tried to get Fletcher to at least help the boy.”

  “And this Fletcher won’t?” Obviously it had been a good choice to come to town and scout the situation out first before she said anything to Fletcher Phillips—if she ever did. She wanted information, not a father. She already had a wonderful dad who loved her.

  “It’s not his problem, according to Fletcher.”

  So Fletcher doesn’t care about family? Darcy’s stomach tightened into a knot. She’d known from an early age that she was adopted but always felt as if she were Mom and Dad’s real daughter. They had never treated her any other way. So why set herself up for another disappointment by her birth parents?

  “But Corey is your problem?” A lump lodged in her throat as she said the boy’s name. She’d dealt with enough legal cases that involved children, and she always fought for what was right for them. One day she hoped to have her own kids, and she wouldn’t abandon them the way her biological parents had. Although she had had a wonderful childhood with a loving, caring mom and dad, it looked like it could have been just as easily the opposite if she hadn’t been put up for adoption.

  For a long moment silence reigned in the truck. Then the blare of a country and western song resounded through the cab.

  Nick glanced down to see who was calling, and then he pulled over to the side of the road and answered it. “Mrs. Scott, is something wrong?”

  The worry in his voice drew Darcy’s full attention. As he listened to the person who had called him, his features slashed into a frown. Something bad had happened. Who was Mrs. Scott?

  “I’ll be right there. I’m glad the police are at Ned’s.”

  When he disconnected, Darcy asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Corey is missing. I need to go and help look for him.”

  Her cousin was missing! She couldn’t walk away from an opportunity to meet and help a relative, especially a ten-year-old boy. And it didn’t hurt that she would be with Nick McGarrett, an attractive—and caring—cowboy. “Let’s go. I’ll help.”

  Chapter Two

  “Why do you want to help?” This was the last thing he thought Darcy Hill would offer. “I’m only ten minutes away from the Blue Bonnet Inn. You said you were tired and hungry.” Nick gripped the steering wheel and stared at Darcy in the dim light from his dashboard. He couldn’t believe he’d told her so much about Corey’s situation, but after his meeting with Fletcher today, frustration churned his gut.

  “Because a child is missing on a cold winter’s night. You’ll need everyone you can get to search for him. I couldn’t go to the inn without trying to help.”

  The worry in her expression lured Nick. She showed more feelings toward an unknown kid than Ned did toward his son. Her caring nature appealed to him and made it easy to talk to her. “Corey lives in Dry Gulch. It might take a long time if we can’t find him right away.”

  “I don’t care. A child is in trouble.”

  Her words touched a cold place in Nick’s heart, forged from years living with an alcoholic father like Corey’s, and calmed his earlier anger at Fletcher. “You can’t go looking for him in what you’re wearing.” He couldn’t believe he was arguing with her about helping Corey. She was right. In the dark, it would be doubly hard to find the child. Did he have a coat on? Did he run away or had something else happened?

  “I have some boots in one of my bags. It won’t take me long to change into them.” She gave him a smile. “I should have when I stopped in Houston and heard the weather report about the cold front moving through this part of Texas.”

  “Fine. I can’t guarantee how long this will take.” Nick made another U-turn and headed out of town. He handed her his cell phone. “Slim’s number is in my contact list. You can call him and have him tow your car to his garage, and then you can check with him tomorrow morning about what’s wrong with it.” He shot her another look before pressing on the accelerator. “That way your car will be moved off the shoulder of the highway.”

  “Thanks. Do you have the number for the Blue Bonnet Inn? I’d like to tell the owner I’ll be late.”

  “Under Carol Thornton. I’ve got to warn you, she’ll ask a ton of questions about why you’ll be late.”

  “I guess she’ll think it’s strange I’m helping out.”

  “No. She’s one who will jump in when someone is in trouble, whether she knows the person or not. If I had the time, I would recruit her and a few others. Most townspeople are like family.” He increased his speed outside of Haven, pushing the limit.

  “Except for Fletcher Phillips?”

  “You pick up fast. I won’t bother calling him to let him know Corey is missing.” Nick tossed a glance at Darcy as a car came toward his truck. Her blond hair hung in thick waves about her shoulders while her blue eyes held a frown. “I hope you have a hat to wear.”

  “A cowboy one like yours?”

  “Nope. A warm one like a beanie.”

  “Yes, I do, and gloves.” She studied the list of contacts on his phone and then connected with one of them.

  While she called Slim and Carol, Nick focused on the last twelve miles to Corey’s house. The unknown ate at Nick the whole way to Dry Gulch. Nick kept replaying his promise to Doug to keep his little brother safe. When he made a promise, he kept it. What if he couldn’t now?

  When Darcy finished talking to Carol, she gave him his phone back. “You’re right. She drilled me with questions, most of which I couldn’t answer. I have a feeling when I finally show up at the inn, I’ll have to tell her everything we did.”

  “I guarantee you will. Carol is like a mother hen.”

  “Does she have children of her own?”

  “No, but not from want of trying. It’s a shame. She would have been a great mother.”

  “I’m assuming Corey doesn’t have a mother around since you’ve only mentioned his dad. Do you know what happened to her?”

