Читать книгу Boone's Bounty - Vicki Lewis Thompson - Страница 7

SNOW.

Boone Connor sighed and switched on the wipers. Didn’t it just figure he’d hit a late-season snowstorm on his way over Raton Pass. Damn. It was nearly June. The snow should be gone by now. But his luck had been running that way lately.

And this didn’t promise to be one of those wimpy storms that sifted down from the clouds like cake flour and dusted the pine trees so they looked like a Christmas card. This wasn’t the kind of snow that blew off the road like white sand. Nope. This was a serious, drifts-to-your-crotch, black-ice-on-the-curves kind of storm. His truck tires were already losing traction.

The roadblock didn’t surprise him, but it sure frustrated the hell out of him. His old king-cab could make it through anything, and he sure was anxious about getting to the Rocking D to see that baby. His baby, most likely. The idea that he probably had a kid still made him dizzy. He couldn’t quite believe the baby was real, and setting eyes on her would help anchor his thoughts.

But Smoky was about to throw a crimp in his plans, obviously.

Boone rolled down his window and snow blew in, nipping his cheeks with cold. He ignored the discomfort and tipped up the brim of his Stetson so he could look the cop in the eye while he tried to make a case for getting past those orange and white barriers.

The patrolman, bundled to the teeth, looked up at Boone. “I’m afraid you’ll have to turn back, sir.” His breath fogged the air. “Road conditions are bad up ahead and getting worse by the minute.”

“My truck’s gots four-wheel drive, Officer,” Boone said, although he didn’t expect that information to make any difference. “And I’ve driven this road hundreds of times. I need to get to Colorado right away.”

“I understand that, sir.” The patrolman didn’t sound particularly understanding. He sounded as if he was sick to death of standing in the cold reciting this speech to unhappy folks. “But we can’t let you take a chance on that road until the storm’s over and the snowplow clears it. With luck we’ll be able to let people through tomorrow morning.”

“Hell.”

“There’s a little motel and café about three miles back,” the patrolman added, stomping his booted feet.

Boone knew the place. He’d stopped there for coffee a few times, but hadn’t bothered this trip because he’d been trying to outrun the snow. He’d never stayed at the motel. He mostly liked driving straight through until he got to where he was going. The motel wasn’t very big, as he recalled. Ten or twelve units, maybe.

He glanced up at the patrolman. “How many people have you sent there?”

“A few. But I expect most of them drove on back to Santa Fe. The motel’s clean, but not exactly the Plaza.” The patrolman glanced past Boone’s truck. “I’ll have to ask you to move your vehicle, sir. There’s someone behind you.”

Boone glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the small white sedan, its fog lights picking out the flakes and causing them to sparkle while the rest of the car was nearly invisible in the swirling snow. Now that vehicle had no business trying to maneuver down the road ahead, but Boone still thought he could make it with no sweat. Still, he knew a losing battle when he saw one. He put the truck in gear and swung it around to the other lane.

As he paused to roll up his window, he glanced over at the sedan. Its window slid down, and he caught a quick glimpse of the driver—young, blond and female. With her hair caught up in a funky ponytail on top of her head, she looked even younger than she probably was. His irritation with Smoky eased a little as he considered how vulnerable that woman would have been if no one had set up a roadblock to protect her from doing something stupid.

He heard her arguing hotly with the officer, and he shook his head in amazement. Yep, without that roadblock, she’d have done something real stupid. She’d have ended up a statistic for sure, off in a snowbank, frozen solid.

He rolled up his window and headed back down toward the motel, still marveling at how naive that woman was, thinking she’d drive that little bitty compact over a snow-choked mountain pass. Better to have the roadblock, even if it meant he’d get delayed, than to leave greenhorns like that free to take chances with their lives.

WHEN SHELBY MCFARLAND first saw the roadblock, she panicked, sure that Mason Fowler had reported her to the police. But no, the barricades were on account of the weather. The patrolman wanted her to turn back.

But turning back meant possibly heading toward Mason, who by now could be in hot pursuit. She abandoned her usual caution.

“You don’t understand,” she said to the officer standing beside the car. “I must get through. The road can’t be that bad!”

“I’m afraid it is, ma’am. You wouldn’t stand a chance with this light vehicle.” He leaned down and looked into the car. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t want to take any risks with that little guy. You a Spurs fan, son?”

“Yep,” Josh replied. “Bob, he is, too.”

Shelby glanced over at Josh sitting in his car seat, proudly wearing his San Antonio Spurs jersey. She should have dressed him in something less identifiable, but he loved that jersey. And of course, she couldn’t risk ending up marooned in a snowbank, not with Josh in the car. What had she been thinking?

