Colorado Cowboy - Includes a bonus novella

by Sara Richardson

  She gazed down at him and every worry Dev had just soothed came bubbling back to the surface. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with him.”

  Dev slipped his hand in hers again. “You’re going to keep caring about him. You’re going to do whatever you have to do to show him how much you care about him.”

  She did care. She might not know him well, but she loved that kid. Hopefully that was enough.

  After one last look at Bodie, she quietly ducked through the door. Dev followed, closing it behind him. They stood face-to-face in the cramped hallway.

  “You haven’t heard any more about your sister?” Dev asked.

  “No.” She hadn’t mentioned the phone call to him. It would only reinforce his suspicions about Melody and, while she was starting to fear he might be onto something, she couldn’t do anything about her sister right now. She had to figure out how to handle this crisis with Bodie. “What would you do if you were me? If you caught the kid you were in charge of drinking at a party?” She didn’t have any clue what consequence would fit that kind of crime.

  “You really want my advice?” There was a warning in his tone, like it might not be easy for her to hear.

  Well, easy wasn’t exactly working out so well for her at the moment. “Yes. I really want to know.” Dev had seen a lot of kids in trouble. She couldn’t let Bodie end up that way.

  “I think you have two options. If you want, I can bring him down to the station and give him an underage drinking ticket, which’ll mean a hefty fine, court appearance, and likely community service.”

  “That’s probably what I have to do, right?” Even if it killed her. “That’s a consequence.” For both of them, since she’d likely have to front the money. But hopefully it would be enough to make him learn his lesson so this didn’t happen again.

  “I think there’s another option,” Dev said thoughtfully. “Leave him here tonight. I’ll sleep on the couch, check on him every so often. Then I’ll wake him up at the crack of dawn and put him to work on my parents’ ranch again. Still the hard work of community service, but it won’t go against him on his record.”

  Charity’s mouth dropped open. “You would do that for him?”

  “I would do it for both of you.” Dev edged his body closer to hers. “We’d planned to work anyway. We’ll just get an earlier start.” He chuckled. “That was my father’s favorite form of punishment after I’d had too much fun drinking on a Friday night back in the day. He’d wake me up before the sun and hand me a list of my least favorite jobs on the ranch.”

  The pained look on Dev’s face prompted a laugh. “It must’ve been effective.”

  “Oh yeah.” He whistled low. “It happened only a couple of times before I learned I didn’t want to spend my Saturday mornings mucking out stables with a serious hangover.”

  The fact that Dev had experimented with alcohol made her feel at least a little bit better. After all, he’d turned out pretty good. There wasn’t a better man Bodie could be spending time with right now. But she couldn’t put it all on Dev’s shoulders. “I’ll come back in the morning,” she told him. “Then the three of us can work together.”

  “You sure?” Dev led her out to the living room. “What about training?”

  “Right now this is more important.” For a long time, she’d used her riding as a means of escape. Training and competing allowed her to stay too busy to form any kind of real relationship, but Bodie needed her to be present. He needed to know she’d make him a priority. And while she was at it, maybe she could figure out how to stop running from Dev too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Rise and shine.” Dev threw open the curtains in his east-facing bedroom, knowing full well the early-morning sun would hit Bodie square in the eyes.

  The kid groaned and rolled over, burrowing his head under a pillow.

  Dev had been afraid that’s how this would go, so he’d come prepared. He lifted the bullhorn to his mouth and clicked the button. “I said rise and shine.” The words echoed loud enough to make him wince, and he’d been ready for them.

  Bodie shot straight up in the bed. “What the hell? Where am I?” The kid scrambled out from under Dev’s comforter, but when the sunrays hit him in the face, his upper body collapsed and his head went straight into his hands. “Owwww.”

  “Got a little headache, do ya?” Dev asked cheerfully.

  “Is this your house?” Bodie squinted at him. “Is this your bed?”