  “She died years ago.”

  “That’s sad.” Her voice caught on her words, and Nick chanced another look at Darcy. Her forehead knit into a thoughtful expression. “Did Mrs. Scott tell you the details of Corey’s disappearance?” she finally asked, her tone still emotion-filled.

  “Not a lot. Usually Corey will call me, and we’ll talk. Mrs. Scott lives next door to Corey and keeps an eye out for the child. All I really know is that Corey is gone and a deputy sheriff is at Ned’s house.” No doubt Ned had gone out to get some more liquor.

  “So he was staying home alone?”

  “Most likely.” His own feelings warred inside him—from anger at himself for not going earlier, to fear. Apprehension won out. Why didn’t Corey call him again instead of running away? What if he couldn’t find the boy? “I don’t know anything else. Mrs. Scott didn’t go into a lot of details. The neighbors are forming a search party to help the deputy. We can join them.” Hopefully he’d find out more when he arrived in Dry Gulch. Better yet, maybe Corey was already home and safe.

  Nearing the town, Nick slanted another glance toward Darcy, her hands clasped together as though she were praying. It wouldn’t help. He’d tried that. Nick had given up on the Lord answering his prayers. At least Ned so far hadn’t physically harmed Corey, but neglect of a child was a form of abuse. Corey hungered for love and acceptance.

  “We’re almost there. Ned and I have exchanged a few words concerning Corey, but nothing will keep me away. I promised Doug, Corey’s older brother, that I would wat
ch out for him. I just wanted to let you know things could get tense.”

  “Does Ned know about what Doug asked you to do?”

  Nick turned down a street on the outskirts of Dry Gulch, a town about the size of Haven. “Yes, and he isn’t too happy about that.” He pulled behind a long line of cars crammed into every parking spot available. A few floodlights illuminated the area as though it were daytime. “It looks like a lot of people are here. Good. Corey could be in town somewhere, in the woods or on a ranch nearby. Lots of hiding places, and with the darkness he’ll be harder to find.”

  “So you think he’s hiding, not taken by someone?” Darcy asked as she opened the passenger door.

  “More likely hiding or running away.” He hoped. The alternative was even worse. When he hopped down and looked over the hood of his truck at Darcy, he was glad she’d come with him. Although he barely knew Darcy, her presence comforted him. Her immediate response to his news earlier had been to help. There was more to her than too many clothes and shoes. She might come from money, but she didn’t act like a spoiled socialite.

  He waited for her to join him and then he made his way toward the group of people on the front lawn of Corey’s home. Mrs. Scott stood near Ned, talking to him as more neighbors joined the throng. The furious expression on Ned’s face alerted Nick that the man probably hadn’t been the one who’d called the sheriff’s office.

  Mrs. Scott saw him and came toward Nick. “We’ve searched the neighborhood and there wasn’t any sign of Corey. We’re reorganizing to cover the areas away from here. The sheriff is arriving soon and some more deputies. They’re bringing in a couple of tracking dogs too. Five to six inches of snow are predicted tonight. We need to find him before he freezes.”

  “What happened?” Nick stared at Ned.

  “After you called me earlier to check on Ned and Corey, which I did, I left Corey’s house because Ned woke up and assured me he was fine. He practically kicked me out. I decided then to make some cookies to share with Corey and Ned as an excuse to check on them after an hour and a half. When I went over to the house, Ned finally opened the door. He looked like he had just woken up, so he’d probably continued to drink after I left. At least that’s how he smelled. He invited me in while he called Corey. The boy never came. I helped Ned search his house to make sure Corey wasn’t hiding. That man was getting madder by the second. I discovered just a few minutes ago Ned went to the store not long after I left the first time.”

  Nick swung his attention to Mrs. Scott. “The liquor store?”

  Mrs. Scott nodded.

  “Are you the one who called the sheriff?”

  “Yes. Ned didn’t want to. He was sure Corey would show up. By that time it was getting dark. I went home and called.”

  Nick nodded toward Darcy. “Mrs. Scott, this is Darcy—a friend who heard about Corey and wanted to help.”

  Darcy shook Mrs. Scott’s hand. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. Where do you think Corey would have gone?”

  “He isn’t at any of his friends’ houses. The deputy checked those first, so I don’t know.” Mrs. Scott patted Nick’s arm. “If anyone can find him, it’s you. I don’t know any of his favorite haunts and neither does his father.” Anger infused the last sentence. “I declare I haven’t seen a man quite like that one.”

  A conversation Nick had had with Corey last month came to the foreground of his thoughts. The child had been so mad at his father for forgetting to pick him up at his friend’s house. He’d ended up walking home. Since it was getting dark, he had used the woods as a shortcut and stumbled upon a thicket—a great hiding place, according to Corey. “There are a few places that Corey and I have talked about. A couple we’ve been to. But one he said was his secret fort. He told me the general location in the woods. I think we should look there first.” Nick didn’t want to stand around while the deputies organized the search.

  Mrs. Scott’s mouth pinched into a frown. “But it’s so dark at this time of night. How are you going to look there?”

