Finally the cowboy buckled Josh into the back seat and helped Shelby into the front. Couldn’t let her climb in. Oh, no, he had to get his hands on her and lift her in. Mason swore eloquently. He’d bet the farm those two had been doing the horizontal hula while he’d been crammed into a hard plastic booth trying to get some shut-eye. Somebody would have to pay for that.
Unfortunately it wouldn’t be the café owner and his wife. Mason didn’t have time to play with them now. Maybe another trip. Right now he had to get his butt back to the Land Rover and follow that truck to wherever it was going.
The happy little threesome would never guess he was behind them, either. Patricia never had, in all the times he’d followed her back when she’d pretended to be his ever-faithful wife. Too bad he’d never caught her with one of her lovers, or the divorce settlement would have looked a hell of a lot different. Yeah, he’d been shafted then, but he’d even the score this time. All he had to do was get that kid of his and he’d be on Easy Street.
“WHEN WE GONNA get there?”
“Oh, Josh.” Shelby groaned as the question that had been asked at least a hundred times in the four hours they’d been on the road came sailing up from the back seat yet again.
“Not too much longer,” Boone said. His calm tone betrayed no irritation whatsoever. He acted as if Josh’s query was brand-new, interesting and worthy of a reasonable answer. “Maybe a couple of hours. Maybe less, depending on the road conditions.”
Shelby had decided Boone Connor was a saint. Nothing else explained his incredible patience with a squirmy three-year-old who’d talked nonstop, it seemed, from the time they’d left the café.
“How long’s that?” Josh asked.
“Plenty of time for a little nap,” Shelby suggested hopefully.
“Naps are for babies,” Josh said. “I’m a big boy. Me and Bob, we’re gonna ride horsies when we get there. Right, Boone?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Boone said. “Don’t forget it’ll be almost dark when we get there tonight.”
“And my snowman could be comin’ alive.”
“Could be.”
“Is Mr. Sloan gonna call us if he comes alive?”
“He might.”
“Me and Bob, we can ride horsies in the dark. We gots flashlights.”
“Ah, but the horses will be sleeping,” Boone said. “All tucked into their warm stalls for the night. You wouldn’t want to wake them up, would you?”
“No,” Josh said. “But can we see ’em sleeping? Me and Bob, we’d be very, very, very, very quiet.” He started whispering. “Very, very, very quiet.”
“Then maybe we can go down to the barn,” Boone said.
“Yay! Yay, yay, yay!” Josh started singing. “We’re going to the ba-arn, we’re going to the ba-arn, and see the horsies slee-ping.” Then he paused. “Now how long is it?”
Shelby sighed. “How about if I read you another book?”
“Nope.”
“We’ll count cars,” Boone said. “And see who wins. I’ll take red. Shelby, what color do you want?”
“Green.” She flashed him a grateful smile. She’d only taken one car trip with her family, and she wasn’t very experienced at coming up with games to play on the road, but Boone seemed to know exactly how to handle Josh’s boredom.
“I want black!” Josh said. “Like Batman gots!”
“Oh, how about yellow, Josh?” Shelby said. “You like yellow, don’t you?” Although it was silly of her, she’d rather not have Josh pointing out all the black cars on the road. Mason’s Land Rover was black, and even though Shelby was convinced he was far away, black vehicles still gave her the willies. She’d rather not have Josh sing out every time he saw one.
“I want black,” Josh insisted.
“Then black it is,” Shelby said, not wanting to argue about it.
The game was a success, giving Josh a chance to show his hero Boone that he knew his colors and his numbers. Shelby and Josh were tied at six each, with Boone trailing with four.
“Seven!” Josh shouted.
“Where?” A chill went down Shelby’s spine as it had each time Josh had pointed out a car, until she was able to see it and make sure it wasn’t a Land Rover. She craned her neck. “I don’t see a black car.”
“I seed it. Seven.”