  “Relax, desperado.” He whipped the covers the rest of the way off the bed in case the kid puked. “I didn’t kidnap you or anything. Your aunt brought you here after you passed out last night. She was worried.” It had surprised him when Charity agreed to leave Bodie at his place. But then again, a lot of things about last night had surprised him. The way she’d opened up to him, the kiss. It still simmered on his lips.

  “Ugggg.” The kid hunched again, squeezing his forehead with his hand. “Shit. The party.” He peered up at Dev, having the decency to look worried. “How bad was it? Did she send you over there to bust everyone? Oh my god, they’re gonna hate me. They’re never gonna talk to me again.”

  Dev sat down next to him. “Maybe this is just me, but I wouldn’t consider Jett Lewis a big loss.”

  “He’s my friend.” Bodie likely tried to scowl, but he was too pale and sleepy-eyed to look all that menacing. He almost looked like a little kid, probably because he had the worst case of bedhead the deputy had ever seen.

  “How’s being friends with Jett Lewis working out for you?” he asked.

  Bodie wisely ignored the question and inched to the edge of the bed, looking paler and paler by the second. “Where’re my boots?” he demanded, wobbling to his feet.

  “By the front door.” Dev stood too, stepping aside so Bodie could move past him. The kid made it three steps before he darted to the trash can, which still sat at the side of the bed. He hit his knees and upchucked what appeared to be all the contents of his stomach and then some.

  Dev stood behind him and waited patiently for the convulsions to stop. “You done?” he finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever be done.” The kid groaned.

  “That’s okay. We’ll be outside anyway. You can throw up wherever you want.”

  “Outside?” Bodie staggered to his feet. “I’m not gonna be outside. I’m going back to my aunt’s house. I need to go back to bed.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.” Dev followed him out to the living room. “Here’s how the rest of your morning is gonna go down.” Luckily his stern voice had gotten a lot of practice. “You get a choice. Option A? You stay here for a few hours and do the work we’d planned to do. But it won’t count toward the PlayStation.”

  “Are you crazy?” Bodie gaped at him. “I can’t work right now. I just threw up! You can’t make me stay.”

  “You’re right,” Dev agreed. “You don’t have to stay. I can’t make you. So if you choose option B, you and I will head on down to the station, where I’ll issue you a real official-looking underage drinking ticket that will likely result in a court appearance, some hefty fines, and a hell of a lot of community service, depending on how friendly the judge feels that day.” Dev leaned in closer to share a little secret. “Just an FYI, most of the judges in this county aren’t very friendly.”

  “You can’t do this. My aunt won’t let you.” Bodie patted his pockets, desperately searching for his phone, Dev had to assume. “I’m gonna call her. She’ll come get me right now.”

  “Actually, your aunt thought this was a good plan. She’ll be over to join us shortly.” Yet another surprise from last night. Instead of avoiding him, she’d volunteered to come. Maybe he was getting through to her. “By the way, I haven’t seen your phone. My guess is you left it at your good friend Jett’s house.”

  “I’ll walk home then.” The kid’s resolve had obviously started to weaken. The look on his face gave him away. He knew he was in deep shit, a
nd it was only getting deeper.

  “Fine with me,” the deputy said easily. “Walk home. But you’ll still get the ticket. You’ll have to work it off anyway. And you will be the one who has to show up in court.” He leaned casually against the wall. “Trust me, working on my ranch would be a lot more pleasant than some of the court-assigned community service opportunities one of our fine judges will offer you.” If he refused, Bodie would likely find himself picking up the nasty trash all along the highway. The kid didn’t want to know what kinds of things people threw out on the side of the road. “Totally up to you,” he said with a grin. “Just let me know what you decide.” He started to walk away to give the kid a few minutes to think.

  “Wait.”

  Huh. That didn’t take quite as long as he’d expected.

  “We’re just taking down that one tree, right?” Bodie asked. “The one you showed me last week?”

  “We’ll do that after we muck out the horse stables.” He knew from experience the smell alone would be enough to deter Bodie from making the same mistake again. “After the tree, we’ll mow down some of the grasses that have grown too tall in the pastures.”

