Overprotective Cowboy: A Mulbury Boys Novel (Hope Eternal Ranch Romance Book 2) Read online

  “The pretending is important too,” she said, looking somewhere over his shoulder. “You smile when you don’t feel like it. You laugh even if you’re not having a good time. Eventually…eventually, you’re smiling because you do feel like it, and you’re laughing and genuinely having a good time.”

  He put his fingers gently on the side of her face and made her look at him. “Is that true? You pretend you’re happy until you actually are?’

  “It’s worked for me,” she said.

  Ted wondered if it really had, or if Emma had somehow convinced herself that it had.

  “How did you make it through prison?” She reached up and slid her fingers through his, which still rested against that smooth skin on her face.

  “One day at a time,” he said.

  “That’s how you keep a secret too,” she said. “One day at a time.”

  Ted nodded, and they faced the homestead together. Someone peered through the window, and he knew he wouldn’t be kissing her. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Nate came out of the garage door and called, “Hey, Teddy. Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  “Sure thing,” Ted called as he walked toward his friend. “See you tomorrow, Em.”

  “Night, Teddy.” She grinned at him and flitted away while he tried to figure out if he should growl at her or simply bask in the flirtatious tone of her voice.

  In the end, he just smiled—maybe he was pretending he was happy with the nickname?—and joined Nate as they walked toward their back deck.

  “What’s up?” Ted asked.

  “It’s Family Weekend next weekend,” Nate said. “And I talked to Slate today, and he said no one is coming for Dallas. I think we should go.”

  “Of course we should go,” Ted said instantly. “If we’re not his family, who is?” He climbed the steps ahead of Nate. “His wife really isn’t coming?”

  “His wife moved to Louisiana,” Nate said grimly. “He just found out when he got the divorce papers.”

  “No,” Ted said, turning fully back to Nate.

  “It’s worse,” Nate said, his mouth settling into a thin line. “She left their son and daughter at her sister’s.”

  Ted reached up and removed his cowboy hat, his mind whirring now. He wanted to be there for Dallas right now, even if that meant going back inside River Bay. The man wasn’t cut out for prison, and while he’d only gotten a few years, his first had been terrible for him. If it hadn’t been for Nate, Ted, and Slate, Ted felt sure Dallas wouldn’t still be alive.

  He’d spent a few nights on suicide watch, and that was when Nate had taken him right under his wing, brought him into the Mulbury fold, where Dallas had been thriving ever since. He taught mechanic classes now, and he was the leader of the Mulbury Boys now that Nate and Ted were gone.

  He would not be handling himself very well right now, Ted knew that. Martha had been all he’d clung to on the inside, and Ted had met her several times as she came to visit her husband every week, like clockwork. He’d even met Dallas’s kids a couple of times, and they were great—as far as Ted knew.

  He had no idea what it would be like to be a single parent, raising kids by himself. He didn’t know what it took to prep a child to go see their father in jail. He didn’t know what it was like for those left on the outside, the explanations they had to give to people, the internal fortitude it took to carry on without their loved ones.

  “He only has nine months left,” Nate said.

  “He’s got to get out of there,” Ted argued. “Maybe he can come here.” He looked at Nate with pure hope shining in his soul. “Petition the judge that his wife abandoned the children, and he can get them, and come here.”

  “Teddy.” Nate shook his head. “You’re here, and Ginger can’t have more than one inmate in the program.”

  “I could go back in.”

  Nate shook his head. “Nope. I see you, Teddy. I knew you’d react exactly this way. And no. I worked dang hard to get you here, and just because you don’t like working from sunup to sundown doesn’t mean you can get Dallas to trade places with you.” He grinned and nodded his cowboy hat in the general direction of the West Wing. “Besides, what are you going to tell your girlfriend? Hey, I’m—”

  “First off,” Ted said, his voice way too loud under this night sky. “She is not my girlfriend.” He lowered his voice and glanced around, as if there might be reporters there, waiting to pounce on this juicy story.

