Come Home, Cowboy

by Cathy McDavid

  The formula came out too hot—he really needed to get the hang of microwaving—and he burned the eggs. A second effort at both went better. He was even able to fix some toast.

  Joining Nathan at the table, Josh gobbled down his breakfast while spoon-feeding Kimberly mashed bananas. They’d barely finished, and a glance at the clock caused him to jump to his feet. Eight fifteen. He was late. Very late.

  He hadn’t yet found his shirt when it became apparent Kimberly required another diaper changing. “Jeez,” he said to no one in particular. “At this rate, I’ll go broke in a month.”

  Josh headed with Kimberly to the bedroom. A knock sounded at the door before he’d finished changing her.

  “Coming,” he called and hurried to the living room, Kimberly bouncing in his arms. She liked that and laughed.

  Cara stood outside the door on the landing, her half smile fading at the sight of Kimberly. “Morning.”

  “Come on in.”

  She did, and her glance went straight to the kitchen. “Oh, dear,” she said, brows raised.

  Oh, dear? Josh followed her stare. “Nathan, no!”

  Without thinking, he shoved Kimberly into Cara’s arms and bolted to the kitchen, where Nathan had dumped the remaining carton of eggs onto the floor and was “skating” across the slimy puddle in his bare feet.

  How had that happened? Josh hadn’t been gone for more than a couple minutes.

  “Hey, hey. That’s enough.” He took Nathan by the hand and located his sneakers and socks where he’d dropped them next to the open refrigerator.

  “I scrambling eggs.”

  “I see that.” Josh closed the refrigerator door and looked over at Cara. “Do you mind watching her for a second?”

  She appeared uncertain but answered, “No problem.”

  He took her at her word. “Thanks.”

  A second turned out to be five minutes. Josh and Nathan emerged from the bathroom—cleaner and dressed in Nathan’s case, and more harried in Josh’s. He surveyed the apartment and groaned. It looked as if a cyclone had traveled from one end to the other.

  “Sorry about the mess.” Relinquishing Nathan, he swiped a half dozen paper towels from the roll on the counter. He’d start with the floor. After that...

  “It’s all right.” Cara sat on the couch with Kimberly, cleaning the baby’s face and fingers with a wet towelette. “Two little ones demand a lot of attention.”

  “I’ll never judge another mother again.”

  “Did you?” Cara observed him from across the room.

  “Truthfully? No. But not because I’m some great guy who appreciates mothers. The complete opposite. I’m ashamed to admit, but I didn’t give parenting much thought before becoming one.”

  “Even when you think you’re prepared, you’re not.”

  She seemed sincere, if a little preoccupied.

  Josh continued cleaning the mess with Nathan’s “help.” He was curious as to how Cara felt about his children and him as a father. She wasn’t an easy person to read. While she competently handled Kimberly, she didn’t coo or fuss over the baby like Josh noticed most women did.

  Discarding the dirty paper towels in the trash, he peered at Cara over the counter. “You sure you don’t mind helping me?”

  “Not at all.”

  All right. It wasn’t his imagination. Her voice sounded forced. He considered giving her the chance to opt out of their deal, then decided against it. He needed the help and the advice. There was also his plan of getting to know her better, and their deal provided the perfect means.

  “What are you doing for child care? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “I haven’t a clue.” Josh dispatched Nathan to the living room with a sippy cup of apple juice. “Raquel is helping me this week.”

  “I’m not surprised. She loves kids.”

  “I can’t count on her permanently. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Because she and I might not be living here that long,” Cara answered flatly.

  He forced himself to be patient. “That’s not the reason.”

  “I forgot.” She lowered Kimberly onto the floor between her legs. The baby started crawling after her brother, moving faster than some people walked. “We agreed not to discuss the ranch.”

  “We agreed to more than that.”

  “Right. A reprieve. For as long as you need my help.”

  “Why do you always want to argue?”

  “Maybe because I’m worried.”

