Counting on a Cowboy

by Debra Clopton

  He had the decency to look embarrassed.

  Abby couldn’t help asking, “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to do anything. I haven’t had a chance to think about it long. Jake called about an hour before you got here. They found the friend of Darla’s and she swears that Pops is the one who told her to put the baby on the porch in the playpen. She said she had no idea he was ill. Jake says the court will decide that, but it is a possibility she’s telling the truth. Though since she left so little information behind, it could all be a lie. If so, she might be spending six months or longer in jail. That will be for the courts to decide. In the meantime, we now have baby records, health records, and so forth.”

  “That’s good. This is all so bizarre.”

  “Yes, it is. I probably need to consult a lawyer, see if I’m missing something important. But the reality is I’m pretty sure I’m a dad. And I’m not sure I need verification other than my name on that certificate and her having declared me his legal guardian.”

  “But what if there is another man out there, and he’s actually the dad?”

  He looked troubled for only a moment, then his jaw tensed and his eyes seemed to darken. She liked that about him—that he seemed to take things in and think about them intensely. She liked that he wasn’t taking Levi lightly.

  “Then why isn’t his name on the birth certificate?” he argued. “Think about it. If Darla didn’t notify me that Levi was mine because she wasn’t sure that she wanted me in his life, that says something about her. She cared for Levi and to be honest, she was angry with me when we parted ways. I hurt her.” His brows dipped and a goal post formed between them. “I didn’t mean to but I did, because it all happened so fast. She had deeper feelings than I did . . . and I’m not a man of commitment. I regret that she got hurt.” He paused again and seemed lost in thought.

  Abby remained silent, sensing he wasn’t finished.

  “The fact that she put my name on all the legal papers tells me I am the dad. I seriously believe that if there was another guy out there and he’s the dad and she chose not to put his name on the papers, then he must be a real slug.”

  Abby could not help scowling herself. It made sense.

  “I could be the only guy. And despite everything, I’m not a bad guy, Abby. And I don’t think Darla was a bad gal, we just . . . got out of control and made a mistake . . . and she’s the one who got hurt.”

  Abby didn’t know what to say. She went back to feeding Levi and let everything turn over in her mind for a few moments. At last she spoke. “I’m not saying anything and I’m not judging. All I’m thinking about is Levi. What if you do a test and find out he isn’t yours? What happens to Levi?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been wondering the same thing.” Bo looked troubled. He turned back to the sink, grabbed a rag and a bleach cleaner, and started wiping counters like they were filthy.

  “And grandparents, are there no grandparents? No aunts or uncles? Where is Darla’s family? Why is he alone—other than you?” Pulling her gaze from the tense set of Bo’s shoulders as he worked, Abby stopped the endless list of questions and looked at Levi. Her heart knotted and ached with worry for the sweet bundle of joy.

  Bo couldn’t believe Abby had agreed to help him. His stress level had gone down knowing she would be showing up every day to help him. But then again, stress of an entirely different nature had skyrocketed off the charts. And that stress had everything to do with Abby and the way he felt when she was near.

  Yes, she’d reminded him she was here for Levi and he was glad for that. That’s what he needed. But he had a feeling he was going to have to keep reminding himself of that fact the longer he was around her. After Darla, he hadn’t been dating as much. He’d found her declaration of love a swift, strong reminder that he wasn’t ready to settle down. He’d hurt her and he was now afraid he might hurt someone else. He wasn’t ready for commitment. It was just a fact.

  And yet every time he looked at Abby or thought about her, his guard went down and he found himself forgetting this fact.

  But right now, his thoughts were on the same thing she was wondering about: What would he do if he found out Levi wasn’t his?

  Just a few days ago he would have laughed if anyone had said a man could turn into a father in less than a week . . . but it was true. He had begun to get used to the idea of Levi being his son. The circumstances were getting in the way of it actually feeling real and true, but if a paternity test showed that he was then all that hesitance would disappear.

  But what if he wasn’t?

  What if there was some other man out there who was really Levi’s dad?

  And what if that man was a jerk? Or what if he wasn’t and deserved to know . . .

  If he was a jerk and they were able to locate him, what would happen to Levi? Or if they couldn’t find him, what would happen to Levi? The questions were endless. The only fact he knew was that he was listed. What was he going to do about it?

  “Where’s Pops today?” Abby asked, breaking into his thoughts.

  He slowed attacking the counters with the rag and glanced over his shoulder. “He’s with Jarrod. Jarrod had a lot of running around to do this afternoon—some fences to check and cattle to count and a few errands in town. Pops is having an alert day, so he took him. Pops has really been on a roller coaster over the last few weeks. That’s why I’m staying with him right now. But getting out is good for Pops. And having him along is good for Jarrod too.”

  Tru was a year older than Bo and Jarrod was two years older than Tru, so Jarrod had really been the luckiest one of them, having had a longer relationship with Pops. Bo had Pops’s sense of humor, though he wasn’t feeling much of it these days. Tru got Pops’s ability with a horse and Jarrod had his love of the land and all things cattle. Jarrod was one great cattleman. And while Bo and Tru had worked in their special fields to earn money to pay the debt owed on the ranch, Jarrod had done amazing things with the ranch and cattle to bring money in through several streams. Without Jarrod holding the actual ranch together, none of their efforts would have worked.