  Bodie had started to look a little overwhelmed. “You got a tractor?” the kid almost growled.

  “Of course I have a tractor.” Dev held off a threatening grin. “But there’re plenty of spots I can’t get to. You’ll have to use the push mower.” If the horse manure didn’t take care of the problem, pushing that mower over a couple of acres of wild grass might be enough to convince him drinking wasn’t worth it. “You ready to get started?”

  Bodie didn’t budge. “What about breakfast? I’m starving.”

  Dev went to his closet and tossed him a jacket. “Breakfast will be at ten. After the work’s done.” He’d already made himself a cup of coffee and a hearty bowl of oatmeal, but he figured he’d let Bodie sleep in until seven. Yeah, he was a softie. “Besides, I don’t want you puking again.”

  “If you don’t feed me, I might pass out,” the kid grumbled, pulling on the coat.

  “Fine with me. I’ll just bring over one of the cows so it can lick your face until you wake up.”

  “I don’t get it.” The kid sank to the couch and started to put on his boots. “What’s the big deal? I went to a party and drank. Kids do it all the time. Who cares?”

  “Your aunt cares.” Dev had never seen her like that. So terrified and lost. “I care too.” As much as Bodie tried to hide it, the kid had the smarts and the grit to go far in life. He might pretend he didn’t care what happened to him, but Dev could see through the act.

  “Yeah, right.” Bodie stomped past him. “You just like busting people. That’s probably why you became a cop in the first place. So you could look all important and give people tickets and arrest them.”

  “Actually, I like shooting people,” Dev said with a straight face. “That’s why I became a cop.”

  Bodie did a double take, and Dev busted out laughing. “That was a joke.”

  Now that he was more awake the kid’s scowl had started to come back. “It was a stupid joke.”

  “I’m full of stupid jokes.” Dev clapped him on the back. “Consider it part of your punishment.”

  Bodie jerked away. “Great. I can’t wait to hear more.”

  “Then let’s get started.” Dev led the way outside.

  “Hold on, I’ve got another one.” Dev rested the blade of his ax on the ground. Before he could deliver the joke, Charity paused from stacking the logs Bodie and Dev had split and looked at her nephew. They both groaned.

  For the last hour, in between chopping up the tree they’d brought down, Dev had been sharing his vast knowledge of bad police jokes. Charity had no idea so many terrible cheesy jokes existed in the world. Of course, knowing Dev, he was making them up as he went along just to distract them from the work.

  “No, this one’s good. I swear.” The deputy placed his hand over his heart in a solemn pose.

  “None of them have been good.” Bodie dropped his ax too. Sweat drenched his forehead and his T-shirt, but instead of making him surly, the physical activity seemed to energize him.

  It had energized her too. Being outside, doing something productive, watching Bodie bond with Dev. It was so good for him. Charity almost couldn’t believe how hard he’d worked under Dev’s instruction, how much he’d responded when Dev told him he was doing a great job.

  “What happened after the Energizer Bunny was arrested?” Dev didn’t wait for them to guess. “He was charged with battery.”

  Bodie clutched at his chest and made choking sounds like he was dying. Charity couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Just when you think they couldn’t get any worse,” her nephew said. “You come up with something like—”

  A horse whinnied behind them. Charity turned and watched as Gracie rode over on her speckled appaloosa, looking like a rodeo princess in her jean leggings, sparkly T-shirt, and glittering white cowgirl hat.

  “Hey.” Charity walked to meet her. “What’re you doing here?”

  “Mom told me you guys would be here.” Charity and Naomi had talked last night after she’d left Bodie at Dev’s. Even though she’d been nervous about it, her friend had insisted she’d done the right thing by letting him sleep it off at the deputy’s house.

  “She said I could ride over to say hi,” Gracie went on. That was so like Charity’s friend. Naomi had probably sent Gracie over so her nephew would feel like he had at least one friend left after last night.

  “How’s it going?” The girl dismounted and smiled shyly at Bodie. “Looks like you’ve been working hard this morning, huh?”

