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

by Christine Wenger

  “Since when do we listen to you?”

  He swore under his breath before he could stop himself. “Never,” he whispered. “You would never listen to me. But hey, it’s up to you. Float here in a boat from Phoenix if you’d like and watch her sleep.”

  “Are you going to stay with her?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “J.W. isn’t going to like that.”

  “Mrs. Duke, Laura almost died tonight on the floor of the ladies’ room. Ask me if I give one damn what J.W. likes or doesn’t like. I’m staying with Laura. Do what you want.”

  “Oh no! She almost died?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you find her?” she asked, her voice thin.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Then we owe you our thanks.”

  “You don’t owe me anything, Mrs. Duke,” Cody said. “If you’d like, I’ll have Laura call you in the morning.”

  “Please do.”

  “Okay, good night.”

  “Cody?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you for saving our Laura, and thanks for calling.”

  “Of course. Good night.”

  Cody went back into the room. Laura was still sleeping but looked as if she was struggling to get the oxygen mask off her face.

  He gently grasped her arm. “Leave it alone, honey.”

  “It’s bothering me.”

  “It’s clearing your lungs from the smoke.”

  “Okay.”

  “I told your mother that you were in the hospital. And now I’ll call my mother and Cindy. Then I’ll call Clarissa and tell her what happened.”

  “Thanks, Cody. You talking to my parents...that must have been difficult for you.”

  “Not exactly. Your mother put aside our differences for a while so I could tell her about you. Your father wasn’t around. I imagine she’ll tell him.”

  “Did she say anything about Johnny?” she asked.

  “No. She thinks he’s at Clarissa’s house overnight. Remember?”

  She nodded. “So many lies.”

  “Say the word and we can end it all.”

  She closed her eyes and Cody wondered if she was actually sleeping or just wanted to shut him up.

  About an hour later, Cody heard excited chatter out in the hallway.

  He walked out of the room and caught the attention of a nurse. “What’s going on?”

  “A couple is being helicoptered in from Duke Springs. It’s the first use of the chopper pad on the roof. And the person who paid for the helicopter pad is the first to fly in.”

  “Would that be J. W. Duke?” Cody asked.

  “You know him?” The nurse’s face lit up.

  “Doesn’t everyone?” Cody couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for the Dukes’ arrival, and walked back into Laura’s room.

  He wondered briefly what he should do. He could make up some lie and split. However, looking at Laura in the hospital bed, it didn’t seem important to lie.

  “Where’s my daughter?” J.W.’s voice boomed.

  “Room 137, Mr. Duke,” Cody heard the same nurse say. “I’ll show you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s right here, J.W.,” said Penny.

  Cody didn’t want to deal with them. After everything that had transpired, he just didn’t have the energy. He knew now how Laura felt. J.W. stood in the doorway, looking larger than life. “How’s my daughter?” He had the sense to whisper after catching a glimpse of Laura sleeping.

  Approaching the bed, he took her hand and shook his head. “I don’t want to wake her.”

  Penny took Laura’s other hand. “She almost died, J.W.”

  J.W. looked at Cody for verification. Cody nodded.

  “I understand that we have you to thank for saving her life,” J.W. said softly.

  “I was glad I was there.”

  “And just why were you there?” J.W. said through gritted teeth.

  “Let’s not get into that right now. Not when Laura is like this,” Cody said.

  “You’re right.” J.W. held out his meaty right hand. “I suppose I should thank you, Cody.”

  Cody took a step back and debated if he should shake the man’s hand. “I suppose you should.” That was tacky of him to say, but he couldn’t resist the comeback.

  Cody finally offered his hand, and J.W. shook it. He thought that J.W. looked as if he’d aged ten years since he’d seen him last. Even though he had a hard time showing it, maybe he did care about Laura, after all.

  “I’d like to thank you, too, Cody.” Penny offered her hand and Cody took it. It was cold and clammy, and she was as pale as the hospital walls.

  “She’s going to be fine,” Cody said, trying to assure Mrs. Duke. “She just needs to breathe in some more fancy oxygen and rest.”

  “J.W., we’ve been just awful to our little girl.”

  Mr. Duke pulled out a half-chewed cigar from his pocket and put it in his mouth. “You’re right.”

  Mrs. Duke dropped Cody’s hand and rubbed the top of Laura’s. “We have to be more attuned to what she says.”

  “We do,” J.W. said.

  Cody knew what J.W. didn’t say—that he’d listen to Laura on some things, but not when it related to Cody Masters or the Double M.

  He had to get out of there for a while. Besides, the Dukes deserved some time alone with their daughter.

  “I’ll be back,” he said, then left the room to search for a steaming cup of coffee so thick that a horseshoe would float in it.

  The hospital’s cafeteria was the perfect place to go, but he didn’t count on seeing the EMT who took care of Laura or the man who was the master of ceremonies during the luncheon on the way there.

  “I’m Mark Franco. I’m the manager of the Duke Springs Hotel and Conference Center.” He held out his right hand for a shake and brandished a brown leather purse in his left hand. “I think this is Laura Duke’s. I believe that you called looking for it.”

