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

by Christine Wenger

  “Amen,” Johnny said. “Can we ask Mr. Masters in the morning to be my father?”

  Laura sighed. Her son had a one-track mind. “I don’t think so. Now, go to sleep.”

  “No! I want to talk to Mr. Masters right now.”

  “Shush! Close your eyes and go to sleep.” She put out the light and closed the door.

  “No! I want a daddy. I want to talk to Mr. Masters right now.” She could hear Johnny crying himself to sleep and her heart broke.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Cody was already at their secret spot, sitting on the big rock.

  Laura raced into Cody’s arms. “I’m so sorry for everything. For every asinine thing I said and did. I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you. I love you, Cody.”

  “I love you, too, but why the sudden change?”

  “It finally hit me that Johnny needs a father. You should have heard him begging me to let you be his daddy.”

  “He did?”

  “Yes. He did.”

  “And I didn’t like how you were treated at the bull riding, and that I was treating you just like them—the only thing I wasn’t doing was booing you. And then I was thinking about how you wanted to win money for our double-wide, and how you put your life on the line after being away from riding in such a long time. And how you are so good to Johnny, and you work so hard. Am I going to throw that all away for people like Cricket and mopes like the school board?”

  “I’m glad you’re now on my side, Laura. I really am.”

  “I’ve been such an idiot.”

  “Yeah, maybe...” He chuckled and held her tighter, running his fingers through her hair.

  She clung to him—her Cody—like her future happiness depended on never letting this good man go.

  “I want to make love with you, Cody,” she whispered. “It’s been so long.”

  He winked. “Just what I was thinking. Did you bring a blanket?”

  “Sure did.”

  She went over to their usual spot and shook out the blanket, letting it drift to the ground. She held out her hand and he took it, lowering them both.

  Pulling her onto him, he swept his hands over her back, then under her blouse. Soon he dispensed with the blouse and her bra altogether. His shirt joined hers on the corner of the blanket.

  When she moved over him, he couldn’t stop running his hands all over her body. Was this real? Or was this what he’d been dreaming about for such a long time?

  He straddled her, unzipping her jeans, then his. Those came off along with underwear, and they were totally naked under the Arizona moon.

  “You’re beautiful, Laura. Just beautiful.”

  “So are you, Cody. You’re leaner and more muscular.” She looked down. “And bigger and thicker than I remember.” She chuckled.

  He laughed. “Flattery, huh?”

  They kissed and played and laughed, and when they both couldn’t wait any longer, he quickly rolled a condom down his length and entered her. She arched her back and squeezed him with her inner muscles, visibly enjoying every inch of him as he moved in and out of her.

  He waited until she came, then released himself and held her in his arms, looking up at the moon, giving thanks for everything that he had.

  * * *

  The siren went off on the Duke Ranch. It was the signal for all hands and anyone who could hear it to head to the ranch as soon as possible.

  Cody jumped to his feet, putting on his clothes and handing Laura hers.

  “Something’s wrong up at your ranch. Hurry.”

  “Oh, no! My father...he’s been heading for a heart attack.”

  She buttoned her blouse on the run. Cody didn’t care who saw them emerge together from the trail. The siren didn’t go off for just anything, and some things were just more important than the two of them sneaking around.

  Georgianna and Cindy came running, too.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Georgianna asked.

  “Don’t know yet,” Cody said, running ahead of them to where J.W. stood on the porch.

  J.W. looked like a train wreck, and Penny was crying.

  “It’s Johnny!” Laura said, reaching for Cody’s hand. “Where’s Johnny, Dad?”

  “Johnny’s missing,” he said in a booming voice to all those gathered around. “His...little footprints lead straight to the desert.”

  “Laura and I can find him,” Cody said. “I took him on a trail ride through the desert. He might be on that trail.”

  She shook her head, tears trailing down her cheeks. “Go. I’d just hold you back.”