  “Yeah.” He did one of those cool-guy no-biggie shrugs, which sparked a chuckle deep within Charity. She didn’t dare let it out.

  “Dev needed my help with some things around here.” The kid’s voice lowered into something gruff and badass.

  Oh god, it was adorable.

  Dev didn’t seem to think so, however. A solid scowl cracked open his mouth, but before he could say anything, Charity clamped her hand onto his arm. “We’ll be back in a sec,” she announced, dragging him away.

  Once they were out of earshot, Dev chuckled. “I needed his help? I guess I shouldn’t mention he was the one puking in my bedroom this morning.”

  Charity stopped and turned to face him. “Probably not. He’s only trying to impress her.” Based on the way Gracie offered Bodie her rapt, undivided attention, it seemed to be working.

  “I’m not sure that’s a great idea.” The longer Dev stared over at them, the more his eyes narrowed. “Bodie was drinking at a party last night and Gracie just started watching PG-13 movies, like, a month ago.”

  “So?” Was he really saying he didn’t want Bodie around Gracie? “Gracie is exactly the kind of kid he needs to be hanging out with right now.” A kid who wouldn’t get him in trouble. A kid who actually had his best interests in mind. Gracie was sweet and genuine and, yes, innocent. Bodie needed more of that in his life.

  “I’m sure there are a lot of other kids who don’t party,” Dev grumbled. “He could hang out with them.”

  “Naomi is fine with the two of them developing a friendship,” she informed him. “You said you wanted to help him.” He’d said he wanted to help her.

  “I’m trying to help him.” Frustration ground into the words. “But I also know thirteen-year-old boys. I’ve known Gracie since she was baby, and I don’t think they should hang out.”

  Ha. As if he held all the control in this situation. “What do you plan to do? Follow her around school and make sure she doesn’t talk to him? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever—”

  “Hi there, y’all.”

  The honey in that voice snapped Charity’s mouth shut. She peered over her shoulder almost expecting to see Aunt Bee standing there behind her. She’d loved that lady on The Andy Griffith Show.

  Instead of Aunt Bee, Dev’s mom stood on the front porch of her house, her hands r
esting on cushioned hips. She looked nothing like everyone’s favorite aunt from television, though she did have a wholesome grace about her—the coiffed white hair, the slick of red lipstick, the sensible polyester pants and flowered cardigan.

  “Hey, Mom.” Dev quickly sidestepped Charity and walked over to meet her on the sidewalk in front of the house.

  “Looks like a party out here.” The woman took her son’s arm and ambled over to Charity, smiling the whole way. “Why, Charity Stone. You’re even prettier up close.”

  Charity could feel herself blushing. “Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins.” She waved her nephew over. “This is my nephew, Bodie. And obviously you know Gracie.” The girl had followed the object of her affection right over.

  “Of course I know Gracie.” The woman wrapped her in a hug. “How are ya, girl? It’s been a while since you’ve ridden over here to see us.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, Mrs. Jenkins.” A bright smile showed off the girl’s dimples. “I’ve been so busy with riding lessons and homework. You wouldn’t believe the homework at our school. It’s out of control.” She turned to Bodie and elbowed him. “Right?”

  Charity’s nephew agreed with a nod. “It sucks.”

  Dev’s jaw tightened back up, but before he could say anything, Charity smiled at his mom. “Dev has told me a lot about you, Mrs. Jenkins. It’s so nice to meet you in person.” She offered her hand, but instead, Dev’s mom ambushed her with a hug. “The pleasure is all mine.” She pulled back and beamed. “I’ve watched some of your races, honey, and don’t mind if I say, you have a real talent.”

  Now that was a compliment she felt more comfortable receiving. “Thank you.”

  “Y’all are stayin’ for brunch, right?” Mrs. Jenkins asked with a hopefulness that immediately made Charity want to tell her yes, of course they were staying. But how could they stay when Dev had already decided he didn’t want Bodie and Gracie to develop a friendship? “Thanks for the offer, but we should—”

  “I’m starving,” Bodie interrupted.