Mountain Country Cowboy. Glynna Kaye

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       Chapter Three

      Cash tensed. Why was she bringing that up now?

      If nothing else, it was a continued reminder that while people didn’t blame him for his father’s sins, they wouldn’t be quick to forget where he’d come from. That they’d be on guard, watching for him to make a wrong move.

      He stepped back up onto the porch and carefully placed the bedding on one of the rockers, then approached a wary-looking Rio, who now stood a comfortable distance from the cabin and the possibly listening ears of his son.

      “No,” he said as he looked down at her, again noticing a slightly crooked nose, evidence that at some point the tough little tomboy must have taken a tumble. But it lent her pretty face a bit of whimsy. Whimsy. Not exactly a word found in his usual vocabulary, but it fit Rio. “No, none of it was my fault.”

      She darted a look at the cabin and further lowered her voice. “Nevertheless... I think I should warn you that Jeb Greer still works here. His son Eliot’s back for the summer, too. Jeb was, you know—”

      “Yeah, I know.”

      Greer. The man whose wife had an affair with Cash’s father. That discovery, along with a related fistfight provoked by the behavior of Cash’s dad, had Jeb’s wife fleeing the scandal and gotten the Herrera family thrown off the Hunter property.

      While his thirteen-year-old self had cringed with every blow as that fight played out, a reluctant admiration for his wiry-built old man had nevertheless swelled as Cash had watched him expertly duck, sway and dodge. Then a one-two punch sent blood gushing from the nose of his bigger, burlier opponent. Caught up in the unfolding spectacle, Cash had laughed, fist punching the air in triumph. That was, until he caught the hate-filled look on the face of the other man’s ten-year-old son.

      Their gazes had met and held, and in that moment Cash’s young heart knew he’d made an enemy for life. Justifiably, he was soon to learn, once he discovered the reason for the fight.

      Cash shook off the recollection, determining to do his best to steer clear of both father and son. No point in his presence dredging up bad memories for them. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

      She nodded and he turned toward the cabin, then paused to look back at her. “How’d that turn out? For the Greer couple, I mean. Did she come back?”

      “Divorced.”

      Not unexpected.

      “Sorry to hear it.” He knew well the wound Jeb lived with—despite the passage of time—when a woman he’d taken into his heart betrayed him. He’d ridden that trail himself. Wasn’t inclined to risk riding it again.

      Rio waited for him to continue, but that wasn’t a topic he intended to pursue. Instead, he raked his hand roughly through his hair. “Look, I apologize for this kidcare obstacle. I appreciate your offer of assistance. But do you think maybe, for the time being, Joey could come along with me? That way I can get started tomorrow. Not delay things.”

      She gave him a doubtful look. “You want a kid to tag along who isn’t sure he even likes horses?”

      He hadn’t figured out what was going on with that. Joey claimed he wasn’t afraid of them.

      “He may not be into horses—yet—but there’s nothing stopping him from sitting on a barrel and playing with his trucks. Or mucking out stalls and filling water tanks. At eight years old I was doing that and more. You were, too.”

      “I don’t know, Cash...”

      He watched with bated breath as she nibbled the corner of her lower lip in concentration. Princess Rio. Who would have imagined fourteen years ago that the little snip would blossom into such a head turner? But since he’d clued her in that at the time of his application childcare hadn’t been an issue, she was probably questioning how well he knew his son. Wondering if he could vouch that Joey would cooperate when accompanying him.

      In all honesty, he didn’t know.

      It might take some doing to roll the little guy out of bed before dawn, but although she hadn’t done the hiring, he sensed it would be to his long-term advantage to have Rio’s seal of approval. Starting tomorrow would be a point in his favor.

      “So what do you say?” he prompted. “I think we both want to make this transition work.”

      She slowly nodded, as if not yet convinced. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Maybe we can try it tomorrow, anyway.”

      “That’s all I ask.”

      Her mouth curved. “Not asking much, are you?”

      With a sense of elation that he’d won her over, he couldn’t help but share her smile as they openly studied each other, her mind likely teeming with as many questions about their working relationship as filled his. If he guessed right, this spunky lady kept many a man—the deputy?—on his toes these days, and not because they were on guard for an ambush as he’d often been in his youth.

      Looking down at her, he caught the soft, quick intake of her breath before she abruptly spun away and started down the trail back to the heart of the Hideaway.

      “See you at sunrise,” she called over her shoulder with a sassy toss of that ponytail, and he shook his head. This might prove to be a long—and interesting—few months. But as he headed back to the cabin—his and Joey’s new home—a soul-deep gratefulness welled up within him.

      Everything works for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

      Three years after he’d joined God’s team just prior to being released from jail, he was still trying to get his head around that biblical promise—a vow that God would bring good from the worst of situations.

      Wasn’t his friendship with Deputy Lamar proof of that? And the job he’d landed at the dude ranch shortly thereafter? Even working with horses as his dad dragged the family from job to job—from affair to affair—on ranches and at other horse facilities had come full circle. He’d acquired the experience to gain a foothold at Hunter’s Hideaway. And now, in time for СКАЧАТЬ