“I don’t see it, either, buddy,” Boone said. “Was it going the other way?”
“It was up there.” Josh pointed up toward Boone’s rearview mirror.
Shelby had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she turned and looked back down the road behind them. “I still don’t see it.”
“It’s gone,” Josh said. “But it counts, right?”
“Sure, it counts.” Shelby continued with the game, but she kept glancing in the rearview mirror, looking for that black car Josh had seen. She pictured a big Cadillac driven by a retired couple who were cruising along under the speed limit. Or an old junker limping down the road as best it could. Anything but a Land Rover.
Eventually she realized Josh had stopped counting the cars. She glanced back and saw that he’d fallen asleep. “He’s finally conked out,” she murmured to Boone. “You’ve been extremely tolerant.”
Boone smiled. “He’s just a normal kid. That’s kind of amazing, all things considered.”
“I know. I give thanks every day that he hasn’t been warped by what he’s been through.”
“I’ll bet you’re the one who can take credit for that, Shelby.”
She shrugged. “I think it’s Josh. He was born with a sunny disposition, and even if life knocks him down, he smiles and gets right back up.” She clenched her hands together in her lap. “At least he has so far. If Mason gets ahold of him, I’m not sure how long that resiliency will last.”
“You were worried about that mysterious black car Josh saw, weren’t you?”
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Mason drives a black Land Rover.”
“I know. Eugene told me.”
Shelby felt an overwhelming attack of conscience. “Boone, you have no business getting involved in this. I should never have agreed to it. What if Mason isn’t on his way up to Wyoming? What if he somehow figured out what we’ve done, and that was his Land Rover Josh saw in the rearview mirror?”
“All the more reason for you to be with me.”
“But don’t you see?” Shelby gazed at the determined clench of Boone’s jaw. He was too noble for his own good. “You don’t deserve to be sucked into whatever scenario Mason has in mind. He’s a violent man, and I don’t know what he might do. You shouldn’t put yourself in harm’s way for somebody you don’t even know.”
He sent her a long look. “The fact is, I would do the same for a stranger. But I don’t think of you as a stranger. Maybe that’s how you think of me, though.”
“No. No, I don’t.” She gazed back at him, instantly filled with remorse. She’d hurt his feelings, which was the last thing on earth she wanted to do. “I think of you as a friend,” she said. “An incredibly generous friend. And that’s why I’m concerned about you getting involved. I’m not in the habit of dragging my friends into nasty situations. I really thought Mason would head down the road to Wyoming and you’d never have to deal with him. Now I’m not so sure.”
“Just concentrate on Josh,” Boone said gently. “Do what’s best for that little boy, and you’ll be making the right decision.”
She had no doubt that meant sticking close to Boone. “Even if I impose horribly on you in the process?”
“I’ll let you know if you’re imposing on me,” he said. “So far you’re not even close.”
“You’re too good.” She shook her head in wonder. “You must have been raised in a warm and loving family, to have such a generous heart.”
“Warm and loving, so long as my dad was sober. If he was drunk, all hell broke lose and the smart ones ducked for cover.”
Shelby took a moment to digest that information. Somehow she’d
imagined Boone with a golden childhood, light years away from her cold and isolated upbringing. “That must have been rough, growing up like that,” she said softly.
He grimaced. “Sometimes. And you’d think I’d have learned how the bottle changes a man. But no, I had to get myself plastered and prove I could be an idiot under the influence, too.”
“Oh, Boone, I can’t picture you doing anything bad, drunk or sober.”
“How about having sex and not using any protection?”
“People get carried away sometimes.” The thought of Boone getting carried away thrilled her to her toes. “I can imagine how that might happen. You’re so—” She stopped herself before she said something really embarrassing.
“I’m lower than a snake, is what I am. Jessica was only trying to be kind to me, and I repaid her by making her pregnant. I don’t blame her for not telling me once she found out. She probably wasn’t sure she wanted me around the baby.”