  “J.W., divide the volunteers up,” Cody instructed. “Have some take the area by the Arabian barns going east. Some by the highway going north. Laura and I will be south.” He turned to her. “I want you with me.” Then he turned back to the volunteers who’d gathered. “We need to search by the Double M, too. Mom, you lead that crew. Penny, you take the area around the ranch house. Everyone, click the siren on if you find him. And J.W., get that helicopter over here that you used before and have the pilot search from the sky. I know that cell reception is pathetic around here, but keep your phones on anyway.” Cody caught his breath, then added, “And don’t forget flashlights, water and blankets. And go in threes. We don’t want anyone else lost.”

  If J.W. was ticked that Cody was dishing out orders instead of him, he didn’t show it. Instead, he nodded, taking Cody’s instructions to heart.

  Cody and Laura hurried off to find horses in J.W.’s remuda. Cody would rather have Midnight Blue, but it’d take too much time to run back to his ranch and saddle up.

  He’d never saddled and bridled a horse so fast in his life. He took a gelding by the name of Hulk that he’d trained, and Laura saddled her horse, a pretty white quarter horse that she’d named Snow.

  “Get supplies, Laura. I’ll finish with Snow.”

  “Okay.”

  “Don’t cry. Just hurry. It’s going to be cold in the desert tonight.”

  “I know.” She hurried back with a saddlebag and flung it over Snow’s saddle.

  “Let’s go find our son, Laura.” Cody took off at a trot out of the barn, then galloped. He knew this desert by heart, and he knew he could handle the terrain in the dark without jeopardizing Hulk.

  Laura galloped behind him until the trail opened up, then she held her own next to him. He stole a look at her, and he could see that her cheeks were wet with tears.

  “We’ll find him, sweetheart. We’ll find him.”

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, Cody asked, “What’s that?” He pointed to an object in the middle of the path. He dismounted to check it out.

  “That’s Johnny’s stuffed bear Freddy!”

  Relief lessened the tightness in his body. “Johnny can’t be far from here. We’re on the right track.”

  They could hear the chopper overhead. The searchlight was aiming at the mesquite woods and then along the highway, but then it dipped and moved south.

  “It looks like the chopper didn’t see anything in the mesquite woods, but I’d bet a paycheck that he’s in there—near where we had our picnic.”

  “Let’s go, Cody.”

  Since the helicopter noise moved away, they’d be able to hear Johnny if he was near, so they shouted his name.

  Then listened. Nothing.

  “Johnny! Where are you?” Laura yelled.

  “Johnny, answer us. Where are you?” Cody cried.

  Cody got off his horse and handed the reins to Laura. “Stay here. Let me go on foot. This place is like a maze.”

  “No, wait! Let me go with you! I’m his mother.”

  “I’m his father, and I don’t have time to argue with you. Trust me. I need you to wait here. Okay?”

 
“Okay. Okay.” She tossed him the saddlebag. “Be careful of snakes. And spiders. And other night animals. Bring Johnny out of there, Cody.”

  * * *

  Laura turned her flashlight off to save the battery. As she sat on Snow in the dark, she thought she was going to have a meltdown.

  The two people she loved most in this world were in the creepiest woods on the Duke property. Mesquite and cactus fought for the little sunlight that filtered through.

  Cody was betting that Johnny was in there. So was she. If he was someplace else, they would have wasted a lot of time. Johnny would be cold and could be hurt, and she hoped that he’d put on some kind of shoes.

  Come on, Cody. Hurry! Find our little boy!

  “Johnny, where are you?” she yelled. “Johnny!”

  Maybe if he was walking around, he would hear her.

  She’d been a fool. She should have told Johnny that Cody was his father when Cody got out of jail. With a long explanation, if the other kids teased him, maybe Johnny wouldn’t be ashamed.

  She certainly could have told Johnny tonight after he kept begging her. That’s why he was so restless and miserable. He’d wanted an answer.

  Maybe even Johnny sensed the connection between Cody and himself.