  “I have some flashlights, one in my glove compartment and another in my toolbox. That’s all I need.” He turned to Darcy and added, “But you might want to stay here—”

  “I’m game. It’s getting colder.” Darcy shivered. “I won’t be surprised if there’s snow in the next hour or two. We need to find Corey.”

  “Mrs. Scott, please tell the deputy where we’re going and that we could use more people. It’s the wooded area behind the elementary school.” It would be better if Nick didn’t go near Ned at the moment. He threw one last look at the man, who was still frowning as if this whole affair was an inconvenience. Although Nick’s and Corey’s situations were different, Nick knew the emotional whirlwind the boy was going through and how alone the child must feel.

  “Will do, but, dearie,” Mrs. Scott said, peering at Darcy’s high heels, “you can’t go in those shoes.”

  Darcy grinned. “I’m going to change.”

  As Nick and Darcy headed for his pickup, she said, “I think you and Mrs. Scott are right—Corey’s dad has been drinking a lot. His eyes are bloodshot, his hands are shaking and his skin is pasty. In my job I’ve encountered enough alcoholics to know when I see one.”

  Nick opened the passenger door. “It’s been getting worse. That may be what made Corey leave.” When his own dad drank, all Nick had wanted to do as a child was hide. He shut the truck door, made his way to the driver’s side and switched on the engine, throwing a glance at Darcy. “What’s your job?”

  For a long moment Darcy didn’t answer. Nick turned the truck around and headed the way they had come. Still no reply.

  He was about to tell her to forget the question when she murmured, “I’m a lawyer—for Legal Aid.”

  Surprise flitted through him. He wasn’t sure what he’d pictured her doing. When he thought about it, the fact that she was a lawyer wasn’t what astonished him—it was that she worked for Legal Aid. The clothes she wore and the car she drove didn’t fit his image of the belongings of someone working for the poor. And yet, she’d quickly volunteered to search for a child she didn’t know. He was discovering there was a lot under the cool, composed facade she presented to the world.

  “You can close your mouth now. I’ve been working at the office in Mobile since I got out of law school a few years ago. My father comes from old money. Giving back to the community is very important to both my parents. When I was young, no more than five, he had me volunteering right alongside him or my mother. By the time I went to college I knew I was going to fight for people who often can’t fight for themselves.”

  “You need to give Fletcher Phillips a lesson in how to give back. Instead, he pushes his own agenda to make more money.”

  “Are you talking about Ned and Corey?”

  “Yes, that’s one example, but the boys ranch is another.”

  “What boys ranch?”

  “We have a Lone Star Cowboy League Boys Ranch here in Haven, founded in 1947 by Luella Snowden Phillips. She used her own ranch as a place for troubled boys around the state to receive support and care and to learn a better way to deal with their problems.”

  “Any relative to Fletcher Phillips?”

  “Yes, his grandmother. But he wants to close the place down.”

  “Why would he want to shut down something his grandmother started and supported?”

  “Good question. Now you see why he isn’t one of my favorite people. He says it devalues the property around the boys ranch and hurts Haven’s economy. All he sees is a bunch of troublemakers, not young children and teens who have problems. His father, Tucker, was actively involved in the ranch. He isn’t alive, but if he were he would be so disappointed in his son.”

  “I can see why you feel that way about Fletcher, but has anyone invited him to the ranch to see firsthand what’s going
on? Maybe even volunteer and get to know the children?”

  Had they? Nick didn’t know. “The townspeople are always welcomed at the boys ranch.”

  “Sometimes the obvious has to be pointed out to some people.”

  Nick chuckled. “That would be Fletcher, but I can’t see even a grand tour of the boys ranch changing that man’s mind. And I certainly can’t see him volunteering there.” He pulled into a parking space at the elementary school. “I met my share of people in the army who had to have it their way or no way. They were rigid and never wanted to compromise.”

  “There are people like that in every facet of life. I try to look at things from their perspective.”

  Nick climbed from the truck, paused and asked over the hood, “How’s that working for you?”

  “Actually pretty well, but I’ll admit there are some who can make it hard for a person.”

  Nick studied her profile as she stared at the woods across the field. Was he one of those people? The thought didn’t sit well with him. “So why do you think Ned drinks himself into a stupor and ignores his son?”

  “I imagine the second part comes because of the first—Ned’s drinking problem. Most people drink to excess because they aren’t happy and don’t know how to make it better. What happened to Corey’s mother?”

  Nick walked to the back of the truck and let the tailgate down. “I don’t know. Corey was a toddler when she died. He said his dad wouldn’t talk about her.” And that topic never came up with his army buddy, Corey’s older brother. Her question brought thoughts up about Nick’s own mother, who died when he was seven. Was that what led to his father’s drinking problem? Even so, that didn’t give him the right to hit Nick whenever he felt like it. He was thankful that by the time he was fifteen his dad had backed off. Probably because Nick was stronger and bigger than his father.

  He gestured to her multiple bags. “Which one do you need?”

  Darcy pointed to two of them, and Nick slid them to her. “Maybe Corey running away will shake up his dad,” she said as she changed her shoes and found her hat and gloves.