“That’s it,” Sebastian put in before Travis could answer. “Hotshot pulled the wool over our eyes. Every winter he’d go home and take care of his mommy, like the good boy he is.”
“Hey, there were a few ski bunnies!” Travis protested as well as he could, considering his chin was anchoring the pile of toys in his arms. “You’re ruining my rep, here!”
Gwen came into the room with a bowl of chips and another of salsa. “You’re getting married tomorrow. You don’t need your rep anymore.”
“I was a legend in Utah,” Travis muttered. “No single woman was safe. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
Matty chuckled. “Getting bridegroom jitters, Travis?”
“Not me. Just want to make sure the record’s straight. Now, much as I’d love to stand around discussing my love life, these toys are heavier than they look. Where do they go?”
“I thought we’d put Josh back in with Elizabeth and I made up the daybed in Sebastian’s office for Shelby.”
Shelby and Josh reappeared at that moment. Josh went immediately to the rag rug by the fireplace where both dogs had plopped down. He began murmuring happily to them and rubbing their heads.
Shelby, however, glanced in obvious dismay at the load Travis and Sebastian were bringing in. “Boy, that’s sure a pile of stuff. I promise we’re not moving in, although you’d certainly think so.”
Boone took a closer look at Shelby. Something about her had changed. When they’d first arrived, she’d seemed so happy to be here, but at the moment she didn’t seem happy at all. He tried to catch her eye, but she seemed to be avoiding his gaze.
“Kids need a lot of things,” Matty said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“See?” Boone said. “I told you it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Still Shelby wouldn’t look at him. “I feel as if I’ve invaded your home,” she said to Matty.
“Welcome invasion, if you ask me,” Travis said. “Lizzie’s toys were getting boring.” He started down the hall. “I’ll tell Mom to get a move on. She’s probably fussing over every little ribbon, trying to make Lizzie perfect for her new audience.”
Shelby’s head snapped around and she stared down the hall after Travis. “Did he say mom?”
“Yeah, he did,” Sebastian said as he passed her carrying her suitcase and Josh’s. “Luann’s been in there for the past hour dolling Elizabeth up.”
Shelby turned to gaze at Boone with a smile, and the haunted look was gone from her eyes. “Travis’s mom.”
“Yeah.” Boone didn’t know what had caused Shelby to relax again, but he was glad she had. “I guess she’s moved here from Utah. I didn’t know—”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Shelby said in a breathless rush. Her smile widened. “Absolutely wonderful.”
“I guess so.” He thought it was okay, and probably nice for Travis, but he couldn’t figure out why Shelby was so excited about the prospect. Still, he was glad she looked normal again.
Matty glanced over at him. “Is the couch okay for now?”
“Sure.” He had no problem giving up his usual bed in Sebastian’s office to Shelby.
Shelby’s happy smile faded. “Oh, dear. I’ll bet you usually sleep on that daybed, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t want to take your bed.”
Josh glanced up from petting the dogs. “Let’s all sleep together!” he said. “Like last night! We can cuddle.”
Shelby sent Boone a horrified look. He became aware that Matty and Gwen were studying him, and he could feel the heat climbing up from his collar.
“It wasn’t the way it sounds,” Shelby said quickly, filling the silence. “Boone was sleeping in the chair, but the heat went out, and Josh was getting cold, so Boone came in with us, for more body heat, and…” Her voice trailed off, and now her cheeks were pink, too.
Boone felt responsible for her being embarrassed. If he hadn’t groped her in bed this morning, she’d probably be able to tell the story without blushing. As it was, Matty and Gwen had apparently figured out something was going on, judging from their smug expressions. They probably had the same idea Sebastian and Travis did, that Boone was coupled up with Shelby. For everybody’s sake, he needed to squash that notion.
“You know, maybe I’ll sleep in the barn,” he said.
“We don’t have dormitory rules here,” Matty said, her blue eyes sparkling. “You can sleep wherever you want, Boone.”
“I wanna sleep in the barn!” Josh scrambled to his feet and ran over to Boone to gaze up at him. “Can I sleep in the barn with you and the horsies?”