  She dismounted from Snow due to the coyotes she heard howling and held on to his and Hulk’s reins. She didn’t want the horses to take off.

  “Cody! Cody, where are you?” she yelled.

  “I’m still looking for Johnny.”

  Her heart sank. She’d hoped that Cody would answer that he’d found the boy.

  The coyotes were getting closer, and she thought she saw a wolf. She wished she’d brought her gun. Instead, she shone her flashlight in a circle around her.

  She burst into fresh tears. Johnny had to be scared out of his mind.

  “Johnny! Cody! Answer me.”

  Why didn’t Cody answer her?

  “I have Johnny and we’re coming out. Notify your father.”

  She pulled out her cell phone. No signal.

  “Is Johnny okay?”

  “He’ll be fine.”

  Something was wrong with him, or else Cody wouldn’t have said that. “What’s wrong?” she yelled.

  “All’s fine.”

  Finally, they walked out of the forest. Dragging along the horses, she hurried to them, but she couldn’t see them without shining the flashlight on them and into their eyes.

  “Mommy,” Johnny said weakly, holding out his arms for her to pick him up.

  She gathered him up, and he clung to her. “Honey, are you okay?”

  “My ankle hurts. I sat in the woods. And I was scared. And there was this big lizard thing, but I scared it off with a rock. And then the coyotes...”

  “I know, honey. I know.” She sniffed. “What were you thinking? You scared everyone.”

  “I—I wanted to run away.”

  “Why, Johnny?”

  “Because I wanted to find Mr. Masters and ask him to be my father.”

  Laura handed Johnny back to Cody. “Johnny, Cody is your father. He’s really your father, and he loves you. He really, really loves you.”

  She felt as if she’d lost twenty pounds of worry from her shoulders. There were still another twenty pounds left in the form of her parents. But Johnny seemed okay. That’s all that mattered right now. “Are you really my dad?” Johnny asked, staring into Cody’s eyes.

  “I sure am,” Cody said.

  “Where’ve you been?” Johnny asked, holding his palms up and scrunching up his shoulders.

  Cody chuckled. “It’s a long story, and we’ll tell you, but not right now. We have to tell everyone who’s been searching for you that you’re okay, so we’d better get going.”

  “Okay. Are Grandpa and Grandma mad at me?”

  “No. They’re worried,” Laura said.

  Cody mounted his horse and held out his hands. “How about riding with me, Johnny?”

  “Okay...Dad.”

  Whoa! That little three-letter word packed a lot of punch.

  Cody sat Johnny in front of him on the saddle. “Are you ready, Johnny?”

  “Ready!”

  “Are you ready, Laura?”

  “Ready. Let’s go!”

  After a while, Cody asked, “Feel like galloping, Johnny?”

  “Sure!”

  “Tell me if it hurts your ankle, and we’ll slow down. Okay?”

  “Okay...Dad.”

  Cody hurried to the Dukes’ ranch house. They didn’t say anything else, due to the pounding of Hulk’s hooves and the blowing of his breath.

  He hugged his son close to him.

  Laura trailed behind, trotting slower.

  Cody slowed Hulk down and trotted right to the ranch house. His mother, Cindy, Penny and J.W. were standing there on the porch. Everyone looked distraught until they saw that he had Johnny.

  J.W. punched the button of the siren, and then hurried down the stairs. He held up his arms and took Johnny from him.

  J.W. was about to cross-examine Johnny, but Cody shook his head no. Dismounting from Hulk, he walked toward J.W. and took Johnny back from him.

  The man was about to say something, but Cody jumped right in.

  “Uh... J.W., can you get that chopper back here? Johnny should be checked at the hospital. And make it fast. He might have a broken ankle, and there was talk about a big lizard.”

  “I shot a stone at it, and it went away, Grandpa. It didn’t bite me,” Johnny explained.

  “Good. You’re very brave, but it won’t hurt to have you checked out,” Cody said.

