The Rancher's Surprise Son (Gold Buckle Cowboys Book 4)

by Christine Wenger

  “Tell Masters to keep an eye on my grandson. I don’t want him hurt,” J.W. bellowed.

  Laura gave her father a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, “You can be assured that Cody wouldn’t want Johnny hurt, either. He’ll take good care of him.”

  “See to it,” J.W. said, taking a sip of coffee.

  Laura reached for a piece of toast and took her coffee with her. She had an hour before the first guests arrived, and she was going to enjoy it with Cody and Johnny.

  Johnny insisted on putting his cowboy boots on and his cowboy hat. He said that “he wanted to look just like Mr. Masters.”

  Oh, you do, my little boy. You do.

  Laura walked past all the tables with Johnny. She had to admit, everything looked beautiful. Where she would be sitting, at the head table, she’d have a perfect view of the barn. Maybe she could catch glimpses of Cody and Johnny during the riding lesson.

  As Laura and Johnny approached the barn, Cody appeared, leading Pirate into the corral.

  Johnny waved excitedly. “Hi, Mr. Masters. Hi, Pirate.”

  “Hello, son,” Cody replied, and Laura’s heart did a flip in her chest at that simple greeting, which had much more meaning now.

  Cody turned to her. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes. How about you?”

  “Been doing a lot of thinking.”

  “Anything you want to share?”

  He shook his head slightly, then gave Johnny his full attention. “Are you ready to ride your horse, Johnny?”

  “Well, yuh!”

  “Well, yuh!” Cody echoed, giving Johnny a high five.

  Johnny climbed over the fence, and Laura was about to reprimand him, but Cody said, “The first thing that you need to know is that you don’t come near Pirate or the barn unless I say so.”

  “Okay, Mr. Masters.”

  “So, Johnny, you can climb the fence this time, but the next time, go through the barn and make sure I’m with you. Okay?”

  As she helped Johnny up, Laura was pleased at Cody’s care.

  Cody lifted Johnny and set him down in the corral. Then he squatted down to talk to the boy. “Pirate’s a nice pony. He’ll take you anywhere after I teach you, and I’m going to do a little training with Pirate, too.”

  “Cool.”

  “Definitely cool,” Cody answered. “Uh... Johnny...do you mind if I give you a hug?”

  Johnny hesitated, and Laura held her breath. This could go either way. If Johnny rejected him, Cody would be hurt.

  But he didn’t. Cody reached up and wrapped his arms around the boy, picking him up. He closed his eyes, as if he was absorbing every inch of his son.

  Tears fell down Laura’s cheeks, and she had nothing to wipe them off but her fingers.

  Cody set Johnny down and handed Laura a red bandanna that he pulled from the pocket of his jeans.

  He whispered to her, “I love him, and I don’t even really know him.”

  “You will. I promise,” she replied.

  “You look incredibly beautiful today,” he said softly, and his words sent little shivers down the back of her neck. “Tonight?”

  “Of course.” She couldn’t wait until dusk.

  He nodded, then turned to Johnny. “I’m going to show you how to saddle Pirate the right way. We’ll do it together.”

  Laura heard her mother call her name. “I have to go, Cody. Have a good time, Johnny, and listen to what Mr. Masters tells you.”

  “I will!”

  Laura looked for her mother and found her with a group of women.

  “Here’s my lovely daughter now. Laura, my generous friends would like to write checks to the library fund. When are we going to collect them?”

  Laura turned to the well-heeled attendees. “I’ll collect your checks at the end of the luncheon, ladies, and if you forget, I’ll certainly remind you.”

  There was giggling amongst the group. Laura had to admit that she was good at schmoozing with the guests, but she just wasn’t in the mood for a garden party, no matter how nice it was going to be.

  She’d rather be in her jeans and at the barn with Cody and Johnny.

  As she turned to walk to her seat at the head table, she saw J.W. heading to the corral.

  * * *

  Here he comes.

