Colorado Cowboy - Includes a bonus novella

by Sara Richardson

Dev stopped working so he could get a good look at the kid’s face. If Melody had lost her job, there’d likely been money problems. Bad enough to motivate her to hold up a convenience store? “When did she get fired?” Sometimes he hated that his job made him so suspicious of people.

  Bodie shrugged like he couldn’t exactly remember. “A month ago, I guess.”

  So the timing was right. Dev started to dig again, trying to plot out his next words carefully. “I guess money was tight then, huh? It definitely was for us when I was growing up.” This time he handed the new fence post to Bodie and let him do the honors.

  “We’ve never had any money, but a few weeks ago Mom said someone gave her some to help us out.” He jammed the post into the hole and held it straight while Dev packed the earth in around it. “That’s probably why she wanted to move and start over somewhere else. We’re going to California.” His expression dared Dev to disagree. “She’s coming back to get me and we’re moving there. She probably went to find us a place first. I guess it won’t be all bad since the ocean’s there.”

  “Uh, yeah. California’s great.” Dev couldn’t look at him. Someone had given them money? Shit. He’d like to think maybe it was a relative, or some kind of nonprofit or something, but that gut-twisting instinct of his never lied.

  “Hey, how come I’m the one doing all the work?” Bodie demanded, already well over halfway to digging out the next post.

  “Right. Sorry.” Dev lumbered over in a fog. They worked silently, but his mind was running fast with the information he’d learned. Melody had the motivation to commit the theft, and she’d gotten what sounded like a significant sum of money from an unknown source. So she was likely hiding out and waiting to make sure the robbery investigation went cold before she came back for Bodie. At least that was his informed theory.

  For the kid’s sake, he hoped he was wrong.

  Chapter Eleven

  Friday. Thank. God. It. Was. Friday. Charity collapsed on her living room sofa as though she’d just run a marathon in record time. In some ways, she had.

  Friday meant she and Bodie had made it through a whole week with no issues at school. Friday meant two days of not rushing around in the mornings when Bodie realized again that he’d forgotten to do a homework assignment the night before.

  His first week of school had gotten off to the wrong start with the ditching issue, but this week, he’d made it through—they’d both made it through—and her nephew had even made some friends at school. One of them had invited him over tonight, so for her, Friday also meant book club. And boy did she need it. Her friends. Laughter.

  On the other side of the great room, the guest room door opened and Bodie stepped out.

  She sat up straight. He wasn’t wearing black! Well, not all black anyway. He had on a gray shirt with his black jeans and combat boots. That was progress, right?

  He slipped on his backpack and made a beeline for the front door. “I’m gonna head over to Jett’s house.”

  “Right. Sure.” Charity dragged herself off the couch and stood, searching for her keys. “I can drive you.”

  “You don’t have to drive me. It’s, like, five blocks away.”

  “Yeah, but I should probably meet his parents.”

  “I’m not five years old,” Bodie muttered. “This isn’t some stupid playdate. No one’s parents drop them off in this town. Everyone walks or rides their bikes.”

  He had a point. The last thing she wanted to do during this difficult time was embarrass him in front of the few friends he’d made. But still…she couldn’t help but worry. “Are his parents home?”

  “Of course they’re home. Not like there’s anywhere to go on a Friday night in this town.” He opened the front door. “I already texted you their address and phone number.”

  A hint of pride shone through her worries. That was very responsible of him. “And you’re sure you want to spend the night? Because I could pick you up later.”

  “Nah, I’ll stay there. We’re gonna watch movies and play video games and stuff. Probably stay up late.”

  He actually looked excited for once, though he was trying to hide it behind that cool kid smile. “You’ll have your phone, right?” Naomi had shown her how to track him via Find My iPhone so she’d always know exactly where he was.

  “Yeah. I’ll keep it with me all night. Right here in my pocket.” His tone was almost teasing. As if her protectiveness amused him.

  Well, he’d better get used to it. She might be a newbie, but she wasn’t half bad at this parenting stuff. Thank god for online parenting articles. She’d read at least a hundred of them this week, and they had all outlined the importance of asking questions and communicating with your teen.

