Last Second Chance (A Thomas Family Novel Book 2)

by Kristi Cramer

  “Trying what, Janie?”

  “Well, don’t let this scare you, but I’d like to try having a relationship with you.”

  He was still as he leaned against her, only the brush of his thumb against her arm giving any indication that he was still present with her. She was about to kick herself for using the “R word” when he sighed.

  “You’re amazing, Janie. I’ve never known anyone as honest and caring as you. I’d be honored to have a relationship with you. I only hope I deserve to be your man.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, cowboy,” she said. “All the signs point to you having come a long way, through some really bad choices and awful circumstances, to be right where you are right now. You made the hard choice to change your life. You worked hard every day that I’ve known you, and you’re on your way to carving out a real life for yourself. Today, you fought hard to protect me, the townsfolk, and yourself. You fought hard to do the right thing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I bet it never even crossed your mind that going back to her would be the easier thing to do, the easy way out.”

  He was silent again, but not for too long. He turned his head so he could look at her, and she turned to face him. Instead of words, he simply closed the distance between them and gave her a kiss—possibly the sweetest kiss she’d ever known.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  By the light of the full moon, Tim, Janie, and Mr. Thomas headed for the Homeplace. The fire was out, the old homestead only sustaining minimal damage. Angelisa and her henchmen were on their way to the hospital, then jail. The coroner had picked up the body of the guy who had tried to kill Janie.

  Tim couldn’t work himself up to be sad about that death, except that Janie had been concerned about how her father was dealing with it.

  All the sheriff and fire vehicles had cleared out, leaving the three who had arrived on horseback to ride home.

  He had been warned that they’d have to make statements to the authorities tomorrow, and he knew he’d have to see a doctor about his ankle. But for now, there was only the night wind, the horses, and Janie and her father to think about. Mr. Thomas rode a short distance behind them, bringing up the rear of their little party, and Tim couldn’t help but wonder whether the man was keeping an eye on him, as well as watching out for Janie.

  He couldn’t blame him either way.

  The prairie looked like an alien planet in the moonlight, and he had to trust Roo to safely put his feet down. As they walked the tired horses at a gentle pace, Tim found himself imagining what it had been like to settle this area back in the day.

  He looked up at the bright moon and virtual blanket of starlight, and sensed rather than heard Janie bring Carmelita in closer. Without saying a word, he held out his hand and she reached out and took it.

  “How’s your ankle?”

  “Throbbing,” he said. “I’m glad our route back to the Homeplace is more direct than the way we took out.”

  “We should be there in about ten minutes. Do you want to stop a while and put it up?”

  “No. I’ll be fine.”

  She squeezed his hand and they fell silent again. A few minutes later, Mr. Thomas rode up alongside them. Tim wanted to apologize—again—for everything that had happened, but he kept his mouth shut.

  “Hell of a day,” he said in that gruff way of his. “Can’t say I’m too happy about it.”

  “Daddy....” Janie began, but Colton waved a hand and she fell silent.

  “I killed a man. I’d do it again to protect my family.” Tim saw the brim of his hat bob as he nodded. “Was good to see you fighting, Reardon. If anything had happened to my girl—” He stopped to clear his throat. “Well, I reckon what you did today ’bout makes up for the fact that gal came out here at all. If I had any notion you had more enemies out there, I’d send you back where you came from. But Mitzi tells me some cop in Denver gave away your location, and you should be clear of any more trouble. She also said she was proud of you.”

  The news that Mitzi had vouched for him was heartening. “I couldn’t live with myself if I brought any more danger to Janie, or any of the family,” he said earnestly. “If I thought someone else might turn up, I’d leave right now. But as long as Angelisa goes down for this....”

  He couldn’t finish. He hadn’t thought she would come for him in the first place, so how could he trust the instinct that told him there were no more ghosts from his past on the horizon? “The only thing I can swear to is that I will die before I let anyone hurt any of you.”

  He heard Janie’s sharp intake of breath, but before she could say anything, Colton grunted. “Good to hear, son. Reckon I’m not the only one who’ll hold you to that.”

  Without another word, he spurred his horse over the hill they’d been climbing. Moments later, they crested the rise and saw the lights of the Homeplace burning brightly below them. It looked like every light was on, and there were more than the usual number of vehicles parked around the yard.

  “Tim?” Janie asked, tugging on his hand as they stopped just before going down the hill.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think it’s over? Is there anyone else who wants to hurt you?”

  That was the second biggest question on his mind, and he hadn’t yet come up with an answer that satisfied him one hundred percent.