  Cody was leading Pirate around the corral with Johnny on the saddle.

  “Keep your feet straight, cowboy. Don’t let them bounce around. Pirate won’t know what command you are giving him. Do you know what I mean by command?”

  Johnny shook his head. “Nope.”

  “He won’t know what you want him to do. You tell Pirate what to do with the reins and with your heels, and sometimes clicks or some other kind of noise from your mouth. Know what I mean now?”

  “I get it, Mr. Masters.”

  Cody could see J.W. leaning on the fence; he tried to ignore him and concentrate on Johnny, but there was so much on his mind, it was overwhelming.

  “Good job in keeping your feet from bouncing around, Johnny.”

  He was going to meet Laura again tonight.

  Johnny was his son.

  When could he tell the world that Johnny was his son?

  When could he and Laura get married?

  Would they live at the Double M?

  Could he last for two years at the Duke Ranch?

  Would his parole officer let him work somewhere else?

  On and on his thoughts went, but one thing that he knew was that he loved Laura and had always loved Laura. Now he loved Johnny.

  But the altercation with Liz Stevenson reminded him that most of the community considered him a killer—a murderer. How could he blame them?

  And how could he subject Laura and Johnny to their taunts and jeers?

  He shouldn’t.

  If he was any kind of man, he’d walk away. He’d just disappear. He didn’t know who’d hire an ex-con for any decent kind of job, but he could send money to his mother for the Double M and to Laura for Johnny’s support. Maybe he could pick crops. It was backbreaking work for little money, but he was used to that.

  Hopeless. He couldn’t see any way out.

  “Nice riding, Johnny,” J.W. yelled.

  “I’m trying to keep from kicking Pirate, Grandpa. Mr. Masters says that it’s important.”

  “He is correct.”

  “I’m going to be a cowboy like Mr. Masters.”

  “What about being a cowboy like me, Johnny?” J.W. puffed on his cigar.

  “Sure, Grandpa. You, too.”

  “Your grandfather is a good cowboy, Johnny,” Cody said. “Look at the ranch he built.”

  If J.W. was taken aback, Cody was worse. Without thinking, he’d actually paid J. W. Duke a compliment.

  “Uh...thank you, uh...Cody,” J.W. said, grunting out the words through his cigar stub.

  “I’m going to be a good cowboy, too,” Johnny said.

  J.W. chuckled and Cody passed in front of him with Pirate and Johnny in tow.

  “Cody, is my momma a good cowboy?” Johnny asked.

  “She’s a good cowgirl. She can ride like the wind, and she always wanted to learn everything she could.” He gave J.W. a pointed look and said, “Particularly about running this ranch.”

  J.W. seemed to get Cody’s message, but chose not to comment. “Um, from what I can tell, you’re doing a great job with my grandson. Keep it up.”

  “Should I take that as a compliment, Mr. Duke?”

  “Take it any way you want.” He puffed on his cigar. “When you’re done, have Slim walk Johnny up to the house. Laura’s busy with the garden party.”

  “I can walk Johnny up to the house,” he said, knowing perfectly well what J.W
. would say.

  “Slim can do it. Get him. I’m sure you have a lot of work to do.”

  “Fine.” He got the message. J.W. didn’t want Cody near the ranch house. But he was sure that J.W. caught the sarcasm in his response. Their complimentary session was over.

  J.W.’s eyes narrowed. “Do what I tell you, Masters.”

  Cody nodded. No Masters had been near J.W.’s ranch house in decades.

  When he saw that Johnny was getting tired, Cody showed him the right way to get off Pirate, and Cody let Johnny lead the pony into the barn to brush and water him.

  After that was completed and Pirate was tucked nicely into his stall, Cody gave a shout-out for Slim but couldn’t find him anywhere.

  “I’ll take you to your mother,” Cody decided.

  Cody felt Johnny slip his hand into his, and he almost melted.

  And off they walked to the ranch house under the glares, stares and astonishment of the ladies in attendance at the party, particularly Penny, and to the delight of Laura.