  She walked over to the door to see him out. “No hitchhiking, right?”

  He grinned again. “No hitchhiking. I swear. That was stupid. Trust me, it won’t happen again.”

  Well, she didn’t exactly trust him—not yet—but they were moving in that direction. “If you need anything, or you just want to come home—back to the house, I mean—call me. It doesn’t matter what time.”

  “I will,” he overemphasized the words, his wide eyes calling her out with a look of exasperation.

  Okay, okay. She could take a hint. He wasn’t used to having a parent fuss over him like this. She got it. She’d been independent at his age too.

  She followed Bodie out onto the front porch. “Have fun,” she called to his retreating back. “Let me know if you need anything.” Had she already said that? Oh well. At least he’d know she meant it.

  The kid didn’t turn around, but at least he waved once more before he disappeared around the corner.

  Charity went back inside and closed the door. After having Bodie there for almost three weeks, it felt emptier somehow. Even though he talked as much as a typical thirteen-year-old boy, she’d gotten used to having him around, to sitting down at the dinner table with him at night. Charity went to the kitchen and stuffed her wallet into her back pocket before snatching her keys. Book club wasn’t supposed to start for another hour, but she doubted Jessa would mind if she showed up early. It was better than sitting around here and worrying about Bodie and her sister, or thinking about Dev, which had still been happening more than she’d care to admit. It didn’t help that Bodie had been talking about him. About how Dev had let him drive the ATV all over their ranch. About how they’d had a race to see who could replace a fence post the fastest, and how Bodie had kicked Dev’s butt. She’d tried to keep her feelings for Dev in check, but hearing Bodie talk about the man made it almost impossible. His kindness to Bodie meant more to her than he could ever know.

  Before her thoughts of the deputy could take a more romantic turn, she jogged out the door, locked up, and got into her truck. On her way through town, she swung by the address Bodie had given her. It was a modest square modular unit with peeling siding. There were two cars in the driveway, which likely belonged to Jett’s parents. The sight made her breathe a little easier. Maybe she could actually enjoy herself tonight instead of worrying. She quickly blazed down the street and got out of there before Bodie caught her spying.

  On the drive over to Jessa’s, she finally began to relax. Things had gotten off to a rocky start with Bodie, but he seemed to be adjusting. Which was good, since she’d been unable to find her sister. After the phone call, Charity was starting to lose hope that Mel would come back. She’d started to think about the future. Bodie was doing well, so maybe he could stay with her. She had no idea how that would work with her upcoming travel schedule, but she’d figure it out if that’s what needed to happen.

  Again, she wouldn’t worry about it tonight. She’d let herself relax and enjoy being with her friends. Tomorrow morning, she could pick up all of the worrying again.

  Doing her best to shut out thoughts of her sister, Charity turned onto the Cortez ranch and followed the winding drive up to the houses. Lance and Jessa had a nice place at the top of the hill near the corral
and stables. At one time, Naomi had lived on the property too, but now she and Lucas ran the Hidden Gem Inn on the edge of town. They lived in a large apartment adjacent to the inn with Gracie and her little sister, Charlotte.

  Charity parked next to the driveway and got out, admiring Lance and Jessa’s gorgeous house. It was all timber and stone, with high vaulted ceilings and beautiful bay windows. Even before she reached the front door to knock, she heard chaos inside. That would be courtesy of the triplets. Declan, Cole, and Paisley were almost a year old. Charity had never been into babies, but even she had to admit they were cuties.

  Knowing there was no way Jessa would hear the doorbell, Charity simply walked inside.

  Whoa. Paisley was lying on her back on the living room floor, screaming and kicking her legs in the air. Declan was in the middle of the room dumping out a toy box, and she couldn’t see Cole, but judging from Jessa’s firm “No, no,” he had to be up to no good as well.

  “Oh my god!” Her harried friend stood in the kitchen looking like she’d just gone to battle. “I’m so glad you’re here!” She ran over to Charity, dodging the minefield of toys on the floor. “Lance has been gone all afternoon, and things have really gone crazy around here.”