“Actually, Josh,” Matty said. “I really was hoping you’d be willing to sleep in Elizabeth’s room. She’s so little, and she gets lonesome in there. She needs a big strong boy to keep her company.”
“She does?”
“Ready or not,” Travis called as he came back down the hall. “He-rrre’s Lizzie!”
Boone had been so absorbed in trying to help Shelby out of an embarrassing moment, he’d forgotten the baby was coming. He turned toward the hallway, his gut clenching.
A gray-haired, wiry woman dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt walked in holding…an angel. Boone stared, speechless with wonder at the vision in pink ruffles. She had little pink ribbons tied in her soft brown hair, and little pink booties on her feet. Her creamy skin and tiny pink mouth looked too perfect to be real.
She turned her head and looked right at Boone.
He gazed into those eyes, so like his father’s blue-gray ones. She stared at him with such seriousness, such complete attention, almost as if she knew him. His doubts faded away. Elizabeth was his.
“Hey, Lizzie.” Travis walked over toward the baby. “Show Boone what you can do. Come on, like I taught you.”
The baby stuck out her little tongue and blew a juicy raspberry at him.
The males in the room, including Josh, all laughed.
“Atta girl!” Grinning, Travis scooped her out of his mother’s arms. “Awesome.”
“Honestly, Travis,” Luann said. “Teaching that sweet little girl tricks like that. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. And it doesn’t help that you boys laugh at her, either. You’re setting a bad example.” She glanced pointedly at Josh.
Travis seemed unfazed. “I figure Lizzie will need that trick someday. Mom, I’d like you to meet Boone Connor, the blacksmith for the Rocking D and some of the other ranches around the valley. And this pretty lady is Shelby McFarland, who rode up here with Boone. And the little guy is Josh. Folks, this slightly square but basically lovable woman is my mom, Luann Evans.”
Boone tipped his hat to Luann. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” He held Luann’s gaze for as long as necessary to be polite, but quickly his attention returned to Travis holding that baby. The little girl reminded him of cotton candy, all pink and sweet-smelling. Sure, she was drooling a bit, but that only made her cuter. He wanted to hold her, but he was afraid he’d goof it up.
“I’m glad to meet you, too, Mrs. Evans.” Shelby stood and shepherded Josh over toward Travis’s mother. “Josh, can you shake the nice lady’s hand?”
“Yep. But I wish I had a hat, like Boone. Then I could touch my hat ’stead of shaking hands.”
Distracted as he was by watching Elizabeth, Boone took note of the comment and promised himself he’d see about a hat for Josh in the next couple of days. If the boy was going to ride a horse, then he needed a hat. Maybe boots, too.
“Please call me Luann,” Travis’s mother said as she leaned down to shake Josh’s hand.
“Are you a gramma?” Josh asked.
Josh’s innocent question was met with silence, and Boone realized that was probably a touchy subject, considering the battle to claim this baby. As he tried to think how to smooth over the moment, everyone started talking at once. Travis insisted that his mother was indeed a gramma, while Sebastian said the jury was still out on that, although he appreciated all
Luann had done. Gwen said at the very least Luann was an honorary gramma, and Matty added that Elizabeth needed all the grammas she could get, so why not?
“My gramma’s in heaven,” Josh said. The announcement splashed like a bucket of water over the heated discussion, and everybody stopped arguing immediately as they all turned to gaze sympathetically at the little boy.
Everyone except Boone. He looked at Shelby, to see how the comment was affecting her. She met his gaze, and his heart ached as he watched the emotions raging in her blue eyes. Then she swallowed, and sent him a shaky smile. She wanted to let him know she was okay. It was all he could do to keep from crossing the room and taking her in his arms.
Of all the others in the room, Luann recovered herself first. She crouched down in front of Josh, and her voice was gentle. “In that case, how about if you call me Gramma Luann?”
Boone decided then and there that Luann Evans was all right.
“’Kay,” Josh said hesitantly. “But do I gots to wear a tie?”
