Boone's Bounty

“Oh, I—” Shelby caught herself before she told the clerk she was not Josh’s mother. It was an automatic response, one she’d become used to giving because she’d taken care of Josh so much.

She’d once calculated that she’d spent more time with him than Patricia had. That had turned out to be a blessing, all things considered. If Josh had been closer to his mother and his grandparents, he would have been more grief-stricken when they had disappeared from his life. As it was, he seemed sad and definitely a little confused, but not overwhelmed.

Shelby was obviously the most important person in his world, but now was not the time to advertise the fact that Josh was her nephew, not her son. And besides, some day she hoped to be his mother, legally. If only Patricia had left a will, that wouldn’t be so damned complicated, either.

She brushed the thoughts away and smiled at the clerk. “I am very proud of Josh,” she said.

2

ALL SIX BOOTHS in the small café were full, but Boone had expected that. Later on, as people returned to their rooms, the place would empty out. Then he’d stake out a booth for the night.

He’d forgotten the bench seats were the hard plastic kind. Oh, well. He would have done the same thing, even if he’d remembered. He would have done the same thing if the seats had been made of barbed wire. A woman with a little kid needed a motel room more than he did. A pretty woman. He pushed the thought aside. He wasn’t in the market for a pretty woman.

Taking a stool at the counter, he ordered a cup of coffee from the café’s only waitress. Her name was Lucy according to the tag she wore, and she was definitely pregnant. She also looked worn-out, probably from handling a bigger crowd than usual.

“You live around here, Lucy?” he asked her as she poured him some coffee.

“Not too far away.” She moved with precision that came from experience. “Why?”

Boone glanced out the window before looking back at her. “The way it’s coming down out there, seems like you ought to head home while you still can.”

She gave him a weary smile. “That’s right nice of you to think of that. As a matter of fact, I am leaving in about another hour, after we get these folks fed. The couple who owns this place said they could handle everything. No need for Mr. Sloan to hang around the motel office now that the rooms are all rented, so he’s gonna come over here and help Mrs. Sloan so I can leave.”

Boone nodded. “Good. You got four-wheel drive?”

“Yeah. My hubby’s coming to pick me up in the Jeep.” She looked down shyly at her belly. “He’s sort of protective these days.”

“He should be,” Boone said.

Her cheeks turned a happy shade of pink. “I’m hoping for a boy, but Gary doesn’t care what we have, so long as the baby’s healthy. I—” She paused and broke eye contact as someone in a booth called her name. “Excuse me. Table two needs some looking after.” She bustled out from behind the counter and hurried over to the booth in question.

Boone had the urge to take over for her so she could put her feet up until her husband arrived. Sure, some activity was good for a woman in her condition, but not this much. He’d make a damn poor waitress, though, and he doubted she’d let him help her, anyway. Leastways not after he’d broken a few dishes and mixed up a couple of orders.

So he sipped his coffee and thought about whether Jessica had worked too hard while she was pregnant with Elizabeth. She should have notified him right away when she found out she was pregnant. Thinking of her struggling through the pregnancy and birth by herself drove him crazy with guilt.

The coffee had warmed him up considerably, so he took off his leather jacket and laid it across his lap. Then he unsnapped the breast pocket of his shirt and took out the note he’d gotten from Jessica. He’d read it about a million times, yet he still needed to keep looking at it to convince himself this wasn’t some bad dream he was having.

Dear Boone,

I’m counting on you to be a godfather to Elizabeth until I can return for her. Your quiet strength is just what she needs right now. I’ve left her with Sebastian at the Rocking D. Believe me, I wouldn’t do this if I weren’t in desperate circumstances.

In deepest gratitude, Jessica

The letter was dated more than two months ago. She’d gotten the zip code wrong, so that had delayed it some, and then when it had finally arrived in Las Cruces, he’d been on the road hunting up horseshoeing jobs.

Still holding the letter, Boone rubbed his chin and gazed out the window at the steady snow. Snow had landed him in this fix in the first place. More than two years ago he’d let his three best buddies—Sebastian Daniels, Travis Evans and Nat Grady—talk him into a skiing trip in Aspen. He didn’t belong on skis any more than a buffalo belonged on roller skates, but he’d gone for Sebastian’s sake. They’d all nearly gotten themselves killed in an avalanche while they were blundering around on the slopes.

