Her Cowboy Boss Read online

  He strapped the bulging bags behind her saddle. As he boosted her up into the saddle he said, “You look pretty cute in that hat.”

  She frowned and muttered, “Tell me that after we find the kids.”

  He was going to tell her a lot more than that and hope—pray—it was enough.

  * * *

  Meri could only hope and pray that Stark was right about Donovan deciding to walk across the pasture to get home rather than take the road. She couldn’t let herself think about anything other than that right now. Part of her wanted to rejoice that Stark had apologized and even made a promise of sorts, but her worry and guilt wouldn’t let her focus on that.

  She had to know that Donovan and Jeanie Ruth were safe. If anything happened to them, she’d never forgive herself. How could she possibly be happy again knowing she had caused either of them harm?

  A few hundred yards down the road, they went through the west gate. As a girl, her friends had always talked about how big the Straight Arrow was, but it had never seemed that big to her. Though she’d spent most of her time at the house in the kitchen with her mom, she’d driven or ridden all over the ranch with her dad, and she and her siblings had played out here, especially on this west end of the property because there were fewer cattle here.

  She hoped the kids had jackets, but there was no way to tell. Unlike yesterday, which had been so warm and still, the breeze today had a definite bite to it. Surely they hadn’t struck out in their pajamas. They hadn’t left them behind, but that didn’t mean they were wearing them. Did it? She just didn’t know what to think at this point.

  Suddenly she saw something moving in the grass, and pointed. “Look.”

  Stark stood in the stirrups. “Digger!” he called. “Digger! Here, boy!”

  Her heart in her throat, Meri threw herself off the horse and tossed her reins to Stark. Hurrying out several yards, she went down on her haunches just as the dog showed, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. It came straight to her and jumped up onto her knee, nearly knocking her over, yipping excitedly. Then Digger turned and raced away. Shooting to her feet, Meredith called it back.

  “Digger! Where’s Donovan? Where is he?”

  The dog showed itself again, barking piercingly. Then it was off again.

  “We should follow,” Stark said.

  She caught her reins, saying, “Go. Go! I’ll catch up.”

  He heeled his bay and went off after the dog, while she pulled and hopped her way up into the saddle.

  When she caught up with Stark, he was standing in his stirrups again, scanning the landscape. “I’ve lost him.”

  Meri tried calling the dog and Donovan, too, but succeeded only in causing the horses to shy and wheel. They rode on in the general direction of the Pryor place. When they came to Little Cow Creek, they found a spot to dismount and water the horses, tying the reins to an overhanging tree branch, while Stark called the house on his mobile phone. Meri was too sick at heart to do it.

  No one had found any sign of the children.

  Meredith covered her face with her hands, praying desperately, “Dear God, help us. What do we do?”

  “That’s a start,” Stark said. Going down on one knee there in the dirt, he clutched her hand and pulled her down beside him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He bowed his head and said, “Lord, You’ve tried and tried to show me Your will, and I’ve kicked and fought and closed my eyes like the fool and the coward I am. And just look where that’s gotten us. This is all my fault. Forgive me, and help me put it all right. We need Your help here. Please. For those kids and my folks, for everyone I love, especially Meri.”

  She gasped. “Stark!”

  He made a disgusted sound and got to his feet, hauling her up with him and saying, “I can’t even do that right. But you know it’s true, babe. You have to. I’ve never made such an idiot out of myself over a woman before. I love you so much it...”

  “Scares you,” she supplied, seeing it flicker behind his eyes.

  “You have no idea.”

  She lifted a hand to his prickly cheek. “Given the kind of loss you’ve suffered,” she began.

  “I should be able to face anything this world throws at me,” he stated flatly, seizing her by the upper arms, “and if I weren’t such a coward I’d already have grabbed you.”

  “Don’t say that about yourself.”

  “It’s the truth. I love you, Meri. Do you hear me? I love you more than I thought possible, more than I ever imagined I could love someone. And I used Jeanie Ruth as an excuse to push you away. Because I’m so afraid of losing you.”