  “I’m sure all of you struggle with him having Alzheimer’s.”

  Bo knew it hurt Jarrod that Pops didn’t really know everything he’d done—or if he knew it he didn’t always remember. “Yeah, like a son-of-a-gun. Pops always looked a man straight in the eye and he taught us to do the same thing as we were growing up. When Pops would look us in the eye after work or a rodeo and say, “Well done, son,” that meant something special to each of us. Those moments are few and far between these days.” He had dropped his rag in the sink and walked over to sit in the chair at the table with Abby and Levi. The kid smiled at Bo through all the green stuff dripping off his lips. Bo had to chuckle.

  “Funny kid,” he said, smiling down at Levi. The boy grinned back and everything in the world just seemed better . . . it got Bo right in the heart.

  Abby cleaned Levi’s mouth with a baby wipe. “You just have to hang onto the good stuff about your granddad. He might be losing his memory, but y’all aren’t.”

  “True. And that’s what I’m trying every day to focus on.” This conversation was getting way too depressing. “You know, there’s room here if you wanted to move in,” he said, instantly wanting to boot kick himself to the barn and back. What was she going to think about that?

  “Room?” she asked, sharply.

  “N-no. I didn’t mean move in. I meant I know you are looking for a place and we have a cabin on the ranch that you could use. If you wanted it.”

  “Oh, I see. That’s nice of you. Really. But I’ve found a place. I’m going to rent Rand Radcliff’s house. And may buy it once I’ve settled in and like it as much as I think I’m going to.”

  “Really. The place that belonged to his grandmother?”

  “That’s the one. My things will be here on Monday. Well, I guess I need to head back to my room.” She rose, gave Levi a gentle ki
ss on the forehead, and got a funny look in her eyes that he didn’t miss—it was only there briefly before it vanished. But like everything about her, it had his attention.

  “No need to rush off—but I understand. Thanks again for taking the job. You’re a lifesaver.”

  She handed Levi to Bo, brushing him in the transition. The touch sent Bo’s pulse into a tailspin. She didn’t linger, though. She backed away and headed toward the door . . . and Bo found himself staring again. He was really going to have to get this under control or Abby might not hang around and he didn’t want to ruin a good thing when it was just getting started.

  “Oh!” Abby halted at the door as her muddled brain had a coherent realization. “I’m supposed to help with the decorating up at the park tomorrow.” She really wished Bo would stop looking at her the way he was. It made her skin tingle. She focused on her job. “Charlie told me he’d have my car waiting for me in the morning, so if it’s fine with you, I’ll drive out and pick up Levi then we’ll head to the park.”

  “You can do that with the baby?”

  She laughed at the shock and awe in his voice. “Yes, and no. I won’t be quite as useful as I might be if I didn’t have him, but believe me, it can be managed. I’ll take along his portable carrier and that stroller I had you buy the other day, if you’ll get it out of the box tonight. It will all work out. You’ll see. And tomorrow you’ll have a day to catch up on your work, if you can handle Pops.”

  “I can manage fine. Pops likes to come watch me work and he sweeps a lot. There’s shavings in the back area where Sergio cuts and glues the layers of wood and Pops feels useful doing that. And he is.”

  “That’s good. So I guess having Levi around messed up his schedule too.”

  “Pretty much. He walks back and forth from the shop to the house and enjoys being out. So far that’s not been a problem. And when Tru is here, he’s outside on his horses most of the time, so he keeps an eye out. They’ll be back on Sunday or Monday for a week or two, which’ll be great.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, and you’ll get to meet Maggie. She’s cool. When she’s not writing that the cowboys and the firemen are hunky.”

  Abby could not help the laughter that bubbled out of her at the disgust in his words. She had laughed so hard at the article about how the Wishing Springs volunteer fire department was made up exclusively of hunky cowboys. She’d actually envisioned a calendar of firemen and their cowboy hats. And then Maggie’d added that they were all single.

  “I would love to meet Maggie! So I get it that you don’t like to be called hunky?”

  The look of complete disgust said what words couldn’t. The fact that he fit the title with five stars probably didn’t merit pointing out.

  But hunky and Bo Monahan were synonymous and that was a fact.

  12

  Abby was still reeling from her unexpected decision the next morning.

  She’d hired on as Levi’s nanny.

  She and Bo had clarified the hours and schedule she’d be working and he’d demanded to pay her a wage that was more than fair. And now, it was official.

  That scenario had never entered her mind when she’d decided to move to Wishing Springs and start a new life. She had her deep reservations about it—the fear of falling in love with this baby and then losing him was at the top of the list . . . but it was done.

  Temporary nanny, she reminded herself. If she began to get too close she could pull away. She’d made no permanent commitment.

  She peeked out her window before getting dressed and was thrilled to find her car waiting outside her motel just like Charlie the mechanic had said it would be. Once dressed she drove out to pick up Levi before heading to the center of town to help Clara Lyn and the other ladies with the decorating of the town square park.

