Overprotective Cowboy: A Mulbury Boys Novel (Hope Eternal Ranch Romance Book 2)

by Elana Johnson

  And he’d been waiting for Emma to show up with her daughter for fifteen minutes.

  Five more minutes, he told himself, and then he was leaving. In the very next moment, the back door opened, and voices preceded Emma into the kitchen.

  She entered first, her eyes full of apprehension. She brought a little girl behind her, their hands pressed together. “Hey, everyone,” Emma said. She glanced around the room, smiling at the group gathered there.

  Another couple entered after them, and Emma edged out of the way and drew in a big breath. “So this is Missy. She’s my daughter.” She beamed at the little girl, and the girl beamed at her. They clearly loved each other, and the bond between them was palpable.

  She looked at the couple, and they seemed well-dressed and sophisticated. “And this is Fran and Matt Black. They’ve been taking care of Missy for me for…they’ve been taking care of Missy. They’re her mom and dad.”

  “Oh, no,” Fran said, shaking her head.

  “Yes,” Emma said, meeting Fran’s eye. They had a special friendship too, Ted could tell. “So Missy, come meet everyone.” She started taking her around to all the women who lived in the West Wing and introducing her to the cowboys who worked the ranch.

  Ted tried not to track her, and he tried to get himself to leave before it was his turn to meet the dark-haired girl who looked so much like Emma.

  “And this is Ted,” Emma said, finally getting to him.

  “Oh, he’s the one with all the dogs.” She looked up at Emma and then Ted. “Can I meet them?”

  “The dogs?” Ted asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He grinned at her. “Sure thing. Let’s go.” He reached for her hand, and Missy slipped her fingers into his. He looked at Emma, so much he wanted to say. The words felt trapped though, and he didn’t know how to let them come out.

  “She wants to see the horses too,” Emma said, her voice a type of forced casual Ted didn’t like. He needed to figure out how to talk to her. How to tell her how he really felt, and that he wanted to take her out again, that it really didn’t matter to him what had happened a decade ago.

  Yes, he’d wanted her to be truthful with him. She’d struggled with that, but he’d pushed her hard in a short amount of time.

  And she’d called him when she needed help.

  They’d been dancing again for the past several days, and he was still trying to find some sort of solid ground to stand on with her.

  “So let’s go see the horses,” Ted said. “I have a couple of favorites I can introduce you to.”

  He glanced at Emma again as he walked away, and he couldn’t judge how she felt about him going with her daughter. The fresh air outside was a relief, and Ted drew in a deep breath of it. “So, Missy, here are the dogs.”

  The heelers picked themselves up and came toward him. Ted crouched down to pat them, and added, “This is Simon. And Paula.” He stroked her head. “And Ryan, and Randy.”

  Randy licked Missy’s hand as she reached to pat him, and she giggled. “What kind of dogs are they?”

  “They’re blue heelers,” he said. “They like to herd things. Cattle, usually.” He glanced over at Missy. “But they’ll keep our horses together. And I’ve heard they drive the wild pigs around here.” Ted straightened, and Missy did too.

  He started walking down the road, and it was so very hot. Missy slipped her fingers back into Ted’s, and all the dogs came with them.

  “Momma was right,” Missy said.

  “About what?” Ted asked, his heart melting for this girl, and that made zero sense.

  “The dogs just came with us.” She smiled down at them.

  “Did you know they didn’t even have names when I got here?” Ted asked. “So I named them, and they seemed to like that. So now they come around with me.”

  “I’ve always wanted a dog,” Missy said. “But my dad is allergic, so we never got one.”

  Ted nodded, because her family situation was so unique.

  “What’s your favorite food?” she asked, and Ted relaxed a little bit. They chatted about simple things, and he took her to meet Storm Warning and a couple of other horses before finally stopping in front of Emma’s babies.

  “These are the horses your momma takes care of,” he said. “She makes sure they get a bottle in the morning and evening, and I take them out to their mommas in the pasture.” He pointed them out and named them, and Missy looked up at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “My mom said she likes you.”