Jessica Franklin had been working the front desk of the ski lodge, and it was their dumb luck that they’d struck up a friendship with her and she’d offered to go with them that day. Otherwise Nat would’ve been toast. Jessica had figured out where he was buried and had kept her head, directing the rest of them to help dig him out before he smothered.

“More coffee?” Lucy asked as she passed by again.

Boone glanced at his cup. It would be a long night, and he could probably use the caffeine. “Sure,” he said, smiling at her. “And thanks.”

“Anytime.”

After she left, he resumed staring out the window, and his thoughts returned to his predicament. He wished he could think about something else, but he couldn’t. If only he hadn’t gone to the avalanche reunion party last year. He’d thought the idea was kind of morbid, but once again he’d gone along with the crowd.

Besides, he’d needed the distraction. Darlene had just announced that she was breaking up with him to marry that dork Chester Littlefield.

As it had turned out, Nat hadn’t made it to the reunion party because of some prior commitment. That had left Boone, Jessica, Sebastian and Travis to celebrate. Boone didn’t usually drink much. Over the years he’d seen what liquor could do to a man while watching his father’s bouts with the bottle.

But that night, thinking about Darlene, he’d guzzled everything in sight. Sebastian and Travis had put away a fair amount themselves, but Jessica, being a good friend, had stayed sober so she could drive them back to their cabin and see that they all took some aspirin before they tumbled into bed.

And that was when Boone figured he’d stepped over the line and dragged Jessica into bed with him. Sober he’d never have considered such a thing. But drunk and depressed about Darlene, he might well have.

He was sure Jessica knew he hadn’t meant to, that he didn’t think of her like that. Hell, he’d probably called her Darlene in the middle of it all. So Jessica had shouldered the whole burden when she found out she was pregnant. But now she was in some kind of trouble and had asked him to be a “godfather.”

Boone didn’t buy that godfather label, not for a minute. He was the baby’s father. When he’d called the Rocking D, he’d found out that Sebastian and Travis had gotten letters naming them as godfathers, too. But those other letters were a smokescreen. Sebastian was too honorable to have done such a thing, and Travis was too experienced to be caught like that. Besides, Jessica easily could have shoved those two guys away, considering they were drunk.

But even drunk, Boone had the strength of two men. Jessica wouldn’t have been able to get away. He hoped to hell he hadn’t hurt her. He’d spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her for being a brute. And he would never touch another drop of alcohol as long as he lived.

“Mr. Connor?”

The soft voice brought him back to his surroundings. Turning from the window, he realized the blonde and her little boy were standing right next to him. Quickly he folded Jessica’s letter, tucked it in his pocket and snapped the pocket closed. Then he stood.

“Sorry,” the woman said. “You don’t have to get up. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“No problem,” he said. Women were constantly surprised by his manners, but he couldn’t help that. His mother had taught him to stand in the presence of a lady, and he couldn’t change that training now, even if he’d wanted to. “How did you know my name?”

Color tinged her cheeks. “I looked at the registration form before the clerk threw it away.” She held out her hand. “My name is Shelby McFarland.”

“Pleased to meet you, Shelby.” He took her soft hand gently in his, careful not to put too much pressure into his handshake. She was so delicate, he imagined he could leave a bruise if he was the least bit enthusiastic.

He enjoyed the contact, though, enjoyed it more than was good for him. He liked looking into her blue eyes, too. He read basic goodness and honesty there, but she was wary, too, as if something was spooking her. He put that together with the way she’d argued with the Smoky about going up the hill and wondered if she was running from something…or someone.

“And this is Josh,” she said, bringing the little boy forward. “Josh, can you shake Mr. Connor’s hand?”

Josh nodded and stuck out his hand, but his eyes widened as he looked Boone up and down. “You’re big as a elephant,” he said.

“Josh!” Shelby reddened.

Boone laughed out loud. “Can’t argue with the truth, son. I’m about as graceful as one, too.” He glanced around. “I’m afraid all the booths are taken up, so if you’re here to eat, you’ll have to grab a couple of stools.” The prospect of having her sit down beside him gave him a forbidden thrill. Then he thought of the note in his pocket and reminded himself of his reason for being on this road in the first place.