  “I did.”

  “Everything seems to be in order,” Franco said, “But I don’t know for sure.”

  “Good.”

  “And I’d like to thank you myself. If it weren’t for you, Mr. Masters, I shudder to think what the casualties would have been.”

  Cody shook his head. “Your staff needs training as to how to evacuate, partner. No one showed up early enough, and when they did, they didn’t have a clue as to what to do, especially getting out those who use wheelchairs, walkers and others who have difficulty walking.”

  “I’m aware of that, and action has already been initiated.”

  “Good.” Cody nodded. “I don’t want anything to happen again, like it did to Laura.”

  “Miss Duke is very important to us,” Franco said.

  And Mr. Duke is very important, too. He probably owns the hotel. You don’t want to tick him off and have someone, like his daughter, die in the ladies’ room.

  Franco looked as if he was about to have a meltdown. “It was a very unfortunate incident. Thank goodness you were there, Mr. Masters. You saved the lives of everyone at that luncheon, and Miss Duke’s, as well. How can we thank you? Can we offer you anything?”

  Cody didn’t want to hear any more praise. He just did what he had to. “A thank-you is enough. Just get your staff trained.”

  “Consider it done,” said Mr. Franco.

  Cody followed the smell of coffee to the cafeteria. It was just closing. A metal fence was lowered and women were cleaning up.

  Darn!

  “Is there just one cup of coffee left?” Cody asked.

  “Um...uh...well, we’re closed and we’re not supposed to—” A young girl with piercings on her nose and lips, purple hair,
jeans and a food-spattered white T-shirt with the hospital logo on it seemed ready to give in.

  The EMT followed behind him. “Patty, I think you can find a cup of joe for the man who saved three hundred people from a fire, can’t you?”

  “Sure can!” she said, reaching for a foam cup. “How do you like it?”

  “Black.”

  She handed him the filled cup through the fencing.

  “Thanks, Patty.” He reached into his pocket for some money.

  “Oh, no. It’s on me.”

  Cody smiled. “Thanks again.”

  “You’re a hero,” said the EMT.

  “Nah.” Cody took a sip. The coffee was hot, old, disgusting, and it was the best cup he’d had since prison.

  He shook hands with the EMT.

  “I’m Ralph Redman. It’s a pleasure to know you, Cody.”

  Cody nodded, uncomfortable with the praise.

  “You know, you really are a hero,” Redman said before he walked out the door by the cafeteria. “And I know your history...” Redman paused. “I’m going to tell the world what you did tonight. You deserve a lot of credit.”

  Cody was just about to tell the man not to make a big deal out of it, but he’d already left.

  Cody took a deep breath. It was time to go back to Laura’s room. Maybe the Dukes would be gone, and he could be alone with her.

  * * *

  But the Dukes weren’t gone.

  Cody had to hear all about how J.W. phoned for a helicopter, how it landed on a grassy patch on his spread, and in no time at all he was at the hospital in Duke Springs—on the helicopter pad he’d funded—and how he didn’t have to deal with overflowing arroyos and flash flooding.

  Isn’t it nice to be rich?

  That was the theme that ran through all of J.W.’s conversations.

  All Cody wanted was for them to go so he could hold Laura’s hand.

  Aw...the hell with it!

  As J.W. was talking and chewing on his cigar at the same time and Penny was typing on her cell phone, Cody walked to the side of Laura’s hospital bed and took her hand.

  J.W. stopped talking.

  Penny stopped typing.

  Cody still held her hand, leaned down, and whispered to her, “It’s Cody, and I’m holding your hand right in front of your parents.”

  Laura smiled slightly—so slight that only Cody could notice. Shoot! She was awake but faking sleep.

  “Sweetheart, you are faking,” he whispered. “Open your eyes and show your parents you’re okay. Maybe then they’ll leave and we can be alone.”

  She opened her eyes and her parents noticed immediately. They came running to her side.

  She lifted her oxygen mask. “I’m fine. Really. They’re going to let me out in the morning after a breathing test, but I’m really fine—thanks to Cody. If Cody hadn’t found me...” She shuddered. “I owe my life to him.”

  She was laying it on thick.

  “We know that, honey. We will amply reward him,” Penny said.

  Cody shifted on his feet. “I don’t want a reward, ample or otherwise.”

  “Why don’t you take the rest of the week off, Cody,” J.W. said.

  “That’s very generous of you, but no thanks. I’d like to keep up with Johnny’s riding lessons.”

  Dammit. He shouldn’t have mentioned Johnny.

  Thank goodness Clarissa was in their corner.

  “I can’t be beholden to you,” J.W. said.

  “Then let me serve my two years on my own ranch, not yours,” Cody said.

  Hey, it was worth a try.

  J.W. actually seemed to be thinking about it.

  “I’ll talk to your parole officer. We’ll see what we can work out,” J.W. reluctantly said.

  “That’s nice of you, Dad.”

  “I always pay my debts,” he said.

  “Just what I want to be—a debt,” Laura whispered to Cody. “You should have asked him for my hand in marriage.”

