Linda Ford - Falling for the Rancher Father

He scanned the cabin. Ladd wasn’t there. The small quarters offered no hiding place, but he sat up and looked about again to make sure he hadn’t missed the boy.

“Where’s Ladd?” he asked Allie.

“Gone.”

“Gone?” Any remnant of sleep vanished as his blood raced through his veins. He grabbed his trousers and pulled them on under privacy of the covers. “Where?”

“To get Mercy. We want her to look after us. ’Sides, you need her here so you can get logs.” She sat in the middle of her bed and watched him as calm as could be while his arms turned leaden and he couldn’t seem to get them into the sleeves of his shirt.

“Mercy? She’s six miles away. When did he leave?” He peered out the window. The sun had not yet risen but cold gray light filled the clearing. Had his son ventured out in the dark? Was he lost? What about that whiskered man?

He pulled on his jacket and grabbed his rifle. But at the door he stopped. He couldn’t leave Allie here alone and wouldn’t take her out in the damp cold.

His lungs so tight he could hardly force in air, he faced the door. All he could do for the moment was pray. Oh, God, keep my boy safe. As soon as the sun drove back the chill, he would bundle Allie to her teeth and take her with him to find Ladd.

* * *

Mercy tiptoed from her room. If Abel didn’t want her help with the children, that was fine. It gave her more time to practice. She wanted to be able to twirl a big enough circle with her rope that she could swing it up and down over both herself and Nugget. She’d tried the day before yesterday. That’s when Abel had shown up all glower and snort. He didn’t bother to take into account that the children were content to sit quietly as they watched her. Nope. He simply ordered her off the place.

She missed the children. But she surely wouldn’t miss dealing with a man like Abel any more than she’d miss stabbing herself in the eye with a hot needle.

Carrying her boots so as not to disturb Linette and Grady, who were still miserable with their colds, she glided down the hall and creaked open the door. She glanced back at the stairs to make sure she hadn’t wakened them and slipped through the opening.

She turned and screamed as someone stood on the step before her. Heart in her mouth, she managed to croak out a greeting. “Ladd, you gave me a fright.” She looked past him as she pulled on her boots, expecting to see Abel and Allie. “Where’s your papa?”

Ladd ducked his head. “He was sleeping when I left.”

Mercy heard the words but they made no sense. “Left where?”

“Home.”

Surely he didn’t mean— “You mean the cabin?”

“Uh-huh. I promised Allie I would come and get you.” He grabbed her hand. “You have to come. Please. It was so boring without you. Allie even cried a little.”

She stared at the boy. “Does your papa know where you are?”

“Allie said she’d tell him.”

“But it’s barely light. How did you get here?”

“I followed the trail, but it was hard to see.” He glanced beyond her. “Someone helped me.”

Someone? So far as she knew the men were all on the roundup and the women tucked safely in their beds. Except for that whiskered man she’d seen. “What did this someone look like?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t see him. He carried me and left me there.” Ladd pointed toward the barn. “I might have got lost if he didn’t help me. Actually, I think it was God helping.”

None of what the boy said made sense. Except one thing. His father didn’t know where he was. Or if he was safe.

“You must be hungry. Come in.” She opened the door and herded him to the kitchen, where she sliced a thick slab of bread and spread syrup on it.

Linette came into the room as he ate. Mercy drew her into the hall and explained Ladd’s presence. “I have to get him back as soon as possible. Abel will be frantic with worry. His children mean more to him than anything in the world.”

“You go. And don’t let the man chase you away again. He needs your help even if he won’t admit it.”

“And he won’t.” But she couldn’t let her annoyance at his rude dismissal matter at the moment. She returned to Ladd’s side. “While you finish eating I’m going to saddle Nugget.”

He nodded. “Be sure to bring some books and maybe cookies.”

She chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Linette followed her down the hall. “I’ll keep an eye on him until you return.”

“Thanks.” She trotted down the hill and saddled Nugget then rode him back to the house. Ladd came out and she swung him up behind her.

They rode down the trail toward the little cabin. Every one of Mercy’s senses was alert for any strangers in the woods, although she saw nothing out of the ordinary. As they neared the cabin, Abel rushed to their side. He swung Ladd down and hugged him, remaining so close to Mercy’s side she couldn’t dismount.

He put Ladd on his feet, then reached up and lifted Mercy down. Even though she didn’t need his assistance, she saw no point in arguing with the distraught man.

He didn’t release her when her feet hit the ground but hugged her equally hard as he’d hugged Ladd. Then he held her at arm’s length.

“Thank you.” His voice was deep with emotion.

They studied each other. She couldn’t say what he thought or felt except for the way his eyes darkened, which could indicate regret or any of a dozen things.

But his firm hands on her shoulders, the unexpected solid comfort of his chest and the warmth of his breath on her cheeks as he thanked her cut a wide swath through invisible barriers she’d been unaware existed. Something made her want to return to his embrace. Strangely, she felt safe in his arms. How ridiculous! She hadn’t ever needed or wanted or received such foolish comfort. Her parents had never offered it. But a little voice from her depths pleaded for more of it.

Whoa...he wasn’t offering it intentionally. He merely was grateful that she’d returned his son.

She stepped back out of his reach. “He’s fine.”

“Ladd,” Abel said. “Go see your sister. She worried.” He waited until the door closed behind the boy. “Where did you find him?”

“On my doorstep.”

“He made it all the way to the ranch?”

She nodded, watching the emotions on his face change from worry to disbelief. “How is that possible? It was dark and a fair hike for a child.”

“He said a man picked him up and carried him.”

Worry wrinkled his brow. “I’ve seen someone in the woods. A short, stocky man. I meant to warn you about him.”

“I’ve seen someone, too. A man with lots of whiskers.”

“Sounds like it could be the same person.” Abel scrubbed a hand over his hair, tangling it.

If she wasn’t so concerned and confused at both his actions and her reactions she might have chuckled at how he messed his hair.

“I wonder who he is and what he wants,” Abel said.

“I don’t know, though I’m certain I’ve seen him somewhere before. I just can’t place where or when.”

“Did you get a good look at him?”

“I did. I know I should recognize him.”

“Would you have seen his likeness on a wanted poster?”

She considered the question. “I don’t know. I wish I could place him.” She shrugged. “But if it was he who helped Ladd we can be grateful he didn’t harm him instead.”

Abel shuddered. “I don’t like it.” He messed his hair again and then, as if realizing what he’d done, he smoothed it. “The man could be crazy.”

She’d momentarily shared the same thought but immediately dismissed it. A person should be judged on evidence, not on suspicion or caution. “Or maybe he likes living in the woods. Or for all we know, he has a cabin of his own.”