  “Did she?”

  “Yeah. Do you like her too?”

  Ted’s immediate reaction was to deny it. He looked away from the ten-year-old and all of her perfect innocence. “Yes,” he finally said. “I like her. I think she might be mad at me though.” He sat down on the low stool in front of Patches. “Has she ever been mad at you?”

  “Yeah, a couple of times,” Missy said. “Once, I let go of her hand at this big Easter egg hunt, and I got lost. She was so mad when she found me. So I asked Fran, and she helped me make her favorite cookies.”

  “The ones with the M&M’s in them?”

  “Yeah,” Missy said. “She likes banana bread too. I could help you make some, and then you could give it to her, and she might not be mad at you anymore.”

  “Does that work?”

  “Yeah, when I gave her the cookies, she wasn’t mad anymore.”

  Ted longed for the innocence of a ten-year-old. “So me and you, tomorrow. We’ll make banana bread or cookies?”

  “Well, you have to have black bananas for banana bread,” she said matter-of-factly. “Do you have those?”

  “No,” he said.

  “Do you have M&M’s?”

  “I can get some,” he said, though he’d have to send Nate to the store.

  “Maybe the cookies then,” she said.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Ted said. “Do you want me to talk to your mom about you coming over?”

  “Sure,” Missy said. They started back to the West Wing then, and Ted let her pet all four of the dogs before she went up the steps and inside. He didn’t follow her, because the ideas in his mind had him turning to face the wide-open sky.

  Cookies—Emma’s favorite.

  Time—he had two more months at Hope Eternal Ranch. He didn’t want another day to go by where he couldn’t talk to Emma. He was tired of the dance. It was exhausting trying to plan his day so he wouldn’t run into her.

  Something romantic—he could get more wildflowers from the fence line where he liked to walk. That reminded him of their first date, and maybe it would bring back good memories for Emma too.

  “What else?” Ted asked the pure blue sky.

  His apology—that he’d pressed her too hard. He could own that, and he could try to fix it.

  One of his dogs barked, and Ted looked down at Randy. His pulse jumped too, because the last time his dogs had barked, Robert Knight had been nearby.

  This time, though, he heard the squeal of a wild boar in the distance, and everything came together.

  Grinning, he hurried to the Annex, where he could use the computer to find the final piece of his plan to make up with Emma and get her back into his life.

  Ted returned to the homestead the next morning about the time the sun fully painted the day gold. He’d just reached the driveway when the rumble of Nate’s engine came up behind him. Ted moved out of the way as Nate pulled into the garage closest to the Annex, and he opened the passenger door for Connor.

  “Hey, bud.” Ted grinned at the boy and held the flowers he’d just gathered from the fields out of the way as he gathered the child into his arms.

  Connor clung to him as he babbled about the doughnuts they got that morning and that Nate had promised to take him to the beach next weekend.

  “That’s great,” Ted said, setting the boy on his feet. He expected Connor to run into the house while he helped Nate carry in their groceries. Instead, he stood there, and Ted looked to
see what had frozen him.

  Missy stood several feet away, and she lifted her hand in a wave as Ted’s heartbeat picked up. “Morning, Missy,” he said. “You’re up early.” He scanned the front yard for Emma, but he didn’t see her.

  “Is it too early to make the cookies?” she asked.

  “Nope,” Ted said, glad Nate had gotten up at the crack of dawn to go to town.

  “And we have doughnuts,” Nate said, lifting the box. “C’mon in. Connor, get at least the bag with the chips, okay?”

  The boy moved to the back of the truck, and Ted did too, the flowers in his hand suddenly feeling so heavy.

  Missy didn’t even have to be asked to help. She started picking up bags too, and she asked Connor whose birthday it was.

  “Mine,” Connor said. “Daddy’s gonna make me a cake, and everyone’s going to come to the beach for a party.”

  “Oh, is that what’s happening next weekend?” Ted asked as he picked up a couple of bags too. “At the beach?”

  “Yep.” Connor took his single bag with two packages of potato chips and skipped toward the front door.

