Her Unlikely Cowboy

by Debra Clopton

  Just as Tucker made it to the trees, the skies opened up with torrential rain. God answered prayers sometimes in mysterious ways. Abe would have to slow down now.

  Ahead of him a lightning bolt lit the dark sky and thunder instantly shattered the silence with a deafening blast—reminding him of a mortar exploding.

  It was too close.

  “Abe!” he shouted, just as another bolt of lightning and crack of thunder split the sky open. Texas thunderstorms blew in with unexpected power some days, and this was not weather they’d anticipated when they’d chosen to bring the boys on this cattle drive. He heard a yell up ahead and plunged forward through the brush that tore at him. He pulled up short when he saw Abe, thrown from his horse, lying sprawled on his back. As soon as he saw Tucker, he tried to scramble up but couldn’t. Within seconds Tucker was out of the saddle and kneeling beside him.

  “Go away,” Abe yelled, wiping rain and maybe tears from his face as he glared at Tucker.

  Tucker ignored him, too intent on getting him to safety. “Are you hurt? We need to get out of this.”

  “I can get myself out of this. I don’t need you. Stay away from my mother.”

  Lightning cracked and thunder rolled and the sound of a tree splintering could be heard somewhere not too far away.

  “Where does it hurt?” Tucker demanded. His commanding tone, one developed and fine-tuned in war zones, left no room for denial. His unwavering gaze locked on to Abe’s.

  “My ankle,” Abe snapped, giving in.

  Tucker wasted no time. Slipping his arm under Abe’s, he hauled the teen up. “Here we go, roles reversed from our first meeting.”

  Abe grunted, and grimaced with pain.

  “I’m going to get us out of this weather before we get struck by lightning or hit by a falling tree. You can blast me with whatever you want once you’re safe. Hang on.”

  Abe winced as Tucker hauled him up and over his shoulder. Intent on his mission to get the kid to safety, Tucker moved at a fast pace through the woods.

  “Where are you going?” Abe asked, his hands pressing against Tucker’s shoulder blades to balance himself.

  “There’s a cave near here where we can sit out the storm. Rowdy discovered it when we were kids. You were heading right to it and didn’t know it.” Tucker didn’t say it out loud, but he looked at that coincidence as divine intervention. He’d put them not fifty yards from the cave.

  In the woods, it was almost as dark as night with the storm clouds blotting out the sun above the canopy of trees. But even still, he knew where the cave was. “Me and my brothers spent many a night in this cave we’re going to. Rowdy discovered it after our mother died. It became our shelter when the grief overwhelmed one of us.”

  Abe didn’t say anything, but Tucker felt him tense. The cave came into view, a ledge more than an actual cave, it would provide shelter from the storm.

  Ducking low he carried Abe to the farthest corner from the opening and set him down gently so that he could lean back against the rock wall.

  Abe wiped water from his face, his gaze dug into Tucker as he pushed the leg of Abe’s jeans up and then began to ease off his boot. “Your ankle is swollen, all right. We’ll need to elevate it.”

  “You kissed my mother.” The words were accusing.

  Tucker had lost his head after pulling Suzie from the water. He shouldn’t have kissed her like that in front of Abe and the others. But he’d lost his head...he hadn’t been thinking.

  “Yeah, I did.” The truth was all he could do. “Abe, talk to me,” he urged. When Abe said nothing, Tucker moved over to a thick, flat rock that was about a foot wide and he pushed it to the side, exposing a hole where a baggie of matches and lighters were stored.

  He held them up for Abe to see. “These have been here for a long time. And the wood, too. We had a rule growing up—anyone could come here when they needed to get away, but they had to leave wood and matches for the next person’s first fire.” He opened the bag and pulled out the box of matches. “It’s a good idea, even all these years later.”

  Abe had crossed his arms and pressed his back into the rock as if to get as far away from Tucker as he could.