  “Oh, I will. I will. Someday. When I have a death wish. But I don’t want it to be a debt thing,” Cody whispered back so only Laura could hear him.

  J.W. and Penny stared at them.

  “When will you be leaving, Cody?” Penny said to him.

  “That’s up to Laura.”

  “I want Cody to stay. Let him stay,” she said. “I’ll call you in the morning, Mother, and if the roads are dry, you can pick us up. My car is at the hotel.”

  “Cody, where is your car?” Penny asked, tapping a lacquered finger on the nightstand.

  “Oh, Laura drove. She picked me up at the Double M.” He told the truth before Laura could make up a lie.

  “I see,” Penny said. “So you two are sneaking around behind our backs.”

  “Sneaking?” Cody said. “Yep. We’re a pair of sneaks. It’s the only way we can see each other. We’ve been sneaking around for years.”

  Steam was coming out of J.W.’s ears. Penny was sighing like an actress in a silent movie.

  So much for their little truce.

  “Where’s my grandson?” J.W. growled.

  Laura jumped in before Cody could say more. “He’s with Clarissa, as usual.”

  “On her day off?”

  “Dad, could you save the interrogation for later? I’m awful tired,” Laura said, yawning.

  What a great actress, Cody thought. But she’d probably had to be throughout her life.

  “I’m glad you’re all right, Laura. And I thank you again, Cody, for saving my daughter’s life, but I’m not done with the two of you yet,” J. W. said.

  They both kissed Laura, and then left the room.

  “Well, that was fun,” Cody said, shaking his head.

  “You told them everything,” Laura said. “Oh, well. I am tired of lying, too. And my relief is probably due to my recent brush with death, but I’m glad you told them.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m wondering if they are going to finally realize that you’re a good man and let me date you out in the open, or if they are going to be worse than before.”

  “You know how I’d bet. It’ll be worse than before.”

  Chapter Eleven

  On Sunday, Laura sat in the makeshift bleachers at Skeeter McAvoy’s ranch and held her breath while she watched Cody ride practice bulls.

  Laura was so nervous that she was biting her fingernails—a habit she broke while in high school. Every time Cody got bucked off, she jumped to her feet, praying that the bull wouldn’t step on him or roll him like a log with his horns.

  Cody wasn’t in top form, not the way he was when he’d won the Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Las Vegas, but knowing him, he’d try and try until he got his rhythm back.

  Since the Duke Ranch Rodeo was starting this weekend, Cody didn’t have much more time to practice, if at all. Tomorrow, all the ranch hands would be called upon to get the Duke Ranch’s rodeo stock and supplies ready for the fairgrounds where the event would be held. Then they had to transport all the rodeo stock: bucking broncs, steers, bulls and lots of horses.

  Stock would come from other area ranches, but the quality stock from the Duke Ranch would be what the cowboys always hoped to draw.

  She’d always wanted to put together the annual Duke Ranch Rodeo, but no matter how much she asked, her father always hired a production staff.

  Instead, she was regulated to working with the University of Arizona about how to keep the Duke name off the four-year “scholarship” that the foundation was funding for Slim Gonzalez’s son and working with a committee for the new therapy pool for the rehab center.

  She could do it all, if only her father would trust her.

  She sighed, thinking of how Johnny would love to be here watching Cody ride bul
ls, but Penny took him to the photographer downtown to have updated pictures taken. Then they were going to have lunch and shop for new sneakers for Johnny.

  Johnny made it clear that he wanted new cowboy boots instead of sneaks—boots like Cody’s. Laura was sure that Penny would buy him what she wanted instead.

  Laura begged off the shopping trip, giving a couple of fake coughs that she hoped sounded authentic. The second her mother pulled out of the driveway, she headed here—to Skeeter McAvoy’s ranch off the interstate.

  Today she wasn’t worried about J.W. He was busy with his rodeo stock at the ranch and shouting orders like a five-star general. She wouldn’t be missed.

  Cody had the weekend off, or else J.W. would be back to screaming at him, too. Her father had a short memory about who had saved her life.

  Smiling, she watched as Cody walked toward her. He had such long legs, and he could certainly work a pair of jeans.

  His turquoise-blue eyes were twinkling with happiness and he wore a big grin. Dirt clung to him like a second skin.

  “I’m really rusty,” Cody said. “I don’t know if I have a chance of winning.”

  “I’m worried about you. You’re out of shape for riding bulls, and I don’t want you hurt.”

  He pulled her into his arms and swung her around. “I have until Friday to—”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Cody, that’s only four days away. How many more practice bulls can you get on by then?”

  “As many as I can.”

  “That might not be enough.”

  He sat down next to her on the splintered bleacher. “Don’t be worried. It’s the only way I can think of to make some quick money.”

  “And you’ll spend it all on surgeons.”

  He grinned. “I am so happy to have you in my corner.”

  “That’s not it, Cody. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “There are excellent bull fighters that are going to work the bull riding. Your father contracted the best. I know them and have watched them for years. They’ll protect me from getting trampled.”

  “Cody, they can only do so much.”

  He chuckled. “That’s my woman! She keeps cheering me on and believing in me!”