  “You don’t have to lose me,” she said in a quavering voice, “because, you know, I love you, too.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “I did figure that out. Thank God I’m not totally stupid. It finally hit me that losing you is losing you, no matter how it might happen. My brother said I was throwing you away. He was right. Forgive me.”

  “Done,” she said, smiling. “It’s partly my own fault, anyway. I pushed too hard.”

  “No,” he insisted. “You dragged me up out of the grave, Meri. I’d buried myself in grief, and you pulled me back into the land of the living. Don’t blame yourself.”

  “There’s just one thing.” She pulled back, looking up at him. Best get this out in the open, too, before her nerve failed her. “I can’t imagine being married and not having children.”

  “Not having them is the same as losing them, isn’t it?” he said, smiling crookedly. He tapped her on the end of the nose. “Not totally stupid.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, elated, despite the worry nagging her. Suddenly he stiffened.

  “There,” he said, pointing. “The dog. Over there.”

  Meri ran for the horses, Stark beside her. “Hurry!”

  He threw her into the saddle, yanked their reins free, breaking the branch in the process, and mounted up. They raced off in the direction Stark pointed. Soon Meri spotted the dog herself. A few minutes later, they lost the dog again, but they heard what sounded like angry wails coming from a fissure in the ground that Meri knew well.

  “Thank You, God!” Meri exclaimed.

  Stark took out his phone and called Rex again. “We’ve found them. Haven’t laid eyes on them yet, but we hear them. Call you again in a minute.”

  Meri felt dizzy with relief. “Please God, let them be okay.”

  As they rode closer, they heard Donovan speaking. “Will you pipe down? We ain’t lost zactly. We’re just in a canyern. Now it’s light, we’ll get up the other side and see how to get home.”

  “I don’t want to get up the other side,” Jeanie Ruth declared. “I’m cold! The wind is winter! And there’s dirt in my shoes!”

  “That’s why we wear boots,” Donovan pointed out.

  “I hate it out here!” Jeanie Ruth cried. “We shouldn’t have come out here.”

  “It was your idea,” Donovan reminded her.

  “You said you knew the way.”

  “I do. ’Cept Digger wouldn’t go by the road, and you was afraid your granny would hear us.”

  At the sound of his name, the dog disappeared into the sandy crevice in the ground. Stark reined his horse to a standstill and leaned an elbow against the saddle horn, shaking his head and grinning, as the kids continued to bicker. Jeanie Ruth accused Digger of abandoning them, and Donovan hotly defended his pet. They seemed completely unaware of their rescuers. Stark walked to the edge of the crevasse, which appeared stable enough, and hunkered down. Meredith rode a little closer so she could see into the space. It wasn’t terribly deep, but in the dark, the children wouldn’t have known that. Now, Jeanie Ruth was apparently refusing to budge. It was clear that they had donned their clothing over their pajamas, and they were both dirty and scratched, but if either was injur
ed, Meri couldn’t see how.

  “Having fun?” Stark finally said, startling both of them. Jeanie Ruth, who’d had her back to him, jumped a foot high, her eyes wide as saucers.

  “Uncle Stark!”

  “Out for a little midnight stroll, were you?”

  “We fell into a hole,” Donovan admitted, sheepishly looking up at Meredith.

  “I see that,” she replied calmly. “Are you hurt?” He shook his head, looking down again. Meredith threw her leg over the saddle and hopped down off the horse. “Anyone thirsty? Hungry?”

  Donovan nodded hopefully.

  “Let’s get you out of there,” Stark said. He sent Meredith a speaking glance. She led the horses away, and he stretched out on his belly, reaching down a hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Jeanie Ruth crossed over and put her hand in his. Stark pulled her up and over the edge. She’d torn the knee of her knit pants and chewed up the pajamas beneath, but Meredith didn’t think she’d actually hurt herself. Stark pulled up Donovan next.

