Debra Clopton - Her Homecoming Cowboy

“It’s obvious the two of you have a great system. I’m not bragging, but I can promise you that I can handle this and even help streamline some procedures in the bookkeeping and paperwork department.”

Susan smiled broadly. “I’ll forever be in your debt if you can do that!”

Annie liked both women on the spot. Listening and observing how the two women spoke and treated each other, Annie noted that there was mutual respect and friendship here. She hoped that maybe she’d be able to be included in that over time. Even now, on her first morning, she felt the warmth of true welcome and, given the chance, she knew she could be a benefit to this business.

She said a quick thank-you to God for supplying this job to her. In the midst of the stressful situation she was here to address, having a job she was at peace with and enjoyed was going to be a real blessing. She ignored the pang of guilt that thudded like an undercurrent beneath every breath she took.

“So, now that we have that all settled...” Susan leaned against the counter. Holding a bottle of water between her hands, she toyed with the cap. “Gabi tells me you and Leo are big fans of Colt’s.”

“Leo is.” The undercurrent turned into a riptide, the easy feeling of seconds ago swept out to sea. “I mean, you know, Leo loves bull riding.”

Gabi poured herself a cup of coffee from the sideboard. “If you aren’t a fan, then who taught him to be?”

Annie knew she couldn’t keep Jennifer hidden for long. Everyone knew Leo was her nephew, so obviously there had been a sibling. “My sister, Leo’s mom. She was the rodeo fan. She passed away last year.” Gabi and Susan both gave their condolences. “Thank you. Jennifer never found a rodeo she didn’t like.” She didn’t add that she also had never seemed to find a cowboy she didn’t like. To this day Annie couldn’t understand her sister’s behavior.

“So you’ve raised Leo since last year?” Susan asked.

“Actually, I’ve been helping raise him since the day he was born. My sister moved in with me so I could help with him. He’s like my own son, really.”

“I’m so sorry he lost his mother. Thank goodness he’s had you.”

“I know this sounds nosy,” Gabi said. “What about his daddy? Is he in the picture?”

Annie felt as if sharp gears were grinding to a halt inside her chest. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t expected that question. She’d answered it many times before. But being here, so close to Colt, made things different. “He’s never been in the picture.”

Susan’s and Gabi’s gazes met as the tension in the room spiked. Annie looked away quickly, trying to tell herself once again that she was being paranoid. Gabi had only met Leo briefly the day before. Imagining that she’d put the pieces of the puzzle together when she didn’t even know there was one was just plain crazy.

She was going to have to have to get a handle on her mind. And she was going to have to do it soon.

* * *

Colt had racked his brain, ever since finding Annie and Leo next door to him, trying to figure out who Annie reminded him of. Both of them, actually, because there was something more familiar about Leo than Annie. But try as he might, it wasn’t coming to him. Not that his memory was what it used to be. Since the wreck, there were holes in his memories.

Restless and wishing he had the use of his arm, he found himself toying with the idea of going to see if his new neighbors were home. The thought hit him like a kick in the chest from a bucking bronc. Truth was he’d taken about all the sitting around he could take. But he wasn’t going to see Annie. He’d acknowledged that he was attracted to her, and was startled by the fact, since his heart felt as cold and hard as steel. The last thing he wanted was to tempt himself to seek out any kind of pleasure. It wasn’t right.

But she kept easing into his thoughts without his realizing it.

Needing something to occupy his mind with other than thoughts of the wreck and his new neighbors, he headed toward the ranch office. He was about to get into his truck when he heard someone call his name.

Leo.

The little kid, dressed in blue jeans, T-shirt and boots, came tromping from the trees, the rope Colt had given him clutched tightly in his hand. When he saw Colt, his eyes lit up and he started running.

“Colt!”

Annie was nowhere in sight as Leo skidded to a halt in front of him. “Hi, Colt. I came to see you,” he declared, as if he hadn’t just walked across a pasture and through a small stand of woods.

“Yeah, I see that. You look like you came to learn to rope.”

“I did. I brung my rope and ever’thing.”

Colt glanced back at the woods. No Annie. “Is your aunt coming?”

Leo kicked a rock with the toe of his small boot, and his shoulders drooped slightly. “She was busy.”

“Busy?” And she’d let the kid walk all the way across the pasture by himself, and then wander through the trees looking for Colt’s cabin? He hadn’t known Annie long but he knew this didn’t sound right. Colt stooped to eye level with Leo. “Little buddy, does your aunt know you’re here?”

Leo shrugged, not quite looking him in the eye. “She knows I went outside to play.”

The poor woman was going to be frantic when she realized Leo was gone. It took a while to walk the distance between houses, so he was pretty certain she was already searching for him.

“Come on, we better get you back home.”

“Aw, do we have to? I wanted to come see you.”

“And I’m glad you did. But from now on, you’re going to need to let your aunt know what you’re doing, because she’ll worry about you. Matter of fact, it’s probably not a good idea for you to come all this way by yourself.”

“You think Annie Aunt’s gonna be mad?”

Colt grinned at the kid before he could stop himself and he tousled Leo’s blond hair. “Maybe. But, come on... I’ll face her with you. When a man messes up, he has to face the music.”

Leo looked at him strangely. “I don’t think she’s gonna sing to me.”

Colt laughed. “Probably not. But we’ve still got to go face her.”

* * *

“Leo!” Annie scanned the pasture while she jogged, hoping to see him. But he was nowhere. She’d been unpacking some of their things in the bedrooms while Leo played with his rope in the backyard. When she’d checked on him twenty minutes later, he was gone.

“Leo!” she called again. Stopping to catch her breath, she scanned the pasture. He hadn’t been in the barn or the front yard. He hadn’t answered when she’d called his name over and over again. And then she’d thought about Colt. Leo had asked her on the way home from day care if he could go to Colt’s, and she’d told him that today wasn’t a good day.

Please let him be okay. Please.

She started moving again, just topping the slight hill when she spotted them. Colt and Leo walking side by side, crossing the pasture. They walk alike. The thought registered in the back of her mind, but she was too overwhelmed with relief for the implications to completely register. Gasping, Annie rushed forward.

“Leo! Honey, you scared me,” she scolded, though she was so relieved it was a wonder she could speak. Scooping him into her arms, she hugged him tightly, fear washing over her. “Please don’t go running off like that. Please.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, squirming as she set him back on the ground. “I just wanted to see Colt.”

“I brought him back the minute I realized you weren’t with him.”

Colt’s quiet words steadied her and she drew back from some of the terror that had clutched her. She tried to force the overreaction away. “Thank you. I feel awful. I was unpacking and he was right outside roping. I didn’t check on him for twenty minutes, so I didn’t know how long he’d been gone. And then I had to check the barn and the area around the house.” She was rambling and couldn’t seem to stop it.