Shelby laid her hand on Boone’s arm. He was trembling. “Listen, I don’t know this woman or her thought processes, but I do know you. I would trust you with any child, of any age. She should, too.”
“Then why did she name Sebastian and Travis as godfathers?” He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles grew white. “Because she wanted them to keep an eye on me when she couldn’t be there to do it, that’s why.”
“She’s not at the ranch?”
“Not right now.”
“Where is she?” Shelby was woman enough to admit being relieved that Jessica wouldn’t be there when they arrived. She’d been bracing herself for meeting the woman who had carried Boone’s child. She hadn’t been looking forward to it.
“She has some sort of problem, and she didn’t want the baby to be part of it. She dropped Elizabeth off at the Rocking D two months ago.”
“Two months? How old is this baby?”
“She’d be four months now, going on five.”
“She hasn’t seen her baby in more than two months?” Even Patricia wouldn’t have pulled something like that, Shelby thought, and Patricia had definitely foisted Josh on Shelby at every opportunity.
“No, but she calls every once in awhile, Sebastian said. Short calls, asking if Elizabeth’s okay. Something must have really scared her and made her think the baby would be in danger if they stuck together.”
“Well, that I can understand.” Thinking back, Shelby now realized that some of Patricia’s “neglect” might have been a way to keep Josh out of harm’s way. But not all of it. Patricia had once admitted Mason tricked her into getting pregnant to get another hold over her. She’d never really wanted a child.
“Sebastian and Travis have hired a private detective to find Jessica,” Boone said. “When we get there I’m going to take over that expense and do whatever else I can.”
“I’m amazed you didn’t hightail it up there two months ago.”
“I would have. Jessica wrote letters asking all three of us—me, Sebastian and Travis—to be Elizabeth’s godfathers, but my letter got delayed.”
“Wait a minute.” Shelby was having a hard time sorting this out. “She didn’t specifically name you as the father?”
“No, but I know it’s me, even if I don’t remember exactly what happened that night.”
Shelby gazed at him. “You mean you don’t remember…the, um, act itself?”
A ruddy stain crept up his neck. “Nope. And that’s pitiful. Shows you what drink can do to a man.”
“Well, I don’t have a lot of experience in this area, but I always thought that the more a man drank, the less he could…perform, so to speak.”
“But I’m Irish.”
Shelby laughed. “Sorry,” she said, quickly composing herself. “I know this isn’t a laughing matter. But I don’t see what being Irish has to do with it.”
“An Irishman can do anything drunk that he can do sober. He just might not remember it afterwards.”
“I see.” Shelby couldn’t help smiling at Boone’s sturdy belief in his inherited abilities. She could see that arguing with him wouldn’t do any good, but she also wondered if he was truly this baby’s father. Her heart grew a little lighter with the knowledge that he might not be.
“At any rate, don’t go thinking I’m doing all this for you and Josh. I’m doing it for me, too.”
“How do you figure?”
He glanced her way, and his green eyes were troubled. “By helping you, I can try to convince myself I’m not such a bad guy, after all.”
“Boone.” She squeezed his arm. Touching him gave her such pleasure that she felt guilty using comfort as an excuse. “You are not a bad guy. You are so not a bad guy.”
“Thanks, Shelby.” He sighed. “All I know is, I have to do right by Jessica, if she can forgive me, and that little baby of mine.”
“I’m sure you will.” Shelby longed to ask Boone exactly what he meant by that, but she didn’t want to pry into something that was really none of her business. Still, she might make it her business, if she could determine one critical point in this situation. The most important thing about Jessica, from Shelby’s viewpoint, was whether or not Boone was in love with her.
8
THE CLOSER Boone got to the Rocking D, the more his thoughts seemed like a bed of hot coals. One concern would flare up and he’d worry about that for a while until another one began to flicker and glow, drawing his attention. For one thing, he worried about whether Elizabeth would like the set of blocks he’d brought her. He would have rather made his own set, but he hadn’t had the time.