Josh stared in fascination at the patrolman. “Do you gots a gun?” he asked.

“Yes, son, I do,” the officer said solemnly.

“My daddy gots a gun,” Josh said.

Shelby felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t doubt Mason had a gun, but the thought of Josh somehow coming into contact with it scared the daylights out of her. “How do you know that, sweetheart?”

“He showed me it.”

Shelby closed her eyes briefly, as if that would block out the ugly image. If she needed any more reasons to keep this child away from Mason, there was a huge one. A gun and a three-year-old. She shuddered.

“I hope your daddy keeps that gun locked up good and tight,” the patrolman said. “Guns are not toys.”

“The policeman is absolutely right, Josh,” Shelby said. “You must never touch a gun.” And if she had anything to do with it, he’d never get the chance again. She glanced back at the officer. “I want to thank you for preventing me from doing something foolish. I wasn’t thinking clearly a moment ago. Trying to go over that pass tonight would be suicide.”

“Bob and me, we never seed any snow before,” Josh offered.

The patrolman peered into the car. “You got a little dog in there named Bob?”

“No,” Shelby said. “Bob is Josh’s special friend, and he’s very talented. He can make himself invisible.”

“Ahhh.” The patrolman nodded solemnly. Then he glanced at Shelby. “There’s a motel and café back down the road about three miles. Maybe you could wait it out there.”

Shelby didn’t remember the place, but it sounded better than driving to Santa Fe. “How long will it be before the road’s open, do you think?”

“Hard to say, ma’am. If I was you, I’d try to get a room for the night. They’re not fancy, but they’re clean.”

Shelby took a shaky breath. She didn’t know for sure that Mason was following her, but she had a bad feeling he was. All he would have had to do was ask her apartment manager where she’d gone. The manager had been on his way into the building just as she and Josh were leaving, and Josh had blurted out that they were going to Yellowstone to ride horsies. She hadn’t remembered to tell Josh it was a secret.

Still, she had a head start on Mason, so the motel was probably a safe bet for tonight. Besides, it wasn’t as if she had a lot of choice. “Okay,” she said. “We’ll try that. And thanks again.”

“No problem. Just doing my job, ma’am. ’Bye, son.”

“’Bye, Mister Policeman.”

Shelby gave the officer a smile before rolling up the window. Then she waited for him to step aside before she guided the car around in a half circle. Fortunately no one else seemed to be coming up the road.

Three days ago—it seemed like three years—Mason had called to say he was coming over the next morning to take Josh to the zoo. Something about the arrogant way he’d announced his intentions instead of asking Shelby if that was okay put her on alert. He’d been dropping hints for weeks that if the courts didn’t grant him custody, he’d take Josh anyway.

The longer she thought about his brusque tone during the call, the more she became convinced that Mason didn’t intend to bring Josh back. So she’d rented a car, hoping that would throw Mason off a little, packed some clothes for her and Josh, and left town.

“Where’re we goin’, Shebby?” Josh asked. “Back home?”

“No, not home, Josh. But we can’t keep going up the mountain road because there’s too much snow. So we’ll stay overnight in a motel and try again tomorrow morning, okay?”

“Okay, but when are we gonna get to Yellowstone? You said, Shebby. Bob wants to see geezers.”

“Geysers, Josh.”

“Yeah, those. And we’re gonna ride horsies there, right?”

“That’s the plan.” She should change the plan, but Josh was so excited she didn’t have the heart, at least not yet.

“Bob, he knows how to ride horsies real good. He’s gonna teach me.”

“Good thing Bob knows so much, huh?” Shelby said. Right about now she wished Josh’s imaginary friend really existed, and that he was about six-five, weighed two-fifty and could bench-press his own weight.

“Bob, he knows this much.” Josh spread his arms wide. “A whole bunch, is what Bob knows.” He glanced at Shelby, as if he expected her to contradict him. “Right, Shebby?”

Shelby smiled. No matter how scary life got, she took heart from this little bundle of sunshine sitting in his car seat next to her. He was unsinkable. And so damned normal, with his love of basketball and his imaginary friend. A child psychologist might say the imaginary friend had made an appearance at this particular time because of what Josh had been through recently. That could be true, and if so, she was impressed with the way the little boy took care of his own needs.

She glanced over at Josh. “Right. Bob is awesome.”

Josh nodded. “Awesome. When are we gonna see geezers?”

“Well, first we have to go all the way through Colorado, and then most of the way through Wyoming. But before we do that, we have to get over this mountain, and we can’t do that until tomorrow morning.”

“’Member that song about a mountain? The one we singed in school?”

“Sure. Want to sing it?”