  Tucker studied the wood and the matches. “This isn’t left over from me fifteen years ago. I think someone else has been visiting here since me and my brothers and your dad were here.”

  “My dad came here?” he asked gruffly.

  “Yeah, he had times when he needed to be alone, too. When your family dies or cuts you loose in the world before your time...it leaves a lot of anger. You aren’t the only one who’s ever dealt with them, you know. Your dad needed quiet time to think, too. So did I and my brothers. So do most of the boys who come to Sunrise Ranch. And no, you aren’t like them. You had two parents who loved you deeply and cared deeply for you. You still have your mom.”

  Abe looked sullen.

  “Being here among these boys doesn’t mean you’re like them. I know you are having abandonment issues, but there is no reason to, because you haven’t been and never were. You need to let that go.”

  Abe glared at him then looked away, studying the rain pouring over the edge of the entrance like a waterfall blocking out the world. “Yeah, Wes has been talking to me.”

  Leave it to Wes. The kid might be determined to be a champion bull rider, but his calling was as a counselor.

  “That’s good. You need to talk to others. Wes is a great one to talk to.”

  “He told me I need to let it go. I tried. That shrink said the same thing. But...”

  “You don’t want anyone messing with your mom.”

  He nodded.

  Tucker fought off a sigh that wanted freedom. What could he say? He wasn’t about to make promises to the kid he couldn’t keep. “I had planned on bringing you here, but things kept getting in the way,” he said instead. “I think today God said it was time.”

  Grabbing a handful of kindling he started working on a fire. Within moments, a small but warm fire glowed between them. Abe had grown more sullen and glared at the fire, lost in his own world of hurt and anger.

  After a few quiet moments he rubbed his ankle. “Because of you, my dad is dead.”

  The words stretched between them like dead weight. “I would have given my life for your dad. But, instead, your dad gave his life for—not just me, but his entire unit. I hate that he died, but, Abe, he would have done it for any one of the guys in the unit. This wasn’t about me, at all, but about the kind of man your dad was. I hate it with all my heart that it killed him. But he was a proud marine and his own man. He chose to lay his life down for me and the others.”

  Abe was so tense that he looked as though he might break in half. His eyes misted. “He left me. Left Mom.”

  Tucker’s heart hurt for Abe. He remembered well the feeling of abandonment he and his brothers felt when their mother died. “He didn’t abandon you, Abe. He made the choice he could live with.”

  Abe glared at him. “But he didn’t live.”

  The truth played across Tucker’s thoughts as clear as springwater. “If your father hadn’t at least tried to save me—if he hadn’t tried to stop the shooter—it wouldn’t have been something he could have lived with. Your dad was a man who followed a code of ethics. He would never have walked away from a fellow marine in need without first doing what he needed to do. Even if that meant dying.”

  Big tears streamed down Abe’s face, built-up pain and grief escaping in a river of release. Tucker looked at the small fire and prayed that this could be God’s time of healing for this kid. Reaching out, he laid his hand on Abe’s shoulder. “You are a strong young man, Abe. You are, after all, your father’s child and your mom’s.”

  Abe brushed his damp cheeks with the backs of his hands, and nodded.

  Encouraged, Tucker cont
inued, “You are made of tough stuff. The anger you’ve locked inside is normal. No one wants to lose someone they love. Someone they need. Me and my brothers have walked through this valley, too—and, in many ways, your dad and all of these boys here at Sunrise Ranch. You are not alone.”

  “I know,” he whispered.

  “But, Abe, your grief and the pain you feel is uniquely yours, and you have to grieve in your own way. The same goes for your mother.”

  Abe swallowed hard and stared at him.

  “Eventually, you will both have to move forward. To be healthy, it’s the only way. Your mother is trying.”

  Abe remained silent and Tucker prayed his words were sinking in to Abe’s heart.