“Oh, we’re not staying,” she said.

He frowned. Surely she wasn’t going back out in that snowstorm now that she had a roof over her head. And truth be told, he didn’t appreciate having his generosity thrown back in his face.

She must have figured out he was ticked, because she put her hand lightly on his arm. “I mean we’re not staying in the café,” she said quickly. “We’ll just get something to go. We’re definitely staying in the room you so graciously gave up. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I would like to do…something in return. Buying your dinner seems inadequate, but I can at least do that much.”

Her touch on his arm felt like the nuzzle of a timid foal. And now that he looked closer, he could see that her whole body was poised for flight. She’d glanced over at the door several times. His curiosity grew.

“How ’bout a star?” Josh asked. “When I’m a good boy, like when I ’membered to pick up my room, you give’d me a star.”

Shelby blushed. “Well, that’s a good idea, Josh, but I’m not sure that Mr. Connor—”

“The name’s Boone, and I’d love a star.” He probably shouldn’t have said that. No doubt about it, he was having trouble keeping his distance from these two.

“Uh, okay.” She looked flustered, but she dug around in her purse and came up with a sheet of peel-and-stick gold stars. She peeled one off. “Where…where do you want it?”

Even if he was creating a problem for himself, he couldn’t help loving this. “On my shirt’s fine.”

She looked him over, and finally stuck the star on the flap of his shirt pocket, smoothing it carefully without looking at him. Her cheeks were bright pink. “There,” she said, glancing up. “There’s your star.”

“And a kiss!” Josh said.

Boone knew he should tell her to forget the kiss, but he couldn’t make himself say it. Only a fool would turn down a kiss from someone as adorable as Shelby, with her ponytail perched on her head and that sweet blush on her cheeks.

“A star and a kiss!” Josh insisted. “You always do that.”

Apparently she decided that giving in quickly was better than making a bigger scene by protesting. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned over and gave Boone a quick peck on the cheek.

Her lips were soft and full, and her scent swirled around him. He fought the urge to close his eyes with pleasure. But he needed to keep the moment light, so he grinned at her. “Thanks. Now I’ve been fully rewarded.”

“I do appreciate the room,” she said shyly.

“You’re most welcome. Listen why not stay and eat here? Taking the food back to the room will be a real hassle in this weather.” Well, hell. He seemed determined to dig himself into a hole. If he didn’t watch it, he’d ask for her phone number next.

Fortunately for both of them, she didn’t fall in with his plan. A wary look flashed in her eyes again, and she glanced away. Boone had the strangest feeling she was thinking of some story to explain why she couldn’t stay in the café to eat dinner.

“Bob wants to stay,” Josh said. “’Cause Bob gots to go potty.”

Shelby looked down at him. “I’m sure it won’t take long for them to whip up a couple of burgers and fries. Can Bob wait until we go back to the room?”

Josh held his crotch and peered up at her. “I gots to go, too,” he whispered. “Real bad, Shebby.”

Shebby. Boone heard it, plain as day. No way had the kid said Mommy just then. Shebby was probably his version of her name, Shelby. This wasn’t her son. The word kidnapper flashed in his brain, but he just couldn’t buy it.

She sighed and looked around until she located the sign for the rest rooms. “Okay.” She glanced up at Boone. “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll—”

“Do I hafta go in where the ladies go?” Josh hung back, his gaze pleading.

“Yes.” She took his hand firmly in hers.

Josh hung on her hand and tried to plant his feet. “But last time that lady was laughin’ at me.”

“She was laughing at the Cheerios, Josh, not at you. We don’t have to use them this time if you don’t want to. Now come on.”

Boone had to ask. “Cheerios?”

Shelby glanced back at him. “I throw some in the bowl. It gives him a target.”

Josh gazed up at Boone with a worried expression, as if he now expected Boone to laugh, too.

Boone bit down on the inside of his lip so he wouldn’t. “Great idea,” he said, although his voice was husky with the laugh he’d swallowed.

Josh’s expression cleared and his smile came out like sunshine. He pointed a stubby finger at Boone. “Me and him could go.”

Shelby shook her head and tugged on his hand. “No, I’m afraid not, Josh. Now come on.”

