A Cowboy at Heart

by Roz Denny Fox

  “I have no idea where their office is. I am planning to contact Social Services for our area. Wolfie and Cassie should be in school. All three of them need the stability of a real home.” His anger was evident. “Kids their age need a mom and a dad.”

  “I agree, but take their cases and multiply by a thousand.”

  Startled by Randi’s insight, Linc realized with a guilty start that it was inappropriate to discuss the children’s welfare with her, even if she was older than he’d first thought. He released her immediately.

  “If Scraps has sniffed enough car tires, you’d better go on inside. I’ll hang around out here for a bit. Just to make sure those characters don’t decide to make trouble.”

  If Randi felt his decision was odd or abrupt, she didn’t say so. “Scraps will nose around as long as I let him. He had a good home at one time, I think, from the way he hopped up on the bed before we went to the restaurant. He put his nose on his paws and didn’t attempt to follow us.”

  “Did you try to find his owner?”

  “You wouldn’t ask that if you’d seen the shape he was in the day I found him. He’d been kicked. And starved. Still, he had manners. That impressed me. I figure that anyone who’d beat a defenseless little terrier doesn’t deserve to have a pet. So Scraps is mine now, aren’t you, boy?” Bending over, she rubbed his sides vigorously. The dog rolled onto his back and stuck his feet in the air, begging for a belly rub. Miranda laughed and hauled him into her arms.

  Linc watched as the two exchanged kisses. That only seemed to magnify Randi’s womanly attributes and stirred the most masculine part of his anatomy, so he pounded on her door until Jenny rushed to let them in.

  “Good night,” he told her sharply, turning away. Linc rammed his key card in his own lock. Then he waited, because hers hadn’t closed. “Why aren’t you inside?”

  Faint frown lines formed between Miranda’s brows. “I, uh, thought you’d check on the boys and then poke your head in and say good night to Cassie and Hana.”

  “Right.” Linc snapped his fingers. “In fact, I have a rain slicker in the wheel well. I planned to put it between Hana’s sheet and mattress. If, as Wolfie claims, she has accidents every night, something waterproof may save the mattress.”

  “Oh. Good idea. So…will you bring it? Or shall I go with you to the SUV?”

  “You go supervise the bath. I’ll fetch the slicker. I’ll tap three times as a signal. That way there’s no reason to open the door for anyone else.”

  “Who else would knock at our door?”

  “You never know.” His irritation spiking again, Linc practically bit her head off. “Good grief, Randi, that ought to be common practice for a woman traveling the country alone.”

  She tossed her head defiantly. “I have Scraps. And friends. I’m not alone.”

  Linc, well aware that he’d overreacted again, excused himself. Damn, what was there about her that raised his protective hackles? As no clear answer presented itself, he took his sweet time retrieving the slicker.

  It was Jenny who opened the door and let him in. “That’s Hana’s side of the bed.” She pointed to one of the two queens in the room. “Randi’s in the bathroom washing their hair. She asked if you’d spread the slicker over the mattress for us.”

  “Sure.” Linc stripped back the sheet and arranged the yellow slicker across a spot where he thought Hana’s bottom might end up. “It sort of crackles,” he said after restoring order to the sheet and blankets. “I hope the noise doesn’t keep the kids awake all night.”

  “Is that you, Parker?” Randi called. Her voice sounded hollow, as if her head was underwater.

  He stepped into the next room and saw she’d shed her jacket. She’d rolled up her sleeves, showing the curve of pale slender arms.

  From the way the two children giggled and splashed in the bubbles, it was no wonder her voice had sounded muffled. Linc couldn’t contain a chuckle of his own, watching their antics.

  “You mentioned bringing shampoo?” Randi said. “Jenny and I are both almost out. I mixed what we had together for the girls. I don’t know when these two last had their hair washed. Not recently, I’m guessing.”

  “I’ll go get you my bottle. It’s only a travel size.”

  “My hair is so short now, I don’t need much.” She ran a soapy hand over her short curls.

  Linc envisioned her with long hair and suddenly backed from the room. He made a point of not seeing her the next time. Instead, he passed the bottle of shampoo to Jenny and prepared to withdraw.

  She yanked it out of his hand. “Thanks. I hope Randi hurries up. I’m tired, but I can’t shower until she finishes. I suppose the guys are flaked out already.”