  “And that goes for me, too. Your dad’s death is similar to Jesus giving His life for all of us so that we could live. It was a gift beyond measure. And I’m unworthy of it but struggling to be a man of honor and strength who Gordon would be proud of. And I’ll always be here for you. And for your mother.”

  Abe studied him.

  “Why did you kiss my mother?”

  He held Abe’s gaze and thought carefully about how best to answer him. “Because I’ve come to care deeply for your mother. Today, it terrified me when I thought I’d lost her. I kissed her out of relief.” It was the truth, part of it anyway. Now was not the time to tell Abe that he loved Suzie.

  The flames flickered in the kid’s eyes, exposing so much pain. He nodded. “Good. I like you, Tucker, but...”

  “It’s okay, Abe. You don’t have to explain. We’ll get through this.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “They’ll be all right,” Randolph said, coming to stand beside Suzie at the window of the camp house, where they were escaping the storm. It had been built by Randolph’s dad when he’d bought the ranch. “Tucker will find him, and they’ll find shelter and sit this storm out.”

  Chilled to the bone, and not because of the weather, she wrapped her arms around her waist and took a deep breath. “I hope so.”

  “I know my son and he’s resourceful. Plus, he and his brothers have roamed every inch of this ranch and know places to hole up that even I don’t know. As soon as this passes over, I’ll send all my ranch hands out to search, too, so don’t worry. Tucker will know that. As soon as it’s safe to travel he’ll be on the move.”

  “If he can. If they’re both able,” she added.

  “Yes. Now, would you want to come help scrounge something up to feed these boys? You don’t have to help but it would give you something to do other than stand here and worry.”

  Morgan and Chet had immediately started a fire when they’d made it inside the cabin, and all the boys were gathered around it to warm themselves after being drenched. Wes was once more entertaining them with stories of his first semester of college and bull-riding escapades.

  “Yes, I’ll do that. I know they are not going to materialize outside this window in between lightning bolts.”

  She followed him to the corner where the rustic kitchen area had been set up. There was a gas stove and cabinets where she found large and small containers of canned food. There were several gallon-size cans of chili and they opted for that. There was also a large glass jar with a label on it that said Nana’s Cocoa.

  “As you can tell, Nana keeps the place stocked up for emergencies, large or small.”

  Suzie smiled up at Randolph. “I have a feeling she stays on top of any and every situation that could arise.”

  He smiled the devastating smile that he’d passed down to each of his sons. “My mother is a wonder, that is for certain.”

  Working as a team they prepared the meal while Chet and Morgan donned slickers from a closet and went out to check on the horses and the livestock.

  Time ticked by, and Suzie tried not to think about it. Still, Abe’s fury at seeing Tucker kissing her kept flashing through her mind. When she’d been in the river, the undercurrent was so strong, and though she’d been fighting, she’d felt like a rag doll at its mercy. When Tucker had pulled her out of that water and wrapped her in his arms she’d known she never wanted to leave the security and love she felt there.

  Love. It had become so clear that she’d fallen for the lawman despite all the reasons not to. Despite the fact that she’d had no desire to fall for anyone, and especially him.

  But she had.

  Still, Abe’s angry outburst had instantly brought her back to the real world. She pushed the turmoil in her mind away and concentrated on boiling water for hot chocolate and stirring the large pot of chili.

  When the food was almost ready, Randolph asked her if she could handle it alone, and when she said yes he thanked her, then grabbed a slicker and went out to find Morgan and Chet.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if he was more concerned than he was letting on.

  Randolph had found a stash of paper cups and bowls—bless Nana’s heart—and he’d placed them on the rough counter separating the kitchen from the living area where the boys were. Shutting her mind off, she focused on her task.

  “Time to eat, boys,” she called, and that was all it took to start a stampede.

  “Thanks, Ms. Suzie,” Sammy said, and more thanks raced from the others as they came through the line and she ladled chili into their bowls.

  “You think Tucker and Abe are okay?” B.J. asked.