  Chapter Nine

  Penny paced back and forth along the border of pampas grass. “Did you hear everyone talking about Cody Masters? I was never so embarrassed in my life. For heaven’s sake, half of them wanted to call the sheriff’s department and have him put back behind bars, the other half wanted to sleep with him.”

  Count me among those who want to sleep with him, Laura thought, sipping iced tea as her mother paused.

  “I don’t want Cody with Johnny anymore, hear me?”

  “Cody is teaching Johnny how to ride. If Dad and I don’t have an objection, why is there suddenly a problem?”

  “There isn’t suddenly a problem. There’s always been a problem with that man.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it anymore, Mother. I want to take a walk with my son and listen to how excited he is to learn how to ride Pirate the right way and listen to every bit of what Cody told him. I’ll take a sandwich along, since Johnny didn’t have lunch yet, and we’ll have a picnic and maybe he’ll take a nap on a blanket. That’s all I want to do right now.”

  Laura turned to go to the kitchen. “Oh, and maybe I’ll say a little prayer for the hypocrites who pretend to be so charitable so they’ll discover that charity isn’t just about money.”

  * * *

  “I am so sorry, Cody.” Georgianna Masters Lindy stopped rocking, and turned to her son. “It seems like I can’t stop apologizing to you...for everything.”

  “Mom, stop. It’s not your fault. It was Laura’s decision, and while I understand a lot of her reasoning, it still hurts. I missed almost four years of Johnny’s life, four years! And I missed her pregnancy, too. And I would love to have been there for his birth.”

  Georgianna opened her mouth to tell him that she was sorry yet again, but Cody held his hand up. “Stop. Let’s change the subject. I have to forgive Laura in my own time and in my own way.”

  “Talk to her, Cody. She’ll tell you why she didn’t tell you.”

  “Oh, we talked, and I suppose there will be more talking, and in time...” He shrugged. “I’m going for a walk.”

  “Is Laura at the creek?”

  Cody whirled around. “You know?”

  “Of course. That’s where your father and I always met. His mother didn’t particularly like me. It took her a while, but I won her over.”

  “You never told me that.”

  “Your grandparents lived with us, and it wasn’t easy. Your grandmother, Tysia, was tough, and she loved to meddle in our affairs, but the worst part was that her apron strings were tied around your father’s waist like a lasso around a steer. When we wanted a break and some alone time, we headed to the creek. It’s the best thing on this ranch.”

  “See you later, Mom. Thanks for the conversation.”

  She got up from her rocker and kissed him on the forehead. “Go talk to Laura, and remember that you two are always welcome at the Double M.”

  “I know we are. Thanks.”

  “Johnny is comfortable here, too. Laura brought him over for visits whenever her parents weren’t around. I think she wanted him to get to know us.”

  “So you knew, Mom?”

  “Laura never told me, but I guessed. Johnny looked like you right from the start.”

  He was happy that Laura shared Johnny with his mother and sister, and he remembered that Cindy was supposed to babysit him on Friday, in a couple of days.

  He wondered what Laura had to do that night. Better yet, that meant that her parents wouldn’t be around. Maybe the two of them could have a real date and get to know each other again, maybe discuss their plans for the future and Johnny.

  When he got to the creek, Laura and Johnny were on a blanket. Johnny was curled up against Laura’s side, sound asleep. Laura was awake.

  She motioned to him with an index finger against her lips that he should be quiet. Slowly, she pried herself away from their son, made him comfortable and then got up from the blanket.

  Cody held out his arms, and she walked into them with a big sigh. He held her for what seemed like the longest time, waiting for her to speak.

  “Thanks, Cody. I needed that.”

  “Happy to oblige. Anytime.”

  “Hey, I want to ask you out on a date Friday night. I have to speak at another fundraiser. This time, it’s for the Duke Springs Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Facility, and it’s at the hotel and conference center downtown. I asked Cindy to babysit because my parents will be at an auction in Phoenix, and it’s Clarissa’s day off. Will you go with me?”