  “I can see that.” Now Charity spotted Cole. He was sitting in one of the high chairs throwing orange mushy food at the wall. And she thought living with a thirteen-year-old was hard. “Wow. Good thing I came early. It looks like you could use some backup.”

  “That would be great.” Jessa rushed back to the kitchen. “Can you pick up Paisley and try to calm her down?” Her friend lifted Cole out of the high chair and set him gently on the floor.

  Calm her down? Jessa wanted Charity to calm down a baby? “Uh. Sure.” Though calm and babies didn’t exactly fall within her realm of talents. She crossed the room and assessed the situation, giving it a few minutes before she scooped the tantrum-throwing angel into her arms. “Hi there, Paisley,” she murmured, bouncing her lightly.

  The baby immediately stopped crying and gazed at her with huge blue eyes.

  “Cole, no!” Jessa ran to the other side of the kitchen. “Oh dear lord. He’s eating dog food again. I took the time to steam him sweet potatoes, but no…he wants dog food.”

  Charity laughed and brought Paisley over to where Declan was trashing the living room. “Maybe he likes the taste.” She knelt and set the baby girl in front of the toy pile and went to work cleaning up the mess. Grinning at Declan, she tossed the toys into the basket, making a game out of it, and within seconds he’d joined her.

  Jessa walked over with Cole and plopped down on the floor across from Charity. “You’re really good with them.”

  Charity continued her game with Declan. “I don’t know much about babies.” Didn’t know much about kids period. One-year-olds or thirteen-year-olds.

  “They like you though.” Her friend tossed a few stuffed animals into the basket.

  “I like them too.” Over the past few years she hadn’t been around kids much, but that did happen to be one of her favorite parts about traveling to competitions. Meeting the kids, signing autographs, hearing about the dreams they wanted to chase someday. “I definitely don’t think I could handle triplets, though.” From the look of things, that was a whole other level of insane.

  “Oh, it’s not so bad—”

  The front door swung open and Lance rushed in looking every bit as harried as his wife. “Babe, I’m so sorry I was out that long.”

  Charity didn’t know Lance well. She wasn’t sure she’d ever had a real conversation with him, but she could read the love on his face when he walked over and picked up Paisley and Declan, one in each arm, giving them both kisses on their chubby cheeks. The babies cooed and giggled and made a chorus of “dada” noises.

  “No worries, hon. We’re fine.” Jessa stood with Cole and wrapped her arms around Lance, and the five of them hovered like that for a few seconds, clinging to one another in the midst of the mess surrounding them.

  A strange sense of longing gripped Charity at the way Lance and Jessa seemed to rely on each other. She envied Jessa’s openness. Her friend didn’t push anyone away. Somehow, even in the chaos of what Charity had walked into, the two of them seemed even stronger together.

  Still holding two of his babies, Lance leaned down and gave Jessa a long, savoring kiss. “Since you’ve got book club tonight, I’ll take these rascals over to Levi’s and force him to help me feed them dinner.” Somehow he made room for Cole in his arms too, then hauled all three babies to the front door.

  “Thank you, my love.” Jessa hooked the strap of a diaper bag onto his shoulder and gave him one more kiss. This time, Char had to turn away. She’d never wanted this. The domestic life. The kissing. The babies. And yet an undeniable envy still tugged at her heart.

  While Lance and Jessa finished their goodbyes, Charity knelt on the floor and continued picking up toys. They were everywhere—under the couch, in front of the fireplace, on top of the coffee table. Wow, those little cuties left a trail of destruction wherever they went.

  “Whew.” With her kids and husband gone, Jessa trudged over to join Charity. “I’m exhausted.” And yet her eyes still had their happy sparkle.

  Charity tossed yet another stuffed animal into a nearby basket. “That was definitely intense. I don’t know how you do it all.” In addition to having triplets, the woman also ran the local animal rescue from the ranch. Charity grinned. Come to think of it, taking care of the animals probably wasn’t so different from taking care of those three babies.

  “I don’t do any of it alone,” her friend said, stacking up the board books Declan had strewn about. She paused and looked up at Charity. “You know you don’t have to either, right? Do it alone? I’m sure things are tough right now with Bodie, but we’re all here for you.”