  “Yes, they are,” Wes answered from behind the little boy. Wes met her gaze with solid eyes. Eyes that said he believed what he was saying. “Tucker will make sure of it.”

  He smiled, and Joseph agreed instantly, and through the trepidation that was suffocating her, she smiled back at them. She had fallen in love with all of these boys in the weeks since she and Abe had been here, and in the short time Wes and Joseph had been home she’d done the same with them.

  “I believe they are all right,” she said, realizing that in her heart of hearts she knew that Tucker would not have stopped until he found Abe. The surety of that wrapped around her reassuringly.

  The problem was, had he found Abe yet? After the boys all had their food, she walked to the window and stared out into the storm.

  “Please let them be safe, dear Lord. Please,” she whispered the words of prayer and worked at forcing herself to believe that God would bring Abe home to her. She couldn’t lose someone else...didn’t want to think about it.

  God hadn’t brought Gordon home to them, so she knew there were no guarantees in this life.

  The rain was hitting the window sideways, the wind was blowing so hard, and rivers of it ran down the pane making it almost impossible to see anything but a blurry gray evening turning into night.

  Lightning sizzled across the sky, and right on its heels another bolt made a jagged stab at the earth so close that she jumped.

  Closing her eyes, she prayed harder and fought the helplessness that engulfed her.

  Abe had run away because of her. He saw Tucker kissing her, and—if she admitted the truth—he saw her kissing Tucker back.

  She’d been trying all evening to deny it, but she couldn’t. She had to take the blame and not put it solely on Tucker. She’d known in the water, when she’d believed she could be about to die, that she’d regretted not giving the emotions she felt for Tucker a fighting chance.

  And what were these emotions?

  She’d fallen in love with the strong, caring cowboy. But what if Abe couldn’t accept that?

  What then?

  * * *

  The storm had settled in for most of the night, so Tucker and Abe had sat it out inside the dank but dry shelter. He’d worried all night about Suzie and prayed that she knew he had her son safe. Abe had finally fallen to sleep after their conversation. And, somewhere along the way, Tucker had slept for a short while. But the sun wasn’t quite up when he shook Abe awake.

&
nbsp; “It’s cleared up. I think we should get started. Dad and Morgan will have the ranch swarming with folks searching for us if we don’t get back soon after sunrise. Plus, your mom is probably sick with worry and no sleep.”

  He looked ashamed. “I’m sorry for that.”

  “She’ll just be glad you’re okay.”

  “I’m going to try and take care of her.”

  Tucker gave the boy a nod. “You’ll do a fine job of it.”

  Abe had told him the same thing Suzie had, that they were moving into the apartment. It was probably for the best, and time would make things better. “Where are the horses?”

  “They’re either near or will have headed back toward the ranch. If they’ve made it back before us, then that will make everyone worry all the more. So we better get going.”

  “Okay.”

  Tucker had already put out the fire. He helped Abe stand, drew Abe’s arm over his shoulder, and they started down the hill, moving as fast as they could, given the sprained ankle.

  The sun began to peek over the horizon quickly; a good thing, since the ground was slippery.

  They worked their way down the hillside they’d ridden up. They didn’t talk much, but Abe didn’t seem as sullen or angry. When they made it to the bottom of the hill and were on more even land, traveling across an open pasture, Tucker asked how Abe was.

  The kid hefted a shoulder. “Fine, I guess. I thought about what you said, and I know my dad would want better of me. For my mom. I’m the man of the house now.”

  “Yes, that’s true. But you don’t need to let that pressure you.”

  Abe gave him a long look as they trudged forward. “I’m going to try and use it like you’re doing. I’m going to try and let my dad’s death make me a better man. Not that you weren’t a good man. I know all about the men you saved and how you are a hero. The guys talk about it all the time. Wes showed me stuff on the internet. Said you didn’t put any of your medals out for display. So I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, you know, you’re...you’re trying to carry my dad’s torch along with you.”