  He had the good sense to appear thoroughly chastened, but Jeanie Ruth tried to brazen it out, lifting her chin and swiping hair out of her face. “I s’pose we’re in trouble.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Stark said.

  “But that’s up to others,” Meredith told them. “Let me get you something to eat and drink, then we’ll head back.”

  Stark stepped away a few feet and pulled out his phone again, while Meredith dug into the saddlebags. As they ate, sitting cross-legged on the ground, Donovan explained that they’d thought it would be “funny” to go to bed in one house and “wake up” in the other.

  “Since you wouldn’t let him sleep with his dog,” Jeanie Ruth accused.

  Meredith looked around for the dog, which had disappeared again. “I’m sorry about that, Donovan. Digger is always welcome at the Straight Arrow.”

  Donovan said glumly, “It’s okay. We shouldn’t of took off.”

  “No,” Meredith agreed. “You shouldn’t have. You could have been seriously hurt. And I can’t promise you won’t suffer repercussions. But I’m sorry I upset you, and I’m glad you’re both okay.”

  “I’m sorry, too, Aunt Meri,” he said in a froggy voice, swiping at his eyes.

  “You’re going to cry now?” Jeanie Ruth demanded.

  “You were crying earlier,” Stark pointed out, dropping down beside her.

  “Was not!” she lied defensively.

  “We heard you,” he told her, knocking his shoulder against hers. Unprepared for the contact, she rocked sideways, nearly toppling over before she caught herself.

  “I—I was just pretending.”

  “You were scared,” he refuted bluntly, “and you should’ve been. Maybe you still should be. Your Granny Andi is spitting fire.” Jeanie Ruth looked shocked. “You’ve probably never seen her really angry,” Stark said, “but I have. You forget that she raised me. And your mama.”

  That set Jeanie Ruth back a step or two and gave her something to think about on the ride back to the house. Stark put Jeanie Ruth in the saddle in front of him and Donovan on the back behind Meredith.

  After he boosted Meri into place and she was gathering her reins, he caught her stirrup and said, “By the way, I was wrong about that hat. Cute doesn’t cover it. Ravishing. That’s the word.”

  Laughing, Meredith wheeled around her mount and headed home.

  * * *

  “None the worse for wear,” Dr. Alice Shorter announced, shepherding the two pint-size miscreants and their female escorts out onto the front porch.

  Wes had called the doctor to the ranch just in case the children had suffered some harm from their misadventure. Both wore clean clothes and sported freshly combed hair now. Jeanie Ruth’s had been plaited into two tight braids, which Stark knew she hated. Clearly, her grandmother was not yet in a forgiving mood.

  Sitting on the porch swing side by side, he and Meri had recounted to the others how they’d found the pair and what had apparently sent them traipsing off across the countryside in the dark of night. Now he naturally rose to offer his seat to his mother. Meri did the same for Dr. Shorter, a well-dressed middle-aged woman with a solid figure and long blond hair worn in a neat twist.

  Ann walked Donovan over to his father, who leaned against the porch rail. An unusually docile Jeanie Ruth went to stand with her grandfather and Uncle Wayne, while Callie occupied a spot next to Rex. He leaned a shoulder against the house, Bodie playing quietly at his feet with Wes, who crouched beside her, pushing a toy tractor back and forth.

  “Playdate is canceled,” Ann decreed.

  “And we will talk about other restrictions when we get home,” Dean promised.

  Donovan merely nodded, shamefaced, but Jeanie Ruth, as expected, squawked.

  “That’s not fair! I won’t never get to see Donovan’s tree house.”

  “You’ll have other opportunities to play in Donovan’s tree house,” Stark told her, resting against the upright porch support. Meredith leaned against him.

  “Mama won’t never let me come back here!” Jeanie Ruth predicted.

  “After you ran away, could you blame her?” her grandmother asked. Jeanie Ruth folded her arms mulishly.

  Stark shook his head. “Your mother will bring you back here. You and Donovan will have lots of opportunities to play together after Meri and I are married.”