“A tie?” Luann glanced questioningly at Shelby.
“He means a necktie,” Shelby cleared her throat. “My…mother liked him to dress up when he went anywhere with them.”
Boone’s heart squeezed. Poor little shaver, expected to dress up at this young age, just as Shelby had been forced to do when she was a kid. He didn’t like to think ill of the dead, but he had a hard time thinking well of Shelby’s parents, from what he’d heard so far.
“No, Josh,” Luann said. “You don’t have to wear a tie. Are you hungry?”
“Yep. Kinda hungry. They gots chips over there.”
“I see those, but I was thinking of something like peanut-butter toast.”
“I love that. Bob, he loves it, too.”
Luann studied Josh for a moment and then she smiled. “I’ll bet Bob is your special friend.”
Boone exchanged another quick glance with Shelby, and this time her smile was brighter. Boone gave her a discreet thumbs-up sign. He was damned impressed that Luann had tuned into the Bob thing so fast. He could see the advantages of having an experienced mother around. Maybe that’s why Shelby had been so excited when she’d found out Travis’s mother was here.
Josh’s eyes lit up. “Yep, he is my special friend! How’d you know?”
“Well, because Travis had a special friend when he was about your age. He always dressed in orange and pink, and his name was—”
“Mom.”
Boone couldn’t believe that Travis, the ever-cool studman, was blushing. Sebastian was doing his level best to keep from laughing, and Gwen and Matty seemed to suddenly find the pattern in the rag rug very interesting.
“Well, never mind,” Luann said, glancing at her son with a grin. “I’ll tell you all about it in the kitchen. Let’s go make some peanut-butter toast for you and Bob.” She stood and held out her hand.
Josh looked from Luann’s outstretched hand to the baby girl in Travis’s arms. “Can that baby come, too?”
No, Boone thought. Not until I’ve had a chance to—
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Luann said. “Then you two can get acquainted.”
“Can she play trucks?” Josh asked, clearly fascinated by the baby.
“Not yet,” Luann said. “But she loves peekaboo.”
“I can play that!” Josh’s eyes shone with eagerness.
“It’s settled, then.” Luann retrieved Elizabeth from Travis, and with the baby propped on her hip and Josh holding her other hand, she walked back to the kitchen.
“Maybe she likes pirate ships,” Josh chattered as he skipped along. “I gots a pirate ship, too. And little people. Me and Bob, we play pirates a lot.”
Both dogs lifted their heads, lumbered to their feet and followed the three into the kitchen.
“Bless your mother, Travis,” Shelby said after they’d left.
“Oh, she’s a peach, that mother of mine.” He crossed his eyes.
Gwen sidled over to him, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “So, Travis, what was your special friend’s name, the one who dressed so tastefully in orange and pink?”
“Never mind.”
“Yeah, Travis,” Sebastian said. “You’re just full of surprises these days. But did your mom get mixed up? If you went to all the trouble of making up a friend, it would have to be a girl, wouldn’t it?”
Travis hooked his thumbs in his belt loops. “You know what? I have no idea what my mother was talking about. You’ll have to forgive her. She’s getting senile.”
“Don’t give me that. Your mother’s sharp as a tack,” Sebastian said.
Matty started lifting drinks from the tray on the coffee table. “I for one think it’s charming that you had a little imaginary friend dressed in orange and pink, Travis. Now who wants something? Shelby, here’s your wine, and another glass for Gwen. I have a draft for each of the guys, and—”
“Thanks,” Boone said, “but I’m not having any beer.”
“Oh, sure,” Travis said. “An Irishman who won’t bend an elbow at the bar. Since when?”
“Since the day I found out about Elizabeth.”
Sebastian picked up his mug of beer and glanced at Boone, his gray eyes lit with challenge. “And that would be because..?”
Boone lowered his voice. “Don’t get me wrong. Now that Elizabeth’s here, I’m glad she was born and everything. But it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. If I hadn’t been drinking, it wouldn’t have.”
