Second-Chance Cowboy

Morgan stifled another sigh. Part of him knew she was right, but he wasn’t sure how this was going to work.

“I’ll take him home,” Morgan said. He put his hand on his son’s shoulder and, to his surprise, the boy didn’t flinch away. He looked up at Morgan, looking so bereft Morgan knelt and pulled him into his arms.

Nathan stayed there a moment, resting his head against Morgan’s neck. His son, he thought, a rush of pure joy flowing through him.

But then Nathan pulled back, withdrawn again.

“We’re going back home,” Morgan told him.

“Which one?”

The question hit Morgan like a blow. He knew Gillian had moved around a lot. Had his son no sense of which place was home?

“We’re going to the ranch. Where Stormy is.”

His face lit up at that. “I really want to see Stormy again. I think she misses me when I’m in school.”

“Maybe she does.”

He picked up Nathan’s backpack and held out his hand, but Nathan jumped off the cot and hurried ahead of him toward the door.

Morgan thanked Miss Abrams and, as they walked back to the truck, Nathan smiled. “I’m excited to ride my mom’s horse,” he said, looking ahead as if imagining himself doing so.

“I’m sure you are,” Morgan said. The school counselor he had spoken to before he picked Nathan up had mentioned that the only time Nathan seemed to show any life was when he talked about his mother’s horse. She suggested that Morgan let Nathan fantasize about the horse and riding it. Affirming his comments, she said. Morgan wasn’t entirely sure how to go about that, so he figured he would treat Nathan’s suggestions like he had his twin sister Amber’s when they were growing up. Agree and nod and smile.

“But I can’t until Stormy is trained,” Nathan said.

“That’s true.”

Nathan said nothing. Instead he stared out the window.

“I have to stop by at the clinic for a minute,” Morgan said. He had forgotten to write down the billable hours for the call he did this morning.

Nathan just nodded. At least he wasn’t crying.

Morgan pulled up to the clinic, dismayed to see Tabitha’s truck parked there. What was she doing back here? He thought she worked at the café in the afternoon.

“Isn’t that the truck of the lady who almost ran over Brandy?” Nathan asked.

“Yes. It is,” Morgan said.

“Her name is Miss Tabitha, isn’t it? And she works at the café? She gave me a coloring book and crayons even though I’m not a little boy. But it was nice. And Grandpa Boyce says she’s the lady that trains horses.”

“Yes. Miss Tabitha does train horses,” Morgan answered. “But she’s very busy working for Dr. Waters and Mr. Sepp at the café.” Morgan hoped he got the hint as he helped him out of the truck.

Nathan walked ahead of Morgan, skipping a little, looking a lot happier than he had in a while. Guess sending him to school hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Guess he wasn’t much of a father for not knowing that.

Morgan opened the door and, as always, his eyes had to adjust from the bright summer sun to the windowless back room with its pens and gates. He wondered why Dr. Waters hadn’t at least put a skylight in here. Or replaced some of the penning. One of these days some animal was going to lose it in here and bust one of the rusted posts.

“Wow. What do you do here?” Nathan asked.

“This is where we work with cows and horses and bigger animals like that.”

Nathan nodded as he followed Morgan through another door and down the hall to the front office, checking out the posters of dogs and cats and various other animals lining the walls between rooms.

In the office, Tabitha stood by the desk, talking to Jenny, her one hand pressed to her cheek, her other clutching her elbow. She looked like she’d been crying.

“I doubt Dr. Waters will give you more hours,” Jenny was saying.

“Why should he? He barely gives Morgan enough. Dr. Waters is running around like a fool himself, losing business because he can’t keep up. Makes me wonder why he hired Morgan in the first place.”

“Are you kidding? Who in Cedar Ridge would ever say no to a Walsh?”

“And who would say yes to a Rennie? We both know what my father’s reputation has done for my sister and me. Now that I quit the café, how am I ever going to pay off my bills and finish that wretched house? And I still have a ton of cleaning up to do.” She stifled another sob, pressing her hand to her mouth.

Morgan held back, realizing he had stumbled into a very personal but potentially disturbing conversation. He gathered that Tabitha had lost her job at the café. But what surprised him more was his reaction to her tears. He wanted to rush into the room and pull her into his arms. Comfort her like he used to whenever she was upset.

He was about to back away and wait until those impulses passed, but Nathan had finally caught up to him. He saw Tabitha and went running past Morgan into the room.

“Hi! You’re Miss Tabitha, aren’t you?” he said, smiling up at her.

Tabitha’s reddened eyes grew wide as she looked from him to Morgan, who now stood in the doorway. She spun away, swiping at her face.

Morgan shot a warning frown at Jenny, who wasn’t looking at him either. He guessed she wasn’t too proud of her “he’s a Walsh” comment.

Nor should she be. Morgan liked to think that his high GPA, his stellar reputation at his previous vet clinic and his strict work ethic had been the reason Dr. Waters hired him.

Not his last name.

“Why is Miss Tabitha crying?” Nathan said, turning to Morgan. “Why is she sad?”

“I’m okay.” Tabitha sniffed, then turned back to Nathan.

“I was crying too,” Nathan said, looking back at Tabitha. “I miss my mommy and I want to ride her horse but I can’t.”

Tabitha gave him a wavery smile and touched his head lightly. “I’m sorry you can’t.” Then she looked puzzled. “And why aren’t you in school?”

He shrugged, suddenly very interested in the hem of his worn T-shirt. “School makes me sad,” he said, twisting it around his hand. He managed to poke a hole in it and wiggled his finger through it, making it bigger. “So my daddy says I don’t have to go anymore.”

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