  Ted smiled at him. “He’s going to be five.”

  Missy smiled too, and she started for the house as well.

  “Does your mom know you’re here?” Ted asked, glancing to the right and down the road. A couple of cabins sat out in the corner of the yard, and he could barely see the front door of the far one.

  “I left her a note,” Missy said. “She said I could, Ted. I asked her.”

  “I know,” Ted said, because after he’d asked Emma, she’d returned his text. Just one message, but it had introduced hope back into his heart.

  Thanks for having Missy over to make cookies.

  That was it. She hadn’t asked if she could come. Ted had sat on the edge of his bed for at least ten minutes, staring at his phone, trying to decide if he should invite her. In the end, he wanted everything to be a surprise, so he’d said, No problem. We’ll bring them to you when we’re done.

  That way, she wouldn’t come knocking, and he wouldn’t have to try to have everything organized until he was ready.

  “Ted,” Spencer called as Ted went through the front door. “Where is he? Ted!”

  “I’m right here,” he said as Spencer came striding out of the kitchen. He did not look happy, and Ted knew what had happened.

  Spencer frowned and slowed down before he bowled over Missy. “Your pig ate through the bag of popcorn.”

  “You have a pig?” Missy asked at the same time Connor burst into giggles in the kitchen.

  “I told you to put everything up,” Ted said, nudging Missy to keep going. “Sorry, Spence. She won’t be here much longer.”

  He’d found the perfect teacup piglet for Emma, and Nate had taken him to pick her up last night. He’d learned more about small, indoor pigs as pets than he’d thought possible, and he hoped Emma would like the one he’d picked out for her.

  In the kitchen, he set down his groceries and watched as Connor held the feeding pellets in his hand for the piglet to eat. He giggled again, and Missy put her bags down too and went to join him.

  “Oh, she is so cute,” she cooed. She giggled too as the pink piglet with tawny, light brown hair around her eyes and down her back nosed her. “Can I hold her?”

  “Sure,” Connor said. Missy scooped her into her arms, and when Ted finally looked away, he caught the look on Nate’s face.

  “What?”

  “What? What do you mean what?” Nate kept lifting boxes of granola and protein bars out of the grocery sacks.

  “I mean, you’re looking at me like I’m doing something wrong.” Ted took out a couple of bricks of cream cheese and a pound of butter from a bag and turned to put them in the fridge. “I just want her back.”

  “Even with the girl?”

  “Yes,” Ted said without hesitation. He turned and looked at Missy and the piglet. “She doesn’t change anything for me.”

  “I’m just…” Nate exhaled heavily and finally looked at Ted. Concern sat in his eyes, and Ted appreciated it. He really did. “It feels fast, Teddy. That’s all. You’ve been here, what? Five weeks?”

  “Six,” Ted said, as he still counted down the days until he’d be truly free. “And I know. I’m not going to ask her to marry me today, Nate. I’m going to ask her for a second chance. That’s a lot different.”

  “What if she says no?”

  Ted didn’t even want to consider such a possibility. “Then I put my head down and get through the next two months.” He also didn’t know how to do that. The past week had been torture. The dance was painful and exhausting. “Then I’ll go live in that big house your brother left you and figure out my next steps.” He looked steadily back at Nate, who blinked at the mention of his brother’s house.

  “I need to go clean out that house,” he murmured. “I just don’t want to.” He too looked to the children on the floor, playing with the piglet. They were so carefree, and Ted envied them.

  “I’ll go with you,” Ted said.

  “I’m worried about what it’ll do to Connor,” Nate said, returning to the groceries.

  “Don’t take him,” Ted said. “You and I will go, and we’ll figure it out.” He put his hand on his best friend’s arm for a beat. Nate stilled and looked at Ted, and he saw the pain there. Fresh and raw, it made Ted’s heart expand for his friend. “Isn’t that we said we’d do? Once we got out, we’d help each other figure everything out.”

  Extreme gratitude filled Ted, and his throat narrowed. “You did that for me by getting me here. Let me help you with this.”

