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

by Christine Wenger

  “If I know my father and mother, they’ll be downstairs waiting for us,” Laura said.

  Cody grinned. “And I’ll bet that my mother and Cindy are with them.”

  “I hope they have a van,” the man said.

  “They do,” Laura said.

  Cody pushed Johnny’s wheelchair to the elevator and saw all the pictures of the Duke family forefathers on the wall, all the way back to a tintype of Elijah Duke in 1834 with his wife, Laura.

  “Were you named after her?”

  “Yes. So I hear, but there were a couple of Lauras on my mother’s side, too.”

  “The Masters only settled here in 1867, a bit after the Civil War ended.”

  “We were all pioneers here.”

  Cody snapped his fingers. “I know exactly where my ancestors first settled. The original homestead stood right where my mother’s house is now. That’s why my father was so thrilled to get the land back from J.W. He said that he never should have sold it in the first place.”

  “When we get married, I think we should live exactly in the middle of both places!”

  Cody’s eyes twinkled. “Why, Laura Elaine Diane Duke, are you asking me to marry you?”

  “I sure am.”

  “Yee-haw!” said Johnny.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Five months later, everyone was sitting around the Dukes’ patio table discussing the wedding, when J.W. pushed a stack of papers into the middle of the table.

  J.W. grinned. “Laura and Cody, here’s our wedding present to you. It’s from Georgianna and Penny and me with our love.”

  J.W. pushed the thick document toward them. Laura picked it up. “What is it, Dad? It’ll take us forever to read.”

  “She’s right, J.W. Allow me to explain,” Georgianna said, taking a deep breath. “It’s the deed to a parcel of land that straddles both the Duke Ranch and the Double M. We had everything resurveyed, and this is yours, if you’d like it, that is.”

  “What about the fence?” Cody said.

  “The fence is coming down,” Penny replied, putting her hand over Cody’s. “In more ways than one.”

  “Thank you, J.W., Penny, Mom. We gratefully accept.” Cody held out his hand to shake J.W.’s, and J.W. hesitated just a split second, then he grabbed Cody’s hand and shook it.

  So okay, he was still absorbing the whole thing. He’d get used to having him as a son-in-law eventually, but J.W. had come a long way since Cody was first released from prison.

  Georgianna and Penny had buried the hatchet since the night of Johnny’s disappearance. Suddenly, they were the best of pals and lived to shop and buy things for their grandson and plan the wedding.

  The wedding reception was to be held at the Duke Springs Country Club. Cody protested about the huge crowd, but Laura and the Dukes felt that it’d be a good opportunity for everyone to see how happy they both were.

  Cody had made good on his promise to go to the awards night for citizen of the year. Almost every attendee congratulated him, and maybe he’d made some headway into being accepted again by the whole town.

  Maybe the word got out that if J.W. and Penny Duke accepted him, then they should, too.

  Cody guessed that it was one benefit about his fragile relationship with J.W. Laura was certainly more relaxed with her parents as time went by. Johnny just wanted everyone around him all the time, especially “Grandma Georgianna” and “Aunt Cindy Lou Who.”

  * * *

  Four months later, the small wedding party posed for pictures on the patio of the Duke Ranch.

  Cindy was beautiful as the maid of honor, and Slim Gonzalez was the best man, but Johnny stole the show as a very serious ring bearer with a totally important job.

  After the photographer was done, Georgianna raised her hand to get everyone’s attention.

  “Before the ceremony starts, I’d like to invite you all to my home for refreshments.” She made eye contact with J.W. and Penny. “I have another gift for Cody and Laura that I’d like you all to participate in.”

  Georgianna hugged Johnny. “Johnny, Clarissa will watch you for a while, then you can join us. She can show you the new kittens in my barn. Okay, sweetie?”

  “Okay, Grandma,” he said.

  “Penny, J.W., I’d like to make sure you will come.”

  Penny nodded. “We’ll be there.”

  J.W. made a grumbling noise, and Penny turned to him. “John Wayne Duke, get in that Cadillac and point it at the Double M.”

  “Yes, Penny.”

  * * *

  Later, at the Double M, Cody noticed a couple of cars that he didn’t recognize.

  When they walked into the house, Cody saw that the other guests that Georgianna invited were the district attorney, the sheriff, his parole officer and Judge Carlton, who had sentenced him.

  Oh, no. Not on his wedding day!

  What was this about?

  Soon, Georgianna formally introduced everyone.

  J.W., Georgianna and Penny had all gone to school with them, with the exception of Cody’s parole officer, and were reminiscing about old times in high school.

  “What’s going on, Mom?” Cody asked.

  “Everyone, please get some refreshments first,” she said. “Then take a seat at the table. I have something to say.”

  Georgianna passed around the coffeepot. Before them was a virtual buffet of danishes, donuts, cookies and fruit.

  When everyone was seated and eating, she handed Laura and Cody a stack of legal-size paper.

  But when Cody looked at the title on top—Affidavit—he stood. “Mom, no!” His face drained of color. “Don’t you dare do this.”