  Obviously, he should’ve thought before dropping that bomb, but in his mind it was settled. The peace of it had permeated all the way to the marrow of his bones. True, he and Meri hadn’t related their personal declarations to everyone, but it was right there for everyone to see. Wasn’t it?

  Apparently not, given the way they’d all stiffened and now stared at them, slack-jawed.

  “Guess we left that part out,” he muttered, feeling Meri’s silent laughter.

  Suddenly, his mother burst into tears, while his father and Wes high-fived each other, laughing.

  Wayne spread his arms, declaring, “Two Burns weddings in one year!”

  “One year!” Stark yelped. “We’re not waiting that long.”

  Meri turned her head to look at him. “I’m no spring chicken,” he argued. “We’ve got catching up to do.”

  She raised her eyebrows and looked at her sister, who raised her eyebrows. It didn’t matter to Stark—he wasn’t waiting that long. He looked at Wayne. “When are you and Phyllis getting married?”

  “September.”

  “September of next year? We are not waiting that long.”

  Someone sniggered. He had the feeling it was Rex, but he didn’t care. He meant to have his way in this. Meri pulled away then, turning to face him, her hands at her waist.

  “Aren’t you forgetting a little something, Dr. Burns?”

  Dr. Burns? “You know I didn’t mean it when I fired you.”

  “This is something you haven’t done.”

  Something he hadn’t done?

  “In fact, I believe I was the one to mention a certain subject,” she hinted.

  He frowned, thinking back. When it hit him, he smacked himself in the forehead. Straightening, he walked her back a couple steps. Then he went down on one knee, right there on the edge of the porch.

  “Oh, wow,” said Ann.

  Meredith giggled. “This isn’t necessary.”

  He held up a hand, forestalling further protests. If he was going to do this thing, he should do it right. “No ring, but we can fix that by nightfall.” He took her hand in his and looked up at her. “You ready?” She nodded, beaming. His heart felt too big for his chest. “I love you,” he said, ridiculously happy. “Gloria Meredith Billings, will you—”

  “Yes!” she exclaimed, hopping up and down. They were both laughing because she hadn’t even let him finish.

  Then sh
e threw herself at him. He caught his elbow on the edge of the porch post, and that was enough to send them both toppling backward onto the ground. Gathering her close, he kept her from harm—as he always would—while she pecked kisses all over his face. The others rushed over to help them up, but it took some time with all the laughing and applauding.

  In his head, he was already building her a house and talking to his father-in-law about those horses he needed to buy and planning those babies she wanted. Not one. Not just one this time. A houseful.

  What memories they would make, treasures to hoard with those he already had, love to add to what he’d already been given. So much. Such riches.

  More than one man could ever deserve.

  Enough for a long lifetime of gratitude.

  Epilogue

  Wes loved a Christmas wedding. It was difficult to believe his girls had pulled off such an elaborate and beautiful ceremony in only a month’s time, but then they were an eager bunch. Callie had married his son, Rex, within days of accepting his proposal. Ann hadn’t let the preacher pronounce her married before she’d kissed her groom, and that on the very day they’d decided to wed, but then Ann and Dean’s wedding had been a surprise cooked up by Rex. Meredith hadn’t let Stark even get his proposal out before she’d accepted him, not that the outcome had been in doubt.

  Apparently everyone in the family had recognized the attraction well before either Stark or Meri had. What the family hadn’t known was why the pair had resisted the initial pull between them. Wes had gone to his room and wept, as he hadn’t wept since his wife had died, after Meredith had told them, with Stark at her side, about the brutal attack that had nearly taken her life.

  To think that a daughter of his could have suffered and overcome such pain and fear without his aid had humbled and broken him. It had also shown him that his youngest daughter possessed a kind of strength for which he’d never given her credit. She was sweet, kind, smart and caring, yes, but also dogged and unbreakable, the perfect combination of Gloria Jollett and Wesley Billings. Exactly what he should have expected.