  “I’m about to go see. Lock up as soon as I leave. Oh, and just knock on the wall if you need me for anything during the night.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like if Hana has a nightmare. Or if she really soaks the bed, you girls may want someone to run up to the office for dry sheets.”

  “I’ll tell Randi. I did my time playing mom, Parker. I’m never having kids, you know. They’re a royal pain in the ass.”

  Linc pretty much echoed her sentiment. However, he drew back politely and watched her close the door without comment. He carried away an image of Randi playing mother. Only in his fantasy, she wasn’t acting… Shaking off the alarming thought, Linc all but ran down the walkway. He knocked far too hard on the boys’ door.

  Wolfie yanked it open. “Sheesh, be quiet. Whaddaya want? I’m watchin’ TV. All those dudes are sleepin’. Is Hana okay? Dang, I knew she’d sop the bed or bawl her head off.” Sighing, the scrawny kid hitched up his too-large pants and started to step outside barefoot, regardless of the frosty night.

  “Hey, hey. This cement’s like ice. Your sister and Cassie were happily drying off after a bath when I checked. I came to see how you four are doing. If the others are out for the count, you might follow their lead,” he said pointedly.

  “I ain’t sleepy. And this TV’s cool. I ain’t got to watch any shows in forever. Well, not since I come to Rascal Ranch.”

  Linc glanced at his watch. “At this hour there’s probably nothing on that’s suitable for a kid your age.”

  “It’s a cop show. It’s almost over. Please, can I stay up and see the end? I hardly ever go to bed this early ’cause Hana has trouble fallin’ asleep.”

  Linc grinned at hearing a tough kid like Wolfie employ the word please. “All right. See the end. But then it’s lights out. I’m setting my alarm so we can get an early start. Oh, and about Hana—don’t worry tonight. Randi promised to look after her.”

  “Wow, okay! So what time should I be up? Four o’clock or five?”

  Linc’s jaw dropped. “More like seven or seven-thirty. The stores won’t open before ten. If we get everyone moving by eight, I figure that’ll give us plenty of time to eat breakfast next door before we check out.”

  “Seven? Are you kiddin’? Mr. Tucker always had me up choppin’ the morning firewood by five. I ain’t never slept to seven.” He stared past Linc toward the neon restaurant lights. “Do you think they have biscuits? The house mom we had when we first got to the ranch used to make biscuits once in a while. They was real good.” He rubbed his thin belly and licked his lips.

  “The restaurant’s specialty is breakfast. They probably serve biscuits.” Linc backed away and motioned for Wolfie to shut his door.

  A few minutes later, as he let himself into his own room, Linc’s mind wandered. Lord, he hoped those poor tadpoles landed in a foster home that served biscuits often. And where no boy of Wolfie’s age would be expected to be up at 5:00 a.m. chopping wood. Linc’s gut burned just thinking about such gross mistreatment.

  Hana’s crying woke him in the dead of night. Actually it felt like he’d barely drifted off. He’d stayed up late making phone calls. If it hurt to open his eyes, it was his own fault.

  Finally finding the lamp switch, Linc struggled into cold jeans. He half
expected a knock on his wall, and he pawed around for his shirt before he recalled wadding it up and stuffing it in his duffel. He’d planned to wear a fresh one in the morning.

  Boy, did that kid have a set of lungs. He’d probably have to drag Wolfie out to deal with her, otherwise she’d wake half the motel. Linc had no idea what they’d do if she got the lot of them tossed out at…2:00 a.m.?

  Groaning, he heard a toilet flush. Then water ran for a bit. All at once, as he was pulling on his second boot, the crying stopped. He swallowed his yawn while listening to low murmurs on the other side of the wall.

  His fingers began closing shirt buttons he was too tired to see. He sat for a moment, waiting. His wall-mounted heater kicked on as Linc strained to hear movement next door. Soon the heater shut off. All seemed quiet next door. He debated whether or not he should go tap on the girls’ door to satisfy his curiosity. But he decided to recline against the pillows for a minute first. The last thing he remembered was deciding to stay dressed while he waited for the next siege.