  “It’s time,” she said. “It’s my gift to you and Laura. It was a mistake from the beginning. The biggest mistake I ever made.”

  Georgianna turned to those sitting around the table. “You see, I let my son take the blame for a crime that I committed. I was the one who shot Hank Lindy. After he was done beating on me, he turned his attention to Cindy. Little ten-year-old Cindy. He was slapping her face and holding her down on the couch. She was struggling to get away and crying.” Georgianna closed her eyes, then continued. “I got Mike’s old rifle and shot him before he hurt her even more.”

  Georgianna wiped at her eyes. “Cody came into the room after the fact and guessed correctly what had happened. He said that Cindy would need me and that I just couldn’t go to prison. He said that he’d take the blame. At the time, I thought he was right, but I’ve regretted that decision every second of every day, especially when I see how he’s been treated by everyone in this town—like manure on their boots.”

  “That’s enough, Mom,” Cody said. “It was the only way out. Cindy did need you. She needed her mother.”

  Georgianna sighed. “Let me finish, Cody. So, last week, I met with these gentlemen and confessed. My confession is on those papers before you. Cody and Laura, this is my wedding gift to you. It’ll be in the paper tomorrow, and I’ll be arrested for falsely reporting an incident and manslaughter.”

  “The hell you will,” Cody said.

  There was silence throughout the room. No one moved.

  Laura lifted her coffee for a sip, then put it down instead of drinking it. “Georgianna...um... Mom, Cody told me he was innocent, and I believed him. But then after I saw how people treated him, and it made me crazy. I didn’t want that stigma and I didn’t want it for Johnny. Then, as time went on and we got reacquainted, I realized that Cody was the same man that I always loved, and I didn’t care what people thought.” She looked at her parents. “And I was tired of sneaking around. Cody—and Johnny—deserved better from me.”

  “Laura.” Georgianna tapped her finger on the papers. “My affidavit will erase any stigma from Cody and you and Johnny. He’ll have a
clean slate.”

  “Mom, for heaven’s sake, why didn’t you talk to me first?” Cody asked.

  “Because I knew what you would have said.”

  “I would have told you no!”

  “Too late now. It’s already done,” Georgianna said. “Isn’t it, Jeff?”

  The district attorney nodded. “Yes. Your mother confessed to the murder of Hank Lindy and the whole cover-up. Actually, Georgie, I couldn’t believe that you married him in the first place.”

  “I thought he was a nice guy,” Georgianna said. “We had fun and a lot of laughs. I never, ever thought...that he’d beat us.”

  Judge Carlton cleared his throat. “And here’s our wedding gift to you, Cody and Laura...and you, Georgianna.” He took a deep breath. “We have all discussed the matter and have decided that due to the extenuating circumstances...um...uh... Well, here’s basically the story that’s going into the newspaper.”

  Judge Carlton raised his index finger. “The real perpetrator who entered Georgianna’s home came forward and confessed that he tried to rob her and Hank Lindy at gunpoint. The robbery was foiled by Cody Masters. When a fight over the gun ensued, Hank Lindy was accidentally shot by the robber, who escaped, and there’s a warrant out for his arrest.” He reached down and helped himself to a cheese danish. “It’ll be tidied up, but that’s the gist of it.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Cody asked.

  “Because this was the most unselfish act we’ve ever experienced. And because we think that your mother had cause to stop Lindy in the course of a crime against herself and a minor child,” said Sheriff Butler. “Georgie, if you’d told us the truth in the beginning, Cody would never have gone to jail. Neither would you.”

  “Cody, I’m so, so sorry,” she said. “I just can’t apologize enough to you.”

  “It’s done, Mom. Stop. I lived through it,” Cody said. He turned to the judge, the DA and the sheriff. “This is a wonderful wedding present. Thank you, all of you.”

  “The good news keeps coming, Cody,” Penny said. “The headline of your wedding announcement in the morning paper will be Cody Masters, Hero, Marries Laura Duke.”

  “What? I get second billing?” Laura feigned that she was mad.

  Penny laughed. “You’re right, darling. I can flip it around.”

  “And the story about the intruder will be on the first page,” said the sheriff.

  “And when I get back to the office, I’ll file for a discharge from parole for you, Cody.” Parole Officer Charles shook his hand. “It was nice to meet you. You’re a good man.”

  They stood to go, but Cody wouldn’t have it until he’d shaken everyone’s hands and thanked them profusely.

  Laura shook their hands after Cody and added heartfelt hugs. “I’d like to invite you all to celebrate with us, and we are really going to have fun! Please come to our reception at the country club,” Laura said. “Please. And bring a guest. We’ll have more than enough food.”

  With joyful tears, Georgianna hugged the three men, too. “I was all set to go to jail after the reception. Now everything is so...perfect!”

  “I feel like an old fool. Can you two ever forgive me?” J.W. asked. “I wanted to make sure that Laura had a man who could support her in the style that I wanted for her, and that wasn’t you, Cody. But Laura loves you. She’s always loved you, in spite of my selfish attempts to keep you apart. All that time wasted...”