  Nate swallowed, his jaw so tight. His eyes shone, and he nodded a couple of times. They finished unpacking the groceries before Nate said, “Not next weekend. It’s Connor’s birthday. The weekend after that?”

  “Works for me,” Ted said.

  “I’ll talk to Ginger. We’re going to need a few days.” He sighed as he folded up the reusable grocery bags. “Someone will have to watch Connor, and I don’t know if she can let us both go at the same time.”

  “Just let me know,” Ted said. “I’ll have to talk to Martin.”

  Nate nodded, stuffed the bags in the drawer where they kept them, and said, “Come on, Connor. We have chores on the ranch this morning.”

  The little boy got up and let Nate help him into a pair of cowboy boots while Missy put down the piglet and looked at Ted.

  “All right,” he said, blowing out his breath. “I called your…” He had no idea how to reference Fran. “Fran. Missy, what should I call her? Your mom? Your other mom? Fran?”

  Missy climbed up onto a barstool, her dark hair falling over her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. Momma calls her my other mom. Fran calls Momma my mom.” She shrugged as if this wasn’t an odd situation at all.

  Ted didn’t want it to be odd for them either. “Okay,” he said. “I called your other mom, and she gave me the recipe you two used when you made these cookies before.” He put his phone down and slid it toward her. “So it’s right there. I’m not great in the kitchen, so you’re gonna have to come help me.”

  Missy picked up his phone and smiled. “All right.” She got up and rounded the island. “Do you have an apron?”

  “Uh.” Ted literally ate from boxes and bags and bottles.

  “It’s okay,” Missy said. “Fran told me things would be different here.” She opened the fridge. “We need butter and eggs.” She continued to chit and chat as she put together the dough, and all Ted had to do was listen and ask questions and marvel at the maturity of this child.

  She reminded him so much of Emma, and Ted couldn’t wait to walk down the road and knock on that cabin door.

  What if she says no?

  Nate’s words became his own thought process.

  Ted resisted the thoughts. Emma just had to say yes. He didn’t want a long-term commitment. He just wanted a second chance with her.

  He’d gotten one in life, thanks to Nate, Dallas,
Slate, and Luke. And Ginger. And the four dogs waiting for him and Missy the moment they stepped out the front door.

  Ted carried the flowers and the baby piglet in the little purse she’d come in. Missy had the plate of cookies in her hands. Ted had practiced his apology, and he’d taken two minutes to brush his teeth and oil his beard while Missy put the freshly baked cookies on a plate.

  “Give me strength,” he murmured as he followed Emma’s daughter down the steps.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Emma had returned from the stables an hour ago, the scent of chocolate floating on the air as she’d passed the Annex. The desire to go inside and see what Ted and Missy were doing had been nearly impossible to resist.

  She’d even climbed the steps to the deck before realizing what she was doing.

  She’d scurried quickly back down to the yard and continued to her new home. She’d been working every waking minute for the past six days to get it habitable for her and her daughter. Fran and Matt had stayed yesterday for hours, helping get Missy’s bed set up with her comfortable and familiar blankets, stuffed animals, and trinkets. She had Polaroid pictures of her and her friends. Her and her other parents. Just her.

  Emma had cried for hours last night after Missy had gone to sleep. What was she doing, pulling this child from the only life and the only parents she’d ever known?

  Fran had called about one-thirty in the morning, claiming she couldn’t sleep because she knew Emma would be having a hard time. That had only made Emma cry harder. Fran had assured her and reassured her that she and Matt were okay.

  “We’ve always known she was only ours on loan,” Fran had said. “Please, Emma, don’t let this hurt you for too long.”

  Emma didn’t know how to make it stop hurting. She’d wanted Missy to have the best life possible, and she’d had it with Fran and Matt. She had friends, and a big window in her room that let in lots of light, and violin lessons. Fran had taught her how to cook and Matt had taught her how to ride a bike. They’d loved her and raised her as their own, and Emma couldn’t just let that all go.