  That stopped him. Her future, like all of theirs, was uncertain. “You mind if I finish getting dressed?”

  “Go ahead.”

  Josh didn’t remember until he’d asked the question that his bedroom was, in fact, the living room. Specifically, where Cara sat. He rummaged through one of the suitcases he’d yet to unpack and found a clean work shirt. Donning that, he buttoned it on the way to the bathroom, where he quickly shaved, combed his hair and brushed his teeth.

  Simple daily tasks he’d previously taken for granted. Like parenting.

  When he finished getting ready and considered himself prepared to face the day, he returned to the living room—and came to an abrupt halt.

  Cara still sat on the couch, one child snuggled on each side of her, reading a picture book she must have found in one of the boxes. Her voice, flat earlier, rose and fell as she infused emotion into the simple story. Her eyes, previously dull, lit with delight. And her face radiated pure pleasure.

  The children were completely captivated. Josh didn’t blame them. He, too, was caught in her spell.

  Here, at last, was the woman he’d suspected lay beneath the surface. The one who drew him to her like a siren. All it took was a single glimpse, and he was more determined than ever to bring her out of her shell permanently.

  * * *

  “AFTER THAT, RABBIT and Fox were friends forever, living happily together in the Wonderful Woods.” Cara closed the storybook. “Did you like that?”

  “Read again! Read again!” Nathan slapped a pudgy hand on the book page. “Rabbit and Fox.”

  She gazed down at Kimberly, who stopped sucking her thumb long enough to point and babble a string of nonsense syllables.

  What a beauty. With those enormous brown eyes and dimple in her left cheek, she would break a lot of hearts one day. She was already breaking Cara’s.

  “I think your sister wants to go outside.” Cara reached for Nathan’s nose, hesitated and then tweaked it. He giggled.

  There. That wasn’t so hard.

  Except it was. Quite hard. It required all her willpower not to fall apart. “Read Rabbit and Fox.” Nathan insisted.

  “I will later.” Her voice cracked. “I promise.”

  “No.” Nathan made a frowny face. “Now.”

  He didn’t look a thing like Javier. Yet he reminded her so much of her son. His laugh. His silliness. His sweet nature. Even his obstinacy.

  Josh materialized from nowhere and reached for Nathan, interceding before the outburst gained momentum. “Let’s get ready, buddy. We’re going to the house. Someone special wants to meet you. She’s going to watch you while I work, okay?”

  Cara tensed. How long had he been standing there? Seconds? Minutes?

  “Sorry,” she stammered.

  “For what? Entertaining my children? I’m grateful.” He set Nathan on his feet. “If not, I wouldn’t have been able to finish getting dressed.” He flashed her a dazzling smile.

  Cara’s face grew warm. She wasn’t sure if it was from the smile, his praise or the reference to getting dressed.

  Not the last. Oh, no, please. It couldn’t be that.

  “Say thank you for reading the story,” Josh told Nathan.

  Instead of doing what his father reques
ted, Nathan jumped onto Cara’s lap. “Want to stay with her.”

  “She’s coming with us, buddy.”

  “It’s okay, mi—” Cara bit her tongue. She would not call Nathan by the same endearment she had her child. “Niño,” she amended. Little boy. That was better.

  “My name is Nathan,” he said and stabbed himself in the chest with his thumb.

  “And my name is Cara.”

  Leaning forward, he kissed her soundly on the cheek. “Cara.”

  Her name had never sounded lovelier. She wanted to cry.

  “All right. Time to go.” Josh grabbed Nathan under the arms, swinging him up into the air.

  The boy giggled and squirmed. “Daddy, don’t.”

  Of course, what he really wanted was for his father to continue. Manuel had played the same kind of game with Javier. She and her ex might not have gotten along, fighting almost constantly near the end, but he’d loved their son and suffered now, too, fighting his own demons.

  “Where did you hide your jacket?”

  It took Cara a second to realize Josh was talking to Nathan and not her. Suddenly self-conscious, she stood. “I’ll pack Kimberly’s diaper bag.”