  As fearful and uncertain as she’d been, anticipation filled her as she drove along the country road. Her fingers tapped the steering wheel in time with the radio and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she was looking forward to her day.

  “I didn’t have to dodge a single cow on my way out here,” she told Bo when he walked out onto the porch to greet her. He looked tired but happy to see her and she was glad she’d come.

  Within minutes he had strapped the car seat into the back of her car then loaded the playpen and stroller in her trunk while she got Levi ready for the day. There was nothing sweeter than the welcoming smile of a baby.

  Pops and Solomon came into the living room to watch and this time the dog came closer.

  “Mornin,” Pops said, grinning at her. “You’re still pretty as a peach.”

  His compliment was unexpected both in that he had said it and that he seemed like a different man than she’d met the first time.

  “Why, thank you.” She finished pulling a tiny red shirt over Levi’s fresh, baby-scented head. She hugged him and let herself enjoy the feel of him in her arms and against her heart . . . an ache throbbed deep in her heart as if to break through the barrier keeping the sorrow in. Pulling away, she thrust the barrier back in place and smiled at the innocent baby. She’d given him a quick bath in the sink and he’d loved it.

  “Just look at you. All dressed for the day, looking so handsome and smelling simply irresistible, little man.”

  Abby could still not completely grasp the situation she was in since arriving in Wishing Springs. Not at all what she’d envisioned. She hadn’t expected there to be a baby involved. But there was. And she hadn’t expected there to be a man involved either. But there was.

  She was completely out of her comfort zone with both.

  She was willing to force herself to adapt with Levi, simply because Levi needed her.

  But that was that.

  She wasn’t sure how she felt yet about the way Bo affected her. These emotions she felt when he was around were so unexpected she just wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about them.

  Nothing.

  Her inner voice warned. And it was the part of her that was talking sense.

  She and Levi arrived on the square about nine o’clock with action already taking place. Why, the twins were hustling around carrying colorful banners that proclaimed “An Old-Fashioned Picnic in the Park” and women swarmed everywhere. She’d heard several single-ladies groups were checking into the motel today and staying the night just for the picnic. What was Bo thinking about all of that? Day-trippers, as he called them, had come back to town.

  Doobie (or was it Doonie) ambled over and helped her pull the stroller from the trunk.

  “Hey there, little fella,” he said. “He reminds me of my grandsons.”

  “Oh, how many grandsons do you have? Are you Doobie or Doonie?” she had to ask.

  He grinned. “Doobie. I’ve got ten. And not a granddaughter in the bunch. Me and my wife had three sons and they were all productive.” He chuckled as he opened up the stroller like he’d done it a time or two. “Nothing like my little wild bunch to keep a man young.”

  Abby smiled. “Spoken like a grandparent. You can always send them home.”

  He hooted. “You got that right. If you have them too long, then it’s a completely different scenario. Having those little boys for long stretches of time would have this old man worn and haggard. You carry that baby like it was second nature.”

  “Working at a day care while going through college will do that for you,” she explained, enjoying the feel of Levi in her arms. “I have a brother, but he’s not married yet.” She placed the plump tot in the stroller.

  “Ahh, well, you look just like a little mama. I’ll let you get over to where the ladies are because they’re going to flock over this kiddo like seagulls.” He pointed to where the ladies were huddled up.

  Abby’s heart clutched at the “little mama” comment but she forced a smile and headed across the park. It was a beautiful morning with a slightly cool breeze.

  Clara Lyn waved her over, the many bracelets on her arm jingling as merrily in welcome as he
r smile.

  “Whoo-hoo! You’ve got Levi.”

  Abby’s cheeks warmed. “Yes, Bo needed help and I needed a job, so I’m now Levi’s temporary nanny.”

  “That is just wonderful! Goodness, you’re all set—got a job, got a house, and soon some furniture. You’ve just jumped in with both feet.”

  “We like that,” Reba called from where she was sorting through greenery that Abby assumed would decorate the gazebo they were standing in front of. “All these other women that have come to town are just lookers, you know, coming for the curiosity and moving on. Which is okay, but we really love it when someone new moves to Wishing Springs because they want to be a part of our community.”

  Pebble was separating ribbons. “I think it’s a lovely compliment the way you wanted to move here. But I wasn’t sure you meant it until now. And you are here just in time to come to Bo’s rescue.”

  “Isn’t that the most unusual coincidence?” Clara Lyn added. “Of course I don’t necessarily believe in coincidence. Everything happens for a reason. Everything.”

  Abby forced a weak smile thinking back to the wreck that took Landon and . . . “Maybe so. I just wasn’t prepared for it is all.” She swallowed the lump in her throat.

  “And that is the fun of life. The unexpected.” Clara Lyn stood and moved to the gazebo and started winding greenery around the post.

  “Is there anything I can do?” She really needed something to do. “I brought Levi’s playpen so I can set it up. Let him play and watch us.” She saw the eight-foot ladder and assumed there would be decoration needed there. “Maybe I can climb up on the ladder and put ribbons around the beam right there.”

  “That would be perfect,” Clara Lyn agreed. “And we’re going to decorate some of the trees, too, but some of our firemen are going to do that for us.”