  Slamming doors and laughter pulled him once again from sleep. Bolting upright, Linc was shocked to see sunlight filtering in through blackout curtains that didn’t quite meet in the middle. He leapt from bed and dragged both hands over a chin scratchy with stubble. He reached for the curtain to look out, but was halted by a commotion at his door. “What the hell?” He fumbled with the locks and yanked it open wide.

  Randi stood grinning up at him. Hana—or at least it looked like Hana with shining reddish hair and a scrubbed cherub face—hopped up and down next to Cassie’s wheelchair. That girl, too, had been transformed into a radiant child with long dark hair tied up in pigtails with bright pink bows that matched the shirt peeking from beneath a tattered sweater.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead,” Randi chirped. She passed a steaming, aromatic take-out cup of coffee under his nose, deliberately looking Linc up and down. “Jeez, Linc, you look like something Scraps dragged in.”

  “Good. Because that’s how I feel. Give me that coffee.” He lunged for the cup and popped off the lid. Closing his eyes, he took a long satisfying swallow. “What makes you all so cheerful at this unholy hour?”

  “Not a morning person, are we?” Randi cooed. “Wolfie said you wanted to get an early start. It’s coming up on eight.”

  “No way!” Linc shot a cuff on his now-wrinkled clean shirt and went so far as to shake his watch next to his ear. His expression said he didn’t believe his eyes.

  Randi merely smiled and nodded her dark spiky curls. The color shone jet-black next to her creamy cheeks. It crossed Linc’s mind that she’d colored her hair again.

  “Where are the boys?” he asked, instead of commenting on her hair, which wasn’t really any of his business.

  “They’re watching some rerun on TV. Jenny begged for a few extra winks, so Cassie, Hana and I walked up to the office to get coffee.” If there was anything Miranda loved, it was a huge bracing cup of coffee in the morning.

  “I heard you up once during the night with Hana. Then…” Linc shook his head. “That’s the last thing I recall.”

  Randi ran her fingers through Hana’s bright curls. “We had a visit from those nasty old night monsters. But we kicked them out and told them not to come back, didn’t we, honey?”

  The child smiled shyly up at Linc. “Randi did. Kicked ’em out. Then I went potty, and…and…I didn’t wake up no more, ’cause I didn’t wet my bed.”

  “For that, I think Hana deserves a special treat at breakfast. We are fixin’ to eat, aren’t we?” Miranda asked.

  “Absolutely. Give me a minute to run a razor over my face and hop in the shower.” Again Linc rubbed the bristles. He felt Randi giving him the once-over, and he saw an altogether too astute appraisal in her smoky eyes.

  “You guys go round everyone up. And pack your stuff,” he added. “I’ll shower fast. Be ready to go to the restaurant in fifteen minutes.” He shut the door in their faces. However, the calculation in Randi’s eyes set off warning bells in Linc’s sleep-fogged brain. He needed that shower—a cold one—to shock his brain back on track. Still, he hadn’t been out of the dating circuit so long that he didn’t recognize feminine interest when he saw it. And that had been interest in Randi’s eyes. Twenty-six, she’d claimed to be. Damn! That wasn’t a complication he needed.

  Outside Lincoln Parker’s tightly closed door, Miranda stood for a minute with her nose almost touching the wood. She tried to digest what had just happened between her and Parker. Something knee-knocking, that was for sure.

  Belatedly regaining her composure, she stepped back, sucked in a deep breath and fanned her hot cheeks.

  “What’s wrong, Randi?” Cassie tugged on Miranda’s sleeve. “Shouldn’t we wake Jenny? Mr. Parker said we had fifteen minutes. If somebody’s late and he gets mad, he might not buy us breakfast.”

  The worry Miranda saw pinching the narrow little face, coupled with real fear blinking out from behind the round glasses, forced Miranda’s mind off what had just happened between her and Linc.

  “Oh, sweetie, Mr. Parker told Wolfie we’d get breakfast. He doesn’t strike me as a man who’d go back on his word.”

  Cassie hunched her narrow shoulders. “Lots of people make promises to kids, and then they do somethin’ else.”

  “We will eat,” Randi said, staunchly sticking up for Linc.

  And they did. He breezed out barely two minutes later than his requested fifteen. All the kids surrounded his door. He deliberately avoided making eye contact with Randi, instead asking, “Anybody in this group hungry?”

  A chorus of yes almost bowled him over, Shawn’s louder than the rest. “I’m plain starved. I hope I get at least six pancakes.”