“Please,” Josh wailed, hanging back and dragging his feet. “I wanna be a big boy.”

Boone’s heart went out to him. He remembered a few trips to the ladies’ room, himself, when he was a kid. He’d always been tall for his age, so a couple of women had given him the evil eye when his mother had insisted on taking him in with her. He’d hated every minute of it, although now he completely understood why she’d done that. The world had some sick people in it.

“I’d be glad to take him,” Boone said. “I realize you don’t really know me, but—”

“I know you,” Josh said. “You gived us a room. Please, Shebby. Let me and him go.”

Shelby paused. She looked exhausted, frustrated and scared. “Okay,” she said at last. “If you’re willing to do that, I appreciate it. While you’re gone I’ll put in our order. Can I get anything for you while I’m at it? I’d love to be able to buy you some dinner.”

“No, thanks.” Boone had decided that eating would be his main entertainment tonight, and he didn’t want to rush it. “I’m not really hungry yet.”

She seemed even more frustrated that she couldn’t repay him with dinner, but Josh began hopping up and down, so she put the boy’s hand in Boone’s. “Thank you for everything,” she said. “You’ve been a real godsend.”

“Glad to help.” He touched a hand to the brim of his hat, which coaxed a faint smile from her. Then he had to focus all his attention on keeping Josh’s tiny hand in his. Such a small hand. Boone had to lean to the right to keep hold of it as Josh ran along beside him on the way to the rest rooms.

“Do you gots horsies?” Josh sounded breathless but determined to communicate. “’Cause me and Bob, we like horsies. We’re gonna ride some in Yellowstone.”

Boone realized the little guy was puffing because Boone’s stride was too long. He shortened it. “I have two horses,” he said. “One I keep with my friend Sebastian at the Rocking D, and the other one I keep at my folks’ place in Las Cruces.”

“Rocking D? What’s a Rocking D?”

Boone pushed open the swinging door to the rest room. “A ranch.”

“A ranch? You gots a ranch, like on TV?” Josh seemed beside himself with excitement, so beside himself that he’d obviously forgotten why he was in the rest room in the first place.

“Well, it’s not my—”

“Can I come there? Can I?”

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now you’d better tend to business.”

“’Kay.” Josh headed for a stall.

“You can do it here if you want,” Boone said as he gestured toward a urinal. “I’ll hold you up.”

Josh turned back to him, his expression confused.

“Come on. I’ll show you. This is how big guys do it.” Boone demonstrated.

Josh watched in obvious fascination.

Boone zipped up and glanced over at Josh. “Ready to try?”

Josh nodded vigorously.

In the end, Boone decided it would work best if he crouched down and let Josh stand on his knees. The little boy chortled happily all through the process, as if it was the highlight of his day.

Boone realized he was having a great time. What fun it would be to show a kid like this around the Rocking D. Sebastian had that gentle gelding, Samson, who would be perfect for Josh to learn on. But that was a pipe dream, for sure. Boone didn’t think Shelby would make a special detour to the Rocking D. She looked like a lady on a mission.

Besides, Boone had no business daydreaming about taking her there. She would be too big a temptation. He’d already caught himself thinking about what sort of body was hidden by the bulky ski jacket she wore, and he was in no position to go down that road with any woman.

As Josh finished washing his hands, he started in again on the topic of visiting the ranch. “I never been to a ranch,” he said. “Can I come? Me and Bob?”

“I imagine you have places to go and people to see,” Boone said.

“Well, we’re gonna see geezers in Yellowstone.” Josh dropped the paper towel neatly in the waste container.

“You mean geysers?” Boone was impressed with the boy’s neatness. Somebody had taught him well.

Josh nodded. “They go whoosh! Up in the air!” He threw his arms up to illustrate.

“Sounds like fun.” Boone decided to do some fishing for information. “Are you going to meet your mommy up there?”

“I don’t think so. My mommy’s in heaven with the angels.”

The casual statement slammed into Boone like a brick to the stomach, but Josh seemed completely at ease about it. Shelby probably wasn’t a kidnapper, not that Boone had seriously thought she was. But she was nervous about something. “Then maybe your dad?”

“Nope.” Josh started marching toward the door of the rest room. “My daddy’s in S’Antonio.”