  “That would be great.” Josh deposited Nathan onto the floor, and he took off. “I have no idea what goes in it besides diapers.”

  “Maybe I should give you a lesson.”

  His gaze roved her face, then lingered as he moved closer. “I’d like that.”

  “Okay.” She retreated a step. “Next time.”

  “I can’t wait.” His tone was teasing.

  Uh-oh.

  Cara suddenly remembered the reason she’d come up to the apartment in the first place. “If we have time, can we stop by the corral first? There’s something I want to show you.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  She should tell him. There was no reason for her to keep it a secret. Yet she did, afraid he might misinterpret her motives. “Better I show you.”

  “All right,” he answered in the same teasing tone.

  Cara felt a spark illuminate a place in her heart that had been dark for a long, long time. Of all people, it had to be Josh Dempsey who affected her.

  “Diaper bag, young lady.” She lifted Kimberly into her arms.

  The baby was easier for Cara to feel affection for than Nathan. Kimberly didn’t remind Cara of Javier. She wasn’t the same age. She was...safe.

  In the bedroom, Cara set Kimberly down. The baby crawled between the diapers scattered across the floor while Cara packed the bag. She heard Josh’s cell phone ring and him answer it. His baritone voice was pleasant to the ear. He didn’t, she noticed, talk fast. Rather, he delivered his words clearly and articulately, as if he thought first before speaking.

  It was a nice quality, and Cara admired him for it. She tended to blurt out whatever popped into her head. No filter, her mother often said.

  Manuel had liked her spunk and frankness. At first. Later, he’d complained she was difficult to get along with and unwilling to compromise. He might have been right. At least she hadn’t cheated on him.

  As much as Cara loved Raquel and adored August, she’d struggled with that aspect of their relationship. The two of them had begun their affair when August was still married to Josh’s mother. And while Cara believed Raquel and August were perfect together and true soul mates in every way possible, to her, adultery was wrong.

  Eventually it didn’t matter, as August and his wife divorced. But would they have stayed married if not for Raquel? Really, it was none of Cara’s business and didn’t matter now. But because of Manuel’s infidelity, she could sympathize with Josh’s mother and understand her anger.

  What Cara didn’t understand was her turning Josh and Cole against August. That was selfish and cruel to everyone involved. Cara thought it a shame that the brothers had lost out on the opportunity to know a wonderful man.

  Josh’s voice carried through the apartment from the kitchen. It sounded as if he was talking to Gabe and Gabe would be spending the morning at the Small Change, Dos Estrellas’s closest neighbor and the ranch owned by Reese’s father. Theo McGraw suffered from Parkinson’s, and Gabe had been helping out more and more lately.

  Cara collected the bulging diaper bag and Kimberly’s jacket before lifting the baby into her arms. Grappling with her load, she returned to the living room. Josh washed dishes in the sink while at the same time talking on the phone. Nathan drove a toy truck in circles around the table, adding sound effects.

  Cara set the diaper bag and Kimberly’s jacket on the floor, then straightened. She instantly froze.

  Displaying the same knack for mischief as her late son, Nathan had opened the front door and slipped outside, heading straight for the stairs. Cara was suddenly thrown back in time two years. Heart pounding and blood racing, she chased after Nathan, Kimberly squealing from being bounced about like a sack of potatoes.

  “No! Nathan, stop!” Cara reached out a hand, her fingers grasping thin air. “Come back here now.”

  Thank God, the boy did.

  “Don’t ever go out there by yourself. You hear me?” She dropped to her knees on the landing and took him into her free arm, clasping him to her as if she’d rescued him from the ledge of a ten-story building. “It’s dangerous.”

  “What’s wrong?” Josh had hurried over.

  Cara glared up at him, shaken to her core. “Nathan went outside. He could have fallen down the stairs.”

  “You okay, buddy?”

  Nathan started to cry. Josh removed him from Cara’s embrace, his expression stoic.