  “I wish I knew, Janie. I mean, the odds are that anyone she left in Denver is going to have their hands full fighting the other dealers for control of her business. Mitzi thinks she’ll get put away for a long time for Kenny’s murder, and by the time she gets out, well.... My gut says it’s over, but I’ve thought that before.”

  Janie nodded. “Well, if something happens, we’ll deal with it, I guess.”

  “We?” he asked, a lump forming in his throat.

  “Yes. We.”

  ⋘⋆⋙

  Janie smiled her reassurance at Tim as they headed down the hill together. They dismounted in front of the barn and started to head in to give Carmelita and Roo well-deserved rubdowns when she caught sight of a familiar SUV parked beside her LUV.

  Cody.

  She saw him on the porch of the main house, talking with her father. Then he looked her way and headed down the stairs. Before he cleared the bottom step, the front screen door flew open and Kylie leapt down all three steps and raced across the yard toward them. She barreled straight into Janie, nearly knocking her down.

  “Easy, Kylie,” Janie said, wrapping her arms around her daughter. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

  Kylie cried out in relief, not letting go as she stammered unintelligibly into Janie’s ear. But by the time Cody reached them, Kylie had pulled herself together enough to let her mother hold her at arm’s length and frame her daughter’s face in her hands.

  “I’m okay,” Janie repeated.

  “I was so worried about you that I was a wreck. Dad had to drive me out,” Kylie said, looking past her mother at Tim, awkward curiosity on her face.

  “Well, it’s over now,” Janie said with heartfelt certainty. “There’s no question in my mind that we have seen the last of Angelisa Salgado. Between your granddaddy and Tim, the bad guys have surely learned not to mess with the boys of Syracuse.”

  Kylie rolled her eyes at her mother before she hugged her again. “I’m so happy you’re safe. Introduce me to Tim.”

  Tim had hung back from the reunion, but Janie pulled him forward. “Kylie, Cody, this is Tim Reardon, Mitzi’s brother and, well...my boyfriend.” She gestured to Tim. “Tim, this is my daughter, Kylie, and her father, Cody Buford.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Kylie,” Tim said, nodding. To Janie’s surprise, he shook Cody’s hand. “And good to see you again, Cody.”

  “Again?” she said, but Kylie interrupted, the corners of her mouth turning down in a frown.

  “Since when is he your boyfriend?” she asked.

  “Pretty much since earlier today when we went to the fair together. We were having a great time until....”

&nbs
p; “Until someone from his past showed up and tried to kill you?”

  “Kylie!”

  “Did you know he’s been in prison, Mom? Aunt Mitzi told me.”

  “Yes, I know. He told me all about it, and Aunt Mitzi confirmed he told me everything.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” She looked between Janie and Cody when she said this.

  “Kylie Thomas!” Janie said sharply, forcing her daughter to look at her. “Tim has paid for his crimes, and has only ever been kind and considerate to me in the month he’s been here. I’ve been working with him closely to care for Roo, who loves and trusts him enough to literally run through fire for him. He took a stand today against a shadow from his past when he could have run or gone willingly back to his old life. Don’t presume to judge a man by his past actions, not when he has made, is making, a serious effort to live a better life and be a better man.”

  The words she spoke rang in her ears, and she didn’t miss the significance of their meaning when it came to someone else in her present company. It appeared they weren’t lost on Kylie, either, since any protest she might have made did not make it out. Kylie watched intently as Janie stepped closer to Cody.

  “I realized something today,” she said, reaching out to take his hand. “Life is too short to do anything other than live it, Cody. I’ve been withholding forgiveness from you, doing my best to hold us both in the past. But not anymore.” She felt more than a little pretentious, but decided to say the words out loud anyway. “I hope you will forgive me because, finally, I can honestly say I forgive you.”

  She pulled Cody into a hug, and heard his breath catch in his throat. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear. She didn’t linger in his arms, though, stepping back before it could get too awkward.

  Glancing at Tim, she thought he looked a little forlorn, so she pulled him close and held his hand.

  “As far as I’m concerned, Tim and I have as much chance at working out as any other couple. Maybe even better since we just got to see the other through a tense situation and neither of us cracked under the pressure.”

  She slipped her arm around his waist. That was all the prompting he needed. He draped his arm across her shoulders, turning to look down at her with a smile of gratitude before he looked up at Kylie.

  “Your mom is important to me, Kylie...more important than breathing. I know my past isn’t anything to shout about. I left prison with blind faith and a whole lot of prayer that I could turn my life around, but I never had much to look forward to until I got here. It’s my goal to deserve the faith Janie has in me, and while I may not be perfect at it....”