“Yep.” Josh launched into a close approximation of “She’ll Be Comin’ ’Round the Mountain.”

Shelby joined in, helping him through the parts he’d forgotten. How she loved this little boy. Long ago, in spite of herself, she’d begun to think of him as her own child. He even looked like her—same blond hair, same blue eyes. Patricia hadn’t ever seemed to have time for him, especially after she’d divorced Mason.

And during the breakup of Patricia’s marriage, Shelby’s parents had been so busy worrying about Patricia, their favorite child, that they hadn’t seemed to have any concern left for Josh. And now all three of them were gone—her sister and both her parents.

Shelby’s chest tightened as a nick of pain touched her heart, like the whisper of a very sharp knife that barely cuts the skin but is capable of dealing a killing blow. It was a warning sign that she needed to shut down her emotions, and fast. Ever since the boating accident four months ago that had claimed her parents and Patricia, Shelby had kept a tight rein on her feelings. She had Josh to think about.

Josh stopped singing as Shelby pulled into the parking lot of a small motel with a café nearby.

“Is this it?” he asked.

“This is it.” Shelby surveyed the rambling building, which was in definite need of a paint job. Her parents would have turned up their noses at the accommodations, but Shelby was grateful for anything reasonably clean. Quite a few cars and trucks were gathered in the lot, and she hoped she wouldn’t have any trouble getting a room.

And she definitely wanted one. Driving all the way back to Santa Fe was too risky. The lights shining through the café’s windows made it look cozy in the gathering gloom brought on by the heavy snowfall. The thought of a hot cup of coffee beckoned to her, but she turned the wheel left and parked in front of the first unit of the motel where an orange neon sign in one corner of the window read Office. In the opposite corner was another neon sign in blue that said Vacancy.

Shelby sighed with relief.

“They don’t gots no swimmin’ pool,” Josh said. “Bob was gonna go swimmin’.”

Shelby laughed as she unbuckled her seat belt and reached in the back for their coats and hats. “Bob must be a member of the Polar Bear Club.”

“Huh?” Josh giggled. “Bob’s not a bear.”

“The Polar Bear Club is a bunch of people who go swimming when it’s really cold outside.” Shelby helped him get out of the car seat and into his coat and hat. “So they call themselves Polar Bears.”

“Do they gots white fur?”

“No, they wear bathing suits.” She zipped up his jacket and decided she didn’t need to fasten the chin strap on his hat for the quick trip inside. “Just like you do when you go swimming. Now stay right there, and I’ll come around and get you out. If I carry you in, I won’t have to bother putting your boots on.”

“I can walk, y’know. I’m a big boy.”

“I know.” Shelby put on her own coat. “But the snow’s started to drift out there.”

“Bob wants to play in it.”

“We’ll see.” But she knew she couldn’t allow Josh to play out in the snow in front of the motel. He’d be way too visible.

As she started to get out of the car, the sign in the window changed to No Vacancy. “Oh, no!”

“What, Shebby?”

“Uh, nothing, Josh. Sit tight. I’ll be right there to get you.” Grabbing her purse, she stepped into the snow, ignoring the icy dampness soaking her running shoes as she closed the car door and ran around to get Josh. She’d talk the motel owner into letting her spend the night somewhere in this building, even if it was on a cot in a broom closet. She’d sit up all night and let Josh have a mattress on the floor, if necessary. But they couldn’t spend the night in the café, where Mason could come along and find them.

She slung the shoulder strap of her purse bandolier-style across her body before lifting Josh out of the car.

He turned his face up to the snow and laughed with delight. “It tickles!”

“I guess it does, at that.” She hurried toward the office door.

“It tastes like Popsicles! I gots some on my tongue! See?”

“Oh, sweetheart, I can’t right now. I will. Later I will.” She hated not being able to enjoy Josh’s first experience with snow. She hated this whole mess, in fact. A bolt of pure anger shot through her. Damn them, all of them, for not putting this little boy first in their lives. Damn them for taking her dad’s high-speed boat out on such a foggy day. Damn them all for dying. Now Josh had no one but her. Somehow, she would have to be enough.

A buzzer sounded when she opened the office door. She hurried inside, adding her wet tracks to the ones already covering the carpet. A very tall cowboy stood at the scarred counter, his back to her while he filled out a registration form. He looked at least seven feet tall, but Shelby guessed part of that was due to the heels of his boots and the crown of his hat.

The desk clerk, an older man with glasses, peered around the cowboy. “I’m really sorry, but I just rented our last room.” He pointed to the No Vacancy sign in the window. “We’re full up.”