  Cody shook his head. “It took Johnny’s running away to finally wake up everyone. Just remember, J.W., I’m never going to be as rich as you, but I will love Laura and Johnny until the day I die.”

  “Oh, you’ll be as rich as me, all right. I’m turning over the Arabian division to you two. Laura, I did wrong by never teaching you the family business. Now I’m going to rectify that.”

  “I still have things to do at the Double M,” Cody said.

  Georgianna shook her head. “You won’t have much to do anymore. Now that I’m not going to jail, I’m going to give all my livestock to you two and finally retire from ranching. I’m going to try my hand at running a gift shop in town next to Penny’s dress shop. Cindy is going to work there, too, after school. We’ll feature our prickly pear jelly.”

  “What a day this has been already,” Penny said. “And we still have a wedding and a reception to attend!”

  “Oh, it’s only just begun.” Laura grinned, taking Cody’s hand. “Cody and I have a present for you all, too.”

  “What’s that?” J.W. asked.

  “You are all going to be grandparents again!” Laura said.

  Cody laughed, just thinking about how he’d made love to Laura twice, and twice she’d gotten pregnant. He’d better build a really big house!

  After the commotion and congratulations died down, Laura raised her and Cody’s hands to the sky.

  “Now, get me and my cowboy and our son to the church on time. We’re finally getting married!”

  * * * * *

  From New York Times bestselling author

  Jodi Thomas comes a sweeping new series

  set in a remote west Texas town—where

  family can be made by blood or by choice...

  Keep reading for an excerpt from RANSOM CANYON by Jodi Thomas.

  http://www.harlequin.com/harlequinexperience

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  Ransom Canyon

  Jodi Thomas

  Staten

  WHEN HER OLD hall clock chimed eleven times, Staten Kirkland left Quinn O’Grady’s bed. While she slept, he dressed in the shadows, watching her with only the light of the full moon. She’d given him what he needed tonight, and, as always, he felt as if he’d given her nothing.

  Walking out to her porch, he studied the newly washed earth, thinking of how empty his life was except for these few hours he shared with Quinn. He’d never love her or anyone, but he wished he could do something for her. Thanks to hard work and inherited land, he was a rich man. She was making a go of her farm, but barely. He could help her if she’d let him. But he knew she’d never let him.

  As he pulled on his boots, he thought of a dozen things he could do around the place. Like fixing that old tractor out in the mud or modernizing her irrigation system. The tractor had been sitting out by the road for months. If she’d accept his help, it wouldn’t take him an hour to pull the old John Deere out and get the engine running again.

  Only, she wouldn’t accept anything from him. He knew better than to ask.

  He wasn’t even sure they were friends some days. Maybe they were more. Maybe less. He looked down at his palm, remembering how she’d rubbed cream on it and worried that all they had in common was loss and the need, now and then, to touch another human being.

  The screen door creaked. He turned as Quinn, wrapped in an old quilt, moved out into the night.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said as she tiptoed across the snow-dusted porch. “I need to get back. Got eighty new yearlings coming in early.” He never apologized for leaving, and he wasn’t now. He was simply stating facts. With the cattle rustling going on and his plan to enlarge his
herd, he might have to hire more men. As always, he felt as though he needed to be on his land and on alert.

  She nodded and moved to stand in front of him.

  Staten waited. They never touched after they made love. He usually left without a word, but tonight she obviously had something she wanted to say.

  Another thing he probably did wrong, he thought. He never complimented her, never kissed her on the mouth, never said any words after he touched her. If she didn’t make little sounds of pleasure now and then, he wouldn’t have been sure he satisfied her.

  Now, standing so close to her, he felt more a stranger than a lover. He knew the smell of her skin, but he had no idea what she was thinking most of the time. She knew quilting and how to make soap from her lavender. She played the piano like an angel and didn’t even own a TV. He knew ranching and watched from his recliner every game the Dallas Cowboys played.

  If they ever spent over an hour talking they’d probably figure out they had nothing in common. He’d played every sport in high school, and she’d played in both the orchestra and the band. He’d collected most of his college hours online, and she’d gone all the way to New York to school. But, they’d loved the same person. Amalah had been Quinn’s best friend and his one love. Only, they rarely talked about how they felt. Not anymore. Not ever really. It was too painful, he guessed, for both of them.

  Tonight the air was so still, moisture hung like invisible lace. She looked to be closer to her twenties than her forties. Quinn had her own quiet kind of beauty. She always had, and he guessed she still would even when she was old.

  To his surprise, she leaned in and kissed his mouth.

  He watched her. “You want more?” he finally asked, figuring it was probably the dumbest thing to say to a naked woman standing two inches away from him. He had no idea what more would be. They always had sex once, if they had it at all, when he knocked on her door. Sometimes neither made the first move, and they just cuddled on the couch and held each other. Quinn wasn’t a passionate woman. What they did was just satisfying a need that they both had now and then.