  “You knew who I was talking about,” Nate said.

  “Duh,” Ted hissed. He turned back to the house and strode away from Nate, his heart pounding now for some unknown reason. “We’ll go to Family Weekend,” he said. “And I’m going to try to call Dallas tomorrow.”

  “Come on,” Nate said behind him, but Ted pulled open the door and went inside. Air conditioning drifted over his face and arms, relaxing him, and the scent of something brown and roasted filled his nose.

  Jack stood at the stove, turning as Ted and Nate’s boots hit the hard floor. “Carne asada tacos,” he said.

  “Bless you,” Ted said as his stomach growled. Not only would he get fed, but he wouldn’t have to continue the conversation about his “girlfriend” with Nate.

  The next morning, Ted woke as the first rays of sunshine lit his window. He’d had a very hard time falling asleep, his anticipation keeping him mentally awake long after his body had collapsed into bed.

  His mother was coming today. In fact, she’d be on the ranch in a few hours.

  Excitement mingled with nervous energy, and he got up and into the shower. Afterward, with a towel tucked around his waist, he looked at himself in the mirror. Emma’s words circled through his mind, and he reached for his razor.

  After making sure his beard was exactly right, he brushed his teeth and actually plucked a few errant hairs from his eyebrows. Nate knocked on the other door, calling, “Connor needs to use the bathroom.”

  Ted opened the door, and the little boy streaked inside. “Hey,” he said to Nate, the two of them eye-to-eye in height. “Would you cut my hair this morning?”

  “You already showered.”

  “I’ll shower again,” he said. He didn’t need to say he wanted to look good for his mother. He didn’t need to ever tell Nate he was going to present himself perfectly and pretend he was happy.

  He was happy.

  Happier than he’d been in years and years. Hope Eternal Ranch was far superior to the River Bay FCI, and Ted merely needed to smooth over his nerves with a smile and clean-cut look.

  That was all.

  “Sure thing,” Nate said. “Let me get the kit. Meet you in the kitchen after you get dressed?”

  Ted swallowed as he nodded, and the two separated. Ted didn’t bother with what he was actually going to wear that day; he simply put on gym shorts and went into the kitchen. Nate snapped the drape around his neck and got to work.

  Ten minutes later, Nate brushed Ted’s shoulders and proclaimed, “You’re done.”

  “Thanks, brother,” Ted said as Nate unsnapped the drape. Ted turned toward Nate, and their eyes met.

  “I’m sorry about what I said last night,” Nate said.

  “I’m sorry I got mad about it.”

  “Oh, you weren’t mad.” Nate grinned, and Ted grabbed onto him and clapped him on the shoulders.

  “I wasn’t mad,” Ted said, holding onto his brother and best friend. “I just don’t know what’s going on with Emma.”

  “I know,” Nate whispered. He stepped back and cleared his throat. “I know, but you’ll figure it out.”

  “I hope so,” Ted said, but he wasn’t so sure he could figure it out. He wasn’t particularly experienced in dating to begin with, and his long absence from normal society had further stunted his romantic side and his knowledge of how he felt about a woman.

  “Okay.” Ted took a deep breath. “Be out in a bit. Thanks again, Nate.”

  “Send Connor out, would you?” Nate said as Ted walked away. “It’s his turn to make br
eakfast.”

  Ted did as Nate asked, and he showered again quickly, dressed in jeans and the nicest button-down shirt he’d bought earlier in the week. He pulled on his cowboy boots, because he’d been wearing them for several days now, and Nate had been right. They were comfortable.

  Plus, he sure did like feeling like he was a real cowboy. He hadn’t tried to get on a horse again, and Emma hadn’t mentioned when she might be able to teach him. Thankfully, Jess hadn’t tried to get him in the saddle again either, and he’d managed to keep some of his dignity.