“Oh, I think it would have,” Travis said easily. “Because once I’m bound on a course, you wouldn’t have talked me out of it, even if you had been sober.”
“You’re making a powerful assumption, Travis,” Sebastian said with an edge to his voice. “Let’s not forget where Jessica decided to leave Elizabeth in the first place.”
“You were closest!” Travis said. “Doesn’t mean a thing!”
Matty sighed. “I guess we’d better hide the table knives, Gwen. It’s starting again.”
“Exactly what we figured would happen when Boone arrived,” Gwen said. “The arguments will triple.”
“There’s nothing to argue about,” Travis insisted stubbornly. “Lizzie’s my kid.”
“She’s mine,” Sebastian said. “She has the Daniels nose.”
“She has my father’s eyes!” Boone said.
Shelby set down her wineglass on the coffee table. “Since I’m the new kid on the block, somebody needs to fill me in before I get terminally confused.”
Everyone seemed ready to offer an explanation to Shelby except Boone, who decided he’d be too embarrassed to explain it all, especially considering he’d been the one who’d actually committed the shameful deed. The others might like to think they did, but Boone knew in his heart who had.
Finally Matty called for order and sat next to Shelby on the sofa. “I’ll tell it.” She looked over at Shelby. “Bear with me. This gets confusing. Two years ago this April, these three guys plus another friend, Nat Grady, were in an avalanche in Aspen.”
Boone was amazed by the look of terror on Shelby’s face as she glanced up at him. The idea that he’d been in danger seemed to hit her hard. He kind of liked that.
“Jessica Franklin was working at the ski lodge then, and she’d agreed to go out skiing with the guys, because she realized they were totally inept.”
“Hey!” Sebastian said. “We weren’t so bad.”
Matty didn’t even acknowledge the protest with a glance. “They stunk,” she said. “Jessica’s probably the only reason they survived. Nat was completely buried in the avalanche, but Jessica knew what to do. She figured out where he was and directed the operation while the guys dug him out.”
“Wow,” Shelby said.
“It was pretty dramatic, all right,” Matty said. “Anyway, the next year the guys and Jessica decided to have an avalanche reunion party, only at the last minute Nat couldn’t make it, so it was just the three guys and Jessica.”
“Yeah,” Boone asked. �
�Has anybody heard anything from Nat since he went over to that place in the Middle East—what was the name of it?”
“I can’t ever remember,” Sebastian said. “I think they changed the name a couple of times, at least, after they over-threw the dictator. But no, he’s been totally out of touch. Matty thought she saw him on the news the other night when they had footage of some Americans who were over there working with the refugees, specifically the kids.”
“I know he’s doing a good thing over there,” Boone said, “but I wish he’d come back home.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Travis said. “He borrowed my best sheepskin vest to wear over there. If I’d have known he’d be gone this long, I would have told him to buy his own damn vest.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “I’m so sure it’s the vest you’re worried about.”
“Well, I’d rather not get it back with bullet holes in it,” Travis said.
“I wish he’d come back so he could help Matty and me do the paperwork for combining our two spreads,” Sebastian said. “And we’ve been talking about selling a few acres of hers. I wouldn’t trust that to any broker but Nat.”
Boone nodded. “Better wait’ll he comes back.”
“Yeah, you’d better wait,” Travis agreed.
“I hope I don’t have to wait that long to hear the end of the story,” Shelby said.
“The rest goes fast,” Matty said. “The guys all got ploughed, and Jessica didn’t. She seems to have a guardian-angel thing going. She drove them all back to their rented cabin and tucked them in. Nine months later, Elizabeth was born, and two months after that, Jessica left her on Sebastian’s front porch with a note asking him to be her godfather, because she was in desperate trouble and couldn’t take care of her for a while. He, of course, assumed he’d done the deed while he was drunk. The thing is, she also sent a note like that to Travis and Boone, and they both assume the same thing.”
Boone couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “The notes to Travis and Sebastian were just a smoke screen. I’m the guy.”
Travis turned to him. “Says who?”
Boone’s Bounty Page 11