“Surely there’s somewhere you can put us,” Shelby said. “I only need a cot for Josh. I can take the floor. We’re desperate.”

The cowboy laid down the pen he’d been using and turned to look at her.

The sheer size of him made her take an involuntary step back. Then she looked into his eyes, which were an incredible shade of green. But more than that, they were the kindest eyes she’d ever seen. Although she had no logical reason to feel better, she did.

“You forgot Bob.” Josh clapped his cold hands against her cheeks and forced her head around so she had to look at him. “Bob, he needs someplace to sleep, y’know,” Josh explained, his blue eyes earnest. He looked so cute, with his hat on crooked and the chin strap dangling down.

“I know,” she whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Well, that makes it really hard,” the clerk said. “Even if I could figure out something, I’m afraid we don’t allow pets.”

“The dog’ll probably be okay in the car for the night,” the big cowboy said quietly. “You and the boy can take my room.”

Shelby realized how close to the surface her emotions were when the offer made tears gather in her eyes. “Oh, I couldn’t —”

“Bob, he’s not a dog,” Josh said. “He’s my friend.”

The cowboy frowned. “You left another kid out in the car? It’s mighty cold out there for a—”

“No, it’s not another kid,” Shelby said. “Bob is—”

“Awesome!” Josh said.

“Yes, he is,” Shelby said as she looked the cowboy in the eye and hoped he would get the message as quickly as the patrolman had. “He’s so awesome that he can make himself invisible if he wants to.” She lowered Josh to the floor and took off his hat. “As a matter of fact, Josh, I happen to know he can sleep anywhere, because he told me so. He could even sleep under your bed if he wanted to, and be perfectly comfy.”

Josh’s forehead crinkled in thought. “You’re sure?”

“It’s one of his special tricks.” She glanced over at the cowboy to see if he was buying the story.

He was. His smile was gentle as he inclined his head just the faintest bit in her direction, letting her know he had Bob all figured out.

That soft, understanding smile made her insides quiver a little, reminding her of pleasures she hadn’t enjoyed in quite a while. And it would be a while longer, considering how her life was going these days.

“Then it’s settled,” the cowboy said. “You, the boy and…Bob can have unit six.”

“But what about you?” She desperately wanted the room, but she felt guilty taking him up on his offer.

“No problem.”

She gazed into his ruggedly handsome face. If they were in a movie, she’d suggest sharing the room, platonically, of course. Her tummy quivered again. But this was no movie. She turned to the clerk. “Is there anything else? Maybe a large closet, or—”

“I’ll be fine,” the cowboy said. “Don’t worry about a thing. The café’s open twenty-four hours. I’ll just stretch out in a booth and make myself at home.”

“But—”

“Hey. I’m used to such things. If the weather wasn’t so nasty, I wouldn’t have even bothered with a motel. I’d have slept in my truck, which I’ve done a million times. So it’s no big deal for me.” His gaze rested on Josh. “I want to make sure that little cowpoke gets his rest.”

Shelby’s heart swelled with gratitude. Right when she needed a knight in shining armor, one had appeared. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said, her voice husky from the lump in her throat. And those damn pesky tears kept trying to well up in her eyes. She blinked them back. “You’re a very nice man.”

“Don’t mention it.” With a touch of his fingers to the brim of his hat, he walked past her out into the snow, leaving behind the scent of leather and denim.

“What a gentleman,” she said, thinking how well it fit the tall cowboy. He was truly a gentle man.

“He is, at that,” the clerk said. He was gazing after the cowboy with an expression of great respect. “Those booths are made of molded plastic. I’d hate to spend the night in one.”

“I’ll have to find a way to repay him,” Shelby said as she fished in her purse for her wallet and took out her credit card. Belatedly she thought to glance at the registration form the cowboy had left on the counter. She caught the name Boone Connor printed boldly across the top line before the desk clerk whisked the form away and crumpled it up.

Boone. She smiled. What a perfect name for him. He’d definitely been a boon to her, that was for sure.

Josh tugged on the leg of her jeans. “Can Bob and me read those? They gots horsies.”

Shelby glanced to where Josh pointed and saw some western magazines on a table. She looked up at the clerk. “Is it okay? He knows not to tear pages out or anything.”

“Sure, it’s okay.” The desk clerk smiled down at Josh. “Go ahead and read the magazines, son.”

Shelby watched Josh go over to the table, carefully choose a magazine, and climb up in a ratty overstuffed chair before he started slowly turning the pages and muttering to himself, pretending he was reading. Every once in a while he glanced beside him and pointed out something in the magazine. Obviously he was sharing the experience with Bob.

“He’s a fine boy,” the clerk said. “You must be a proud momma.”

“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.