  He went out onto the front porch to greet the sun. The heat of the day had already started to fill the air, and this side of the house faced directly into the sun. He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes as he tilted his head toward the brilliant sky.

  “Hello, world,” he murmured to himself. What a luxury it was to stand outside in the fresh air, listen to the silence, and breathe in the sunshine.

  His mother wasn’t due for another hour or two, so Ted went down to the stables, where there was always work to do. The foals weren’t in their pens, which meant Jess or someone had taken them out to spend time with their mothers.

  He found Jess down the hall, standing in front of a stall where a tall black horse hung his head over the half-door. “What do you need me to do this morning?” he asked.

  Jess glanced at him. “I thought your parents were coming.”

  “My mom,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of hours, and I don’t need to just stand around.”

  “Storm Warning needs a bath,” she said. “And you can feed Row H. That’ll probably take a couple of hours.”

  “Consider it done,” Ted said, already moving toward Row H. Feeding was easy, and he knew how to do it. Bathing a horse was a little harder, as he’d only done it a couple of times. Hope Eternal had great equipment, and the horses were used to standing there and getting washed.

  Ginger did take great care of her animals here, and the horses expected it.

  Ted did his best by them, getting them fed and out into the pastures before he returned to get Storm Warning to take him to the wash bay. The separate building had three bays, and Ted took the end unit, hooking the horse to the tether. “You stay there, bud.”

  He got the water hooked up, and he returned to the bay. “I took two showers already this morning,” he said. “So you hold still now, y’hear?”

  Storm Warning moved one hoof, and Ted stroked his hand down the side of his face. “You’re a good boy.” He smiled at the horse. “I think you already know it, though.” He started bathing the horse. “So do you know Emma? What do you think of her?”

  The horse didn’t answer of course, and Ted decided to whisper his secrets to him, getting how he felt about Emma out into words. When he finished, he was a little bit wet, but it wasn’t anything the hot Texas sun couldn’t dry quickly.

  He put Storm Warning out in the pasture, cleaned up the wash bay, and headed toward the homestead. From a couple hundred yards away, he saw a car pull up to the fence. His heart started beating triple-time, and he broke into a jog when he saw Britta get out of the driver’s side.

  His breathing came quickly by the time he reached the lawn. “Ma,” he called as Britta helped his mother out of the passenger side.

  They both turned toward him, and Ted’s emotions rose in his throat. “Mom.” The word barely left his mouth, and he couldn’t get to her fast enough.

  “Oh, my Teddy,” she said as Ted swept her into his arms. He held her so tight, a smile touching his mouth as he tried to hold onto his emotions so he wouldn’t cry.

  But hugging his mother was like coming home, and Ted hadn’t been able to do either in so long. This—hugging his mother—was like heaven to Ted.

  Chapter Twelve

  Emma watched Ted’s reunion with his mother and sister through the bay window in the living room. She pressed one hand to her heart as she saw the joy on his mother’s face. They hugged for a long time, and then Ted stepped over to his sister and did the same thing.

  Two girls got out of the car, and Emma sucked in a breath. She was good at judging age, and it looked like one was nine or ten, with the other a couple of years older than that. Her heart beat irregularly in her chest as she thought about Missy.

  Emma should be on the road to San Antonio this morning, but Fran, Matt, and Missy had gone to Florida. She missed her daughter with a fierceness she’d never experienced, and it had only been two weeks since she’d seen her.

  Ted hadn’t seen his mother in three years. Three. Years.

  Emma couldn’t even fathom that. Her heart throbbed in the back of her throat as Ted picked up both girls. Through the window, Emma heard their laughter and witnessed the joy on their faces.

  “Emma,” Ginger called, and she spun away from the happy family reunion on the front lawn. “There’s a timer going off.”

  Emma bustled into the kitchen, where Ginger stood at the stove trying to get the beeping to stop. She really was useless in the kitchen, and Emma gave a short laugh. “It’s the top one, G.”