  “I called the helicopter, Laura,” J.W. said. “Told him to come back to the house and take Johnny to the hospital.”

  Georgianna and Penny had their arms threaded around each other’s waist. That was amazing. The two grandmothers.

  Georgianna knew that Cody was Johnny’s father, but he was pretty sure that Penny didn’t have a clue.

  The chopper landed on the Dukes’ expansive lawn, and everyone ran to meet it.

  “I can only take two, plus the little boy,” said the pilot. “That’s all.”

  “I’m Johnny’s mother,” Laura said.

  Before she could say anything else, J.W. was ready to enter the chopper right behind her.

  Laura turned to him. “Sorry, Dad, but Cody is Johnny’s father. He gets to go.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Cody Masters is Johnny’s father. I’ll talk to you later, but we have to go now. Let’s go, Cody.”

  He’d never loved her more.

  Cindy gave a squeal, or was that Penny?

  “J.W., I’ll give you all a call after Johnny is checked out,” Cody said, closing the door.

  “Let’s go,” he said to the pilot, feeling that they should rush to the hospital, but on the other hand, he was pretty sure that Johnny wasn’t bitten. He’d be showing signs of distress by now, but he did want to have his son’s ankle checked out.

  Johnny sat in between Laura and Cody on the backseat of the chopper. He shared Laura’s seat belt. Cody held his hand, but he could tell that Johnny was excited to go on this little adventure.

  It took less than a half hour to get to the hospital. Nurses and other medical personnel were waiting on the helicopter pad. They had a wheelchair for Johnny.

  “It’s his ankle,” Laura said, “But he was lost in the desert. We’d like him checked out head to toe, please.”

  “Got it,” said one of the nurses. “We’ll take him to X-ray and check him out there.”

  “Thanks,” Laura said.

  “Follow us.”

  They took the elevator down to the emergency room at the Duke Springs Hospital. Then
they wheeled Johnny through a set of double doors.

  “Have a seat in the waiting room. We’ll call you when Johnny’s ready,” the nurse said.

  “Will do,” said Cody.

  They sat in the waiting room and held hands.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Cody said. “He’ll be fine. If he was bitten by anything, he’d show symptoms, and I would have taken care of it. Besides, he said he threw a rock at the lizard.” He chuckled. “That’s my boy!”

  Laura squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re with me, Cody.”

  “I’m glad, too.” He kissed the palm of her hand. “And I’m glad you told J.W. that I’m Johnny’s father.”

  “I should have done it a long time ago, but I needed you with me. It was only right. I’m ready for us to be a family. You have money now, and I can match it from my savings, so we’ll have a nice nest egg to start out in that double-wide.”

  “Are we still putting our home on the Double M?” Cody asked.

  “I think we should get our own land, something that’s really ours, but I don’t want it too far away. Johnny needs family around him, and he’ll have it—two grandmothers, a grandfather and Aunt Cindy, a mom and a dad and Clarissa. He’ll miss Clarissa if we go too far away.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Cody said.

  “Finally, we are going to be a family.” Laura rubbed her thumb on the back of Cody’s hand.

  A man in scrubs came into the waiting room. “My name’s Rodney McGlaskin, but call me Rod. I’m an X-ray tech. I just want to tell you that Johnny is okay. No bites or anything, some scratches, but he was loaded with tiny cactus needles, like from a prickly pear. We took care of them and doused him with antiseptic. The good news is that the X-ray doesn’t show any trauma to the ankle. He might have twisted it a bit, so he should probably go easy on it for a while. You know, he’s a cute kid.”

  “Yes, he is,” Cody said.

  “So, he’s all set. But you need to go to the first floor and give them some information. Then feel free to leave.”

  He paused as Johnny was brought out in a wheelchair. Laura went over and hugged him. Cody followed suit.

  “How are you all going to get home?” Rod asked. “Taxis aren’t running this time of night, and if they were, they wouldn’t go way out to the Duke Ranch.”