Then he worried about whether Elizabeth would like him. She’d had more than two months to get used to Sebastian. As for Travis—well, Travis would have won her over in five minutes. Travis had a gift that way. But Boone was afraid he’d scare her with his size and his big hands.
When Boone wasn’t thinking about Elizabeth and how that mess would turn out, he worried about whether he could keep Josh from ending up with Mason Fowler. He was as committed to that cause now as Shelby.
Like Shelby, he had an uneasy suspicion that Fowler might be tailing them. Boone had spent a fair share of time checking the rearview mirror, but he hadn’t noticed a black Land Rover. A couple of times while going up a hill he’d thought maybe a vehicle behind them could have been the Land Rover, but it had been too far away to be sure, and he hadn’t wanted to worry Shelby.
Taking her and Josh to the Rocking D was the one thing Boone was positive about, the one thing that didn’t worry him at all. From the Rocking D, with Sebastian and Travis as potential backups, Boone believed he had his best chance to defend the woman and the boy. Out here on the road wasn’t a good place to make a stand.
Fowler struck him as a survivalist type who might have practiced the art of following a vehicle without being seen. The guy probably had more than one gun and maybe even an assault rifle. But if he needed to have custody of Josh in order to get any money, he wouldn’t be mowing anybody down with his firepower.
He might have wanted Shelby to run. Boone had thought about that some, too, after Shelby had mentioned the possibility. Fowler might have decided that in order to cinch his chances of getting the kid, he had to make Shelby look bad. So he’d scared her into taking off. Then he could look like a frantic father if he chased her down and took his kid back.
But he hadn’t counted on Boone.
Shelby would be safe from Mason at the Rocking D. Boone hoped she’d be safe from him. The thought of making love to her never left his mind for long. Riding in the truck together for most of the day hadn’t helped. But they wouldn’t have much opportunity to be alone with so many people around the ranch. He was counting on that to keep him honest.
“It’s black as pitch out here,” Shelby said as they traveled down the dirt road that led to the turnoff to the ranch. “How do you know where you’re going?”
“Habit,” Boone said. He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t wake Josh, who was still asleep in his car seat. “I’ve
based my horseshoeing operation at the Rocking D every summer for the past nine years.”
“So that’s how long you’ve known your friend, the one who owns the ranch?”
“Yep.” He loved Shelby’s voice. It had a musical sound to it, and her slight Texas accent made her sound sexy, no matter what she said.
“How’d you meet him?” she asked.
“I came to the ranch drumming up business. I was living out of my camper, and Sebastian and his wife were scraping by at the time. Sebastian offered me a place to stay if I’d cut him a deal on the shoes every year. That’s how it started.”
“Wait a minute. Didn’t you tell me Sebastian’s a newlywed?”
“Yeah. He and his first wife got a divorce about three years back. He just married his neighbor, Matty.”
“Okay. Sebastian and Matty.” Shelby paused as if committing the names to memory. “What do they look like?”
“Matty’s small and blond, like you.” But not stacked like you are, he thought, but decided that wouldn’t be a good thing to mention. “She’s the no-nonsense type. Can rope and ride as well as a man. Sebastian’s hair is…brown, I guess. He’s built pretty solid, but he’s not as tall as me.”
“Got it,” Shelby said. “And what about your other friend? What does he do?”
“Travis? He used to be Matty’s head wrangler, but now he works for both Matty and Sebastian, I guess.”
“Didn’t you say he was getting married tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” Boone chuckled. “Never thought I’d see the day, either. He’s quite a lady’s man. Good dancer, quick with a joke. He used to walk around saying, ‘So many women, so little time.’ But according to Sebastian, he really fell hard for Gwen Hawthorne.” Boone hadn’t considered it before, but he was glad Travis had a woman. That way he wouldn’t make a play for Shelby.
“And what does Gwen look like?”
Boone’s Bounty Page 9