  Linc spared a glance for a boy he already feared was a bottomless pit. Perhaps Shawn had gone without food for so long that his urge to eat his fill when offered the chance overpowered his good sense. “If there’s not enough in one order, Shawn, we’ll order for a second round. Because after breakfast we’re going shopping. It’s a fact there’s nothing that saps a man’s energy more than shopping.”

  “Girls can shop for hours, even days on end,” Jenny said. “It’s the most fun to shop for cool clothes and things, though. What are we going to buy today?”

  “I have a long list.” Linc shooed them in the direction of the restaurant. “We’ll divide it up after we put in our food order.”

  Eric scowled. “Divide the list? How, when none of us has any money?”

  “Well, Eric, I plan on giving you some.”

  “You mean you’re, uh, gonna trust us with cash?”

  Linc opened the door to the restaurant, holding it to let the kids pass. He looked each of them in the eye before asking Eric softly, “Is there some reason I shouldn’t trust you?”

  “No. No reason, man.” Eric threw back his shoulders.

  “What are you gonna be doing if we’re buying supplies?” Greg posed the question after they’d all sat.

  Linc was glad the usual morning breakfast crowd had cleared out. They had the dining room virtually to themselves. “I have some big-ticket items to order, like baseboard heaters, a dishwasher and new mattresses. Those, of course, will have to be shipped. You kids will purchase the things we’ll take home today. Groceries, cleaning supplies, maybe some warmer clothes. Oh, and feed. I have some horses due to be delivered at the end of the week. We’ll need grain to get us by until the bulk hay and oats arrive. By spring I’m hoping we’ll have fields of sweet grass to turn the horses out in.”

  “Did you order fertilizer?” Eric shifted in his seat several times, obviously uncomfortable with the tide of the conversation.

  “I did. I have a friend who farms out near Bakersfield. He gave me a rundown on what to order and who to order from. If you have experience spreading fertilizer or planting trees, that’s a plus I hadn’t counted on.”

  “I can plow furrows and spread cow manure,” Eric said. “But I’ll tell you what I told my old man. I’m
a musician, not a farmer.”

  “I understand your stay at the ranch isn’t permanent, Eric. In fact, you’re free to leave any time.” He glanced up and greeted the waitress who’d come to take their order.

  After she left, Linc pulled out Randi’s original list and removed a small notebook from his shirt pocket. “For those of you who intend to stay and help out at the ranch, I’ll split this list among you.”

  All but Eric raised their hands.

  “Jenny. Shawn.” Eric scowled at them. “We made a pact. We’re going to spend this winter writing songs and composing new arrangements. Come spring, we’ll cut a demo CD somehow. Then we’ll make the rounds of producers again.”

  Miranda gnawed on the inside of her cheek. She wished she’d known about this plan before she’d hooked up with them. Making the rounds of music studios was the very last thing she wanted to do.

  Jenny pouted. “Eric, you promised we could stay here till spring. You know how scummy the L.A. shelters are.”

  “Yeah, Eric.” Shawn reached eagerly for the plate the waitress held out to him. “I’m all for going back by April…or so. But if Mr. Parker’s gonna let us leave whenever we decide, then I vote we bunk at the ranch and help out with chores for a while.”

  Eric brushed aside his dangling dreadlocks. “You stupid jerks don’t have any idea what it’s like shoveling a mountain of cow shit into the back of a spreader. It’s backbreaking work that can kill a guy young. My uncle kicked the bucket at thirty-three. He fell over in the middle of hooking the harrow up to his tractor.”

  Linc waited until everyone had been served before he broke into their argument. “Eric, the state welfare office wouldn’t let me make the ranch a homeless teen haven if I planned to work you kids so hard you keel over. I want this to be a good experience for all concerned.”

  Eric glowered as he dug into his pancakes.

  “However, I expect you to pull your weight if you want to eat like Shawn prefers to eat. I explained how the ranch will pay its way. Let me be clear on another thing. I’m not running a jam site for would-be musicians. My bunkhouses are to be used for sleep and relaxation. Not all residents will share your taste in music. So I want your word. During the time you spend at Felicity’s Refuge, which is what I’m renaming the ranch, I’ll expect an honest day’s work for a nominal wage and three daily nutritional meals.”