  His voice faltered into silence. Janie squeezed him to her briefly, but it was Kylie who spoke up, repeating words she had heard from Gramma Maddy often enough. “Nobody is perfect before they get around to pushing up daisies.”

  Both Kylie and Cody wore bemused expressions.

  “I reckon you’ll do, Mr. Reardon,” Kylie continued as Cody reached out and gripped Tim’s hand again.

  Janie looked for some kind of tension between the two men, but it was hard to tell—they played it cool. Janie decided she wasn’t going to worry about it tonight.

  “Come on, Mr. Reardon,” she said. “Let’s take care of our horses so we can go to bed. Tomorrow can wait, but our four-legged friends can’t.”

  With that, they turned toward the barn, and the pair of weary horses followed them inside.

  “Thank you,” Tim said once the horses were cross-tied and ready for grooming.

  “Every word was true,” she said. “I’m done worrying about the past, and I’m ready to go forward without worrying about the future. All we really have is the moment we’re experiencing, so I plan to be here, in the now.”

  “And you want me here, in your now?”

  She smiled, reached her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him lightly on the mouth. Before he could respond by deepening the kiss, she pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. “Absolutely. As long as we’re both working at being good for each other, I think the odds are in our favor. That is, if you want me in your now.”

  “This is our now, Janie. And it is the best place I can ever hope to be.”

  ⋘⋆⋙

  A word about the

  Nokota® Horse Conservancy

  (From their website)

  The Nokota® Horse Conservancy is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to preserve the unique and historical Nokota® Horse. These wild horses of the northern plains inhabited the Little Missouri badlands, now encompassed by Theodore Roosevelt National Park, for more than a century. They were removed by the National Park Service and sold during the 1980s and 1990s. The vast majority of the remaining Nokota® horses now survive on the overburdened Kuntz Ranch. The goals of the Nokota® Horse Conservancy are to preserve these important horses by caring for them, promoting awareness of their plight, value, and use to others, and by working to establish a sanctuary where they can survive into the future.

  For more information, go to www.nokotahorse.org.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank the people who helped me wrangle the finer details of this book. Manette Pacheco, who verified I haven’t made an idiot of myself with the horses. Charlie Hautman, who helped with details about Nokotas and the (slightly controversial) treatment of a case of laminitis. Johnny, Marissa, Manette, and Dana, my “alpha” readers, who confirmed that Last Second Chance is indeed a tale worth telling. Kim Young, my editor, who helped whip it into shape. Charlene, my “beta” reader, who was my last best defense against errors in this manuscript. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Christian, who designed the cover for me, making all the small adjustments until it was just right.

  You are all integral to the creation of this novel. I can write the story, but I would never dream of trying to publish without your vital help. Any errors that remain have surely been added after it was handed back to me.

  Last, but not least, thanks go out to Leo Kuntz for providing the picture of “Roo” for my Pinterest page.

  Learning about the plight of the Nokotas has inspired me to create some characters with more than two legs for this story in the hopes that more people will learn about them, grow to love them as much as I do, and reach out to help support their survival.

  For more information about Nokota horses and the Nokota Horse Conservancy, visit www.nokotahorse.org.

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  Watch for the other

  Thomas Family Novels:

  Last Shot at Justice

  Detective Mitzi Reardon just became the prime suspect in a murder she didn’t commit. On the run from enemies and coworkers alike, Mitzi must put her trust in Blue Thomas, an old-school cowboy from Kansas.

  One Last Song

  Kidnapped, Jax Belamy and Kylie Thomas must escape their captors before they’re taken across the border into a human-trafficking nightmare.

  And coming in 2017 – Last Refuge

  When the Lazy J Ranch finds itself in need of a cook, the arrival of a secretive Creole woman is a surprising answer to their prayers. But
there’s far more to Savannah Dawn’s story than she’s letting on.

  (Release Date to be announced.)

  ⋘⋆⋙

  Find information on this (and other titles) at:

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  All titles by Kristi Cramer

  In The Knights of Juneau series:

  Standalone novels featuring the Knight family, residents of Juneau, Alaska.

  Knight Before Dawn (#1)

  The Thomas Family Novels:

  Standalone novels featuring characters connected to the Thomas Family of Syracuse, Kansas.

  Last Shot at Justice (#1)

  Last Second Chance (#2)

  One Last Song (#3)

  With Elaine Cramer:

  Adult Dark Humor

  The Musician & the Alien

  (a Sci-Fi short)

  Historical Fantasy for the Whole Family