  She’d done nothing wrong, yet she felt the need to defend herself. “I was afraid he’d get hurt.”

  “Come on.” Josh patted Nathan’s back. “Nothing happened. You’re just scared. No need to cry.”

  Cara stood, holding Kimberly and ready to hand her to Josh. Clearly, he had no clue how dangerous seemingly innocent situations could be. “I’d better go.”

  “Don’t. Please,” he added.

  “I made a mistake.”

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “I took my eyes off Nathan. I’m the one who made a mistake. I’m angry at myself more than anything.”

  His hand was strong and his touch tender as he moved his warm palm down to the center of her back. Her hands, however, had become damp and sweaty. In fact, she felt cool and clammy all over.

  Josh unnerved her. No, that wasn’t it. Completely the opposite. She was attracted to him. And unless she was mistaken, he was also attracted to her.

  Dios mío! What a mess.

  She couldn’t let Josh know how she felt, not under any circumstances. Cara wasn’t ready for a relationship. With any man, but especially Josh. He was tall and imposing and all male. He was also the father of two children.

  That would be more than a romantic relationship. She wasn’t ready to give her heart to a child. And that would happen. Nathan and Kimberly were too appealing. She could fall for them as easily as she could Josh. She had to protect her fragile heart at all costs.

  “We’d better hurry,” she said. There was nothing pressing, but luckily, Josh didn’t dispute her.

  A few minutes later, they were taking the stairs that Cara had been terrified Nathan would fall down. Josh carried his son and Cara his daughter.

  As they passed Josh’s truck, she asked, “Where’s Kimberly’s stroller? It might come in handy.”

  “Stroller? Hmm.” His brows knit in confusion.

  They found it buried in the truck bed beneath boxes, bags and suitcases. Cara loaded the baby, tucking her beneath a blanket she’d found in a sack of linens. Together, the four of them made their way to the small corral beside the round pen. Cara was in the lead, pushing the stroller and carefully navigating it over and around the many minor obstac
les. It felt both familiar, like riding a bike, and alien, as if she had no business being here and doing this.

  Amazingly, she didn’t trip and inadvertently dump the stroller, what with her damp palms and wobbly legs. She probably should have left earlier when she had the chance. Forgotten all about this crazy, stupid idea.

  “I’ve been wanting to ask you something.” Josh’s voice invaded her thoughts. “About my father.”

  “Oh?” Where was this going?

  “And Raquel. Tell me about them.” He kept an eye on Nathan, who ran ahead of them.

  “Why the sudden interest after two months?” Cara asked.

  “She’s been kind to me and Cole, and she doesn’t have to be.”

  “That’s Raquel for you. There’s no one nicer or more generous. And you’re right, she doesn’t have to be. But not for the reason you think.” Cara avoided a pothole.

  “Go on.”

  “Your mom wasn’t the only one who gave her and your dad grief. Raquel’s father is very religious and didn’t approve of her involvement with your dad. That’s why they never married. Her father told Raquel if they did, he’d cut her off from the rest of her family. But that didn’t stop her and your dad from loving each other and Gabe from having a happy life. August’s one regret was losing you and Cole.”

  “I hate to burst your bubble,” Josh said, “but Dad chose not to have us in his life.”

  Cara stopped pushing the stroller. “You’re wrong, Josh. He wanted to have a relationship with you and Cole. But your dad knew how close Raquel is to her mother and brothers. He refused to allow her to be cut off from them, which her father would have made sure happened if your dad let you and Cole visit.”

  “I’ve heard all this before. Raquel’s father didn’t approve of Dad because he was a married man.”

  “His religion was important to him and Raquel. Your father respected that and wouldn’t come between her and her family.”

  “So, he traded two sons for a mistress.” Resentment colored Josh’s voice.

  Cara shook her head. “Not a day passed that your dad wasn’t in anguish about the loss of his sons. As his time drew to an end, it was all he talked about. He desperately wanted you, Cole and Gabe to reconcile. It’s the reason he gave the three of you the ranch.”