  He raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Is there food involved?”

  “Lunch.”

  “Then count me in.”

  She laughed, then sobered. “Are you doing okay?”

  He shrugged. “I’m still hurting, but I’ll get over it.”

  “I did what I thought was best—I told you that—and that’s what I’m still doing,” Laura said softly.

  “When do we tell your parents?”

  “I want to wait for a while,” she said.

  “For what? Your parents are never, ever going to accept me. You might have to decide between Johnny and me, or them.”

  “I can’t make that choice.”

  “Why not?”

  Laura pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “I work for them at the Duke Foundation, for one. We do a lot of charity events. I don’t want to give that up.”

  “If you lived at the Double M, I take it that you couldn’t still work at the foundation.”

  “I thought about living there, but there’s not enough room, Cody. And as for the foundation, you can be sure I won’t be running that if I move to the Double M. My parents would take my job away faster than a roadrunner can run, but I can find another job.”

  “The three of us can live in my bedroom. It’s small, but we could probably fit a twin bed in there for Johnny.”

  “A twin bed? How would we walk in there? And before you suggest it, the three of us can’t sleep in the same bed,” Laura said. “And five people using one bathroom?”

  “It’s not the White House, like your place, but it’ll do.”

  “We’ll have to come up with another plan. Like we’ll have to save money and then maybe put up a double-wide trailer somewhere.”

  “It’ll have to be on the Double M,” Cody said.

  “Yes. I know. And that means we’re going to need a foundation and septic, electric and water. And then there’s the cost of the double-wide.”

  “That’s a lot of money, and I’m only getting a quarter over minimum wage,” Cody said. “I’ve been putting my paycheck into the Double M, but I can change that.”

  “Cody, the good news is that I’m getting a cut of the interest from the Duke Foundation money for a salar
y. I can ask my folks for a raise. My investments have been steadily paying off, so the fund is actually worth a lot more money than when I started. And it will get a boost from the annual Duke Ranch Rodeo. When the dust settles at the fairgrounds, all the money will go into the fund to replenish it, for a new day-care center and grammar school.”

  The Duke Ranch Rodeo! He’d forgotten about that!

  He snapped his fingers. “I know how I can get us some money. I’m going to ride bulls at the Duke Ranch Rodeo!”

  Laura shook her head. “You haven’t ridden bulls for three or four years, Cody. What makes you think you can compete?”

  “It’s like riding a bike—”

  “A bike won’t stomp you and stab you with his horns. A bike doesn’t weigh a ton, either.”

  “I’ll get on some practice bulls here. Slim will let me, and—”

  “You’ll kill yourself. Besides, my father won’t allow anyone to ride our bulls for practice. He says that it’s unfair to the other contestants since he supplies the stock.”

  “Then I’ll ride practice bulls somewhere else.” He took her hand and grinned. “Maybe I’ll win us some money.”

  “And maybe you’ll end up in the hospital.”

  “Thanks for your faith in me.”

  “It’s not a matter of faith, Cody. It’s that I know you haven’t been on the back of a bull for a long time.”

  “I was a world champ,” Cody said, remembering good times riding the bull circuit with pals and finally scoring enough points to make it to Vegas. He’d had to retire early because his mother had needed him, but he’d felt free and happy for a while, chasing his dream.

  He’d been trying to save his winnings to marry Laura, but then Hank Lindy came into their lives, and everything fell apart.

  “That’s my plan. It might be a long shot, but it’s better than doing nothing.” He chuckled. “And I don’t want to get hurt, either. I don’t have insurance.”

  Laura took a long, deep breath. “Oh no, Cody.”

  “Insurance costs too much money.”

  Laura shook her head. “Money, money—everything has to do with money, and I don’t like it.”

  “But you have it, honey. You’re used to the stuff. Some of us never had that problem but wish we did.”