“Really?” Boone held the door open for Josh.

“Yep.” Josh walked through the door. “He gots a gun.”

SHELBY HAD WATCHED Boone lead Josh away and no warning bells had sounded in her head. Boone inspired trust and a sense of security. She could feel it, and she was sure Josh could feel it, too.

Poor little guy hadn’t had much in the way of male role models. His grandfather had never been particularly interested in kids, not even his own daughters when they were young. Mason had ignored Josh until he’d smelled money, and even with the lure of that money, Mason had a hard time pretending to be a loving dad.

No wonder Josh had latched on to Boone so quickly. Seeing the way Boone abbreviated his long stride to accommodate Josh’s short one made Shelby’s heart hitch.

Not all men brushed children aside the way her father had, she reminded herself. Patricia, the beauty, had eventually gained her father’s admiration by going into the high-profile world of television broadcasting. He and Shelby’s mother had been able to brag about Patricia, who eventually had her own local talk show. Shelby’s modest desktop-publishing business and her more average looks hadn’t been able to compete.

Shelby watched until Boone led Josh away through the swinging door of the men’s room. Then she turned to catch the eye of the waitress working behind the counter. She noticed that her name was Lucy. Shelby’s mother’s name. Another sharp pain sliced through her before she could shut down her feelings.

The woman, who was visibly pregnant, came over toward Shelby. “Can I help you?”

“You sure can. Can I please get two hamburgers and two orders of fries to go?” Shelby knew it wasn’t the most nutritious meal in the world, but she’d worry about getting some green veggies into Josh tomorrow, after they’d put some more miles between them and Mason.

“You and that little boy aren’t going back out on the road, are you?” asked the waitress.

“No, thank goodness. We have a room at the motel, thanks to that gentleman who was just sitting here. He had the last room, but he gave it to us, instead.”

The waitress’s expression grew soft. “Isn’t he the nicest man? He was worried about whether I had a way to get home.”

“Apparently he’s the kind who looks out for others,” Shelby said. “It’s good to know there are still guys out there like that.”

“And he’s pretty darned cute, too, did you notice?”

“I guess.” Shelby thought about the gentle smile that had made her tingle. Oh, yes, she’d noticed. Besides his understanding green eyes, he also possessed a couple of other noteworthy features, like a very masculine-looking jaw and curly black hair. Her heart had raced when she’d leaned over to place a kiss on his suntanned cheek.

He was built well, too. Although some large men tended to look beefy and slightly out of shape, this one didn’t seem to have a spare bit of flab on him. Nice tush, too. Watching him walk away with Josh had given her guilty pleasure.

“It’s a wonder some woman hasn’t snatched him up,” the waitress said. “But he’s not wearing a wedding ring. And he’s the type who would, if he was married.” She glanced pointedly down at the bare ring finger of Shelby’s left hand.

Shelby stuffed her left hand into the pocket of her jacket. The waitress might think she could do a little matchmaking in between serving orders, but whether Boone Connor was married or not was of no consequence to Shelby. She couldn’t think about such things under the current circumstances. Even ogling his cute tush meant she was allowing herself to be distracted from her goal of keeping Josh safe. That wasn’t good.

She leaned closer to the waitress. “Listen, since he’ll have to spend the night in the café, could I leave some money with you to pay for whatever food he eats? I’d like to find some way to repay him for being so kind.”

“I’ll be leaving soon, myself, but I suppose I could arrange that with Mrs. Sloan. Why don’t you just stay and eat your dinner when he eats his? Then you could just pick up the check for everything.”

Shelby trotted out the excuse she’d been about to give Boone. “Well, I would, but Josh has a program he wants to see on TV, so we need to get back to the room.”

The waitress rolled her eyes as if to say that Shelby was crazy to let something like that stand in her way. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” She pulled some bills out of her purse and gave them to the waitress. “That should cover ours and anything he has, don’t you think?”

The waitress looked at the cash Shelby had given her and chuckled. “That’s more than enough. I’ll go put in your order.”

Shelby positioned herself with her back to the counter so she could see the front door of the café. No one had come in for some time, and hardly anyone had left, either. The booths along the wall were still occupied. The place had taken on a party atmosphere, as if being stranded here together had made everyone friends.