  “Yeah.” Charity rocked to her heels and stood to fold one of the blankets that had been hiding under the toys. Though she’d repeatedly told Dev she wanted to handle things alone.

  “I think we’re starting to figure things out,” Charity said. “I’ve been taking it one day at a time.”

  “Taking what one day at a time?” Naomi appeared in the doorway.

  “Bodie,” Jessa informed her sister-in-law. “And you’re early.” She walked over to greet Naomi.

  The woman took one look around the room and her face broke into a wide smile. “I figured you could use a little help getting ready.”

  “How’d you guess?” Jessa muttered, bending down to straighten three of the most adorable pairs of cowboy boots Naomi had ever seen.

  “So what’s this about Bodie?” Naomi joined Charity near the sofa. “Did he have an okay week?”

  “I think so,” Charity answered with a sigh. “Though it’s hard to tell much. Communication isn’t exactly his strong suit.”

  “Typical teenager.” Jessa dumped another handful of toys back into the basket.

  “Well, I’m glad to hear he’s adjusting.” Naomi reached down to snatch yet another toddler-sized blanket off the floor. “I was surprised to hear you were coming. Where is he tonight?”

  “At a friend’s house, actually.” A friend. Bodie had a friend. That alone had made her feel more at ease with his situation at school.

  “That’s great!” Jessa paused from picking up a pile of barnyard animals.

  “Who is it?” Naomi asked. “Maybe I know him.”

  “His name is Jett. I think they’ve been hanging out at lunch.”

  “Jett?” Naomi repeated, her smile going slack. “As in Jett Lewis?”

  “Oh lord.” Jessa dropped the plastic cow she’d been holding and the thing broke out into an obnoxious rendition of “The Farmer in the Dell.”

  “Yes. Jett Lewis.” A nervous tremor started in Charity’s shoulders. She did not like the way her friends were looking at her right now. “Why?”

  Jessa and Naomi frowned at each other as though debating what they should say, but Charity didn’t have all nig
ht. “What the heck is wrong with Jett Lewis?”

  “The Lewis family doesn’t exactly have the best reputation around town, that’s all,” Jessa said carefully.

  “Mostly because the parents are hardly ever around. They take a lot of weekend trips and leave their sixteen-year-old son in charge most of the time.”

  “No. Bodie told me Jett’s parents would be home.” She knew enough to ask that much.

  Naomi and Jessa shared yet another pained glance. “You didn’t take him over there and meet the parents?” Naomi asked.

  She knew she should’ve driven him over there! “I wanted to, but he got all huffy with me…”

  “Yeah, because they’re not there.” Jessa gave up on cleaning and walked over. “Trust me. They’re never there.”

  “But…” He’d lied to her? After she’d specifically asked him all of those important questions? “Maybe they stayed home this weekend.” Please let that be it. She didn’t want to deal with the alternative. What would she do? Ground him? Send him to his room?

  “Maybe.” Jessa obviously tried to say it encouragingly, but her eyes were full of concern.

  “But if not, that house is definitely not a place you want Bodie to be.” Naomi said. “I’ve heard about the parties Jett’s older brother has. I think his parents are the ones who buy the alcohol for them.”

  “Unbelievable.” Charity dug out her keys and sprinted for the door.

  “You want me to come with you?” Naomi called after her.

  “No. You should stay and help Jessa.” She needed to handle this alone.

  Charity raced back to town in her truck, almost hoping Dev was hiding out in his patrol car somewhere so he would follow her to the Lewis’s house with his lights flashing and gun blazing.

  If Dev was there, maybe she wouldn’t get arrested for murder.

  Bodie had lied to her face. So easily. He’d even made fun of her concerns when she’d questioned him. All along he’d known Jett’s parents wouldn’t be home. He’d probably even known all of the kids would be drinking and partying. Her fingertips dug deeper into the leather steering wheel. There were so many ways she could punish him—ground him to solitary confinement in his room until he stopped making stupid choices. Oh, better yet, she should force him to sit through every scientific documentary ever made on how alcohol affects the body. Didn’t he care that he was killing brain cells? As a thirteen-year-old boy, he needed all the help he could get in that department.