  She picked up the oven mitts, and Ginger got the timer off. “Scootch over,” Emma said. Ginger got out of the way, and Emma pulled the cookies out. There was nothing that said welcome to a ranch better than oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

  Ted didn’t bring his family to the West Wing right away, and Emma suspected he’d taken his mother to see where he was living. She wandered into the office and sat down to get some things done. She’d been so distracted this week, and she’d missed a day and a half of work, so she was quite behind in the things she needed to do.

  She had managed to get payroll processed, so everyone had gotten paid yesterday. She’d sent out the invoices, and she’d paid the bills for the week. She’d ignored all the emails about the monarch butterflies, and she really needed to start confirming those for school groups, Girl Scout troops, and their family evenings on Monday night.

  So, with the task of clearing out her butterfly email account, Emma pulled her schedule book in front of her and clicked to get the email open. It was much easier to keep track of things on paper as she went through the email digitally. Then she didn’t overbook or double-book, and everyone was happy.

  She sorted the email by schools first, as she could schedule them during the day. She started with the oldest email first—first-come, first-served, after all—and she started scratching names and class sizes into the grid she had for the two weeks of monarch butterfly hatching and migration.

  Sometime later, Ginger called, “Emma,” again, and she immediately dropped her pencil and left the office. In the kitchen, Ginger wore a warm smile to go with her jeans and a cute yellow tank top with tiny black butterflies on it.

  Emma always felt a shade darker than the light Ginger put off, but she’d never minded it. Her best friend held Nate’s hand, who grinned at Ted’s mother with pure joy. “You probably don’t remember,” he said. “But I met you once, my first month in the facility.”

  “Oh, that’s right,” Ted’s mother said, her voice pretty in a high, throaty sort of way. Emma’s chest tightened, because she sounded elderly and motherly, and Emma hadn’t spoken to her mother in a while.

  Nate hugged her as Emma moved to Ginger’s side. “This is my fiancée, Ginger,” he said.

  “She owns the ranch, Ma,” Ted said, flicking a glance to Emma. His smile was wide, his teeth bright white, his beard trim and neat. He’d also had a haircut since she’d seen him last night, and he wore a bright blue and white button-down shirt that made all of his dark features lighter. Sexier.

  Emma realized in that moment how much she liked him. She couldn’t believe he’d only been on the ranch for six days and how much her life had changed in that time.

  “Yes, I’ve heard about Ginger, too,” his mother said, drawing the tall auburn-haired beauty in a hug too. “Thank you for having Teddy here. It’s such a blessing to see him. Such a blessing.”

  Ginger stepped back, obviously embarrassed, a
nd Emma watched the flush fill her face. “Thank you, ma’am. We’re glad to have him here.” She beamed at Ted, and Emma marveled at the change in her.

  She’d been through a lot with the prisoners she’d brought to the ranch through the Bureau of Prisons Residential Reentry Program. She’d fallen in love with one of them, and he’d nearly stolen everything from all of them.

  Ginger hadn’t brought anyone to the ranch for a long time after that, and then Nate had sorely needed a place. Emma had been in the room when the BOP had called, and Ginger had put the call on speaker.

  His brother has passed, Miss Talbot. If you take him, the boy can live with him. You haven’t taken anyone in a while, but he’s one of the best.

  Nate really was one of the best, and he was absolutely the right person for Ginger.

  Emma glanced at Ted again. Was he the right man for her?

  “This is Emma Clemson,” Ted said. “She’s the administrative arm of the ranch.”

  “Lovely to meet you, ma’am,” Emma said.

  “My mom, Carla,” Ted said, slinging his arm around his mother’s shoulders. “My sister, Britta. Her two daughters, Allie and Leslie. Her husband….” He looked around the kitchen and living room. “Where did Dwayne go?”

  “You lost him in the pastures,” Britta said. “With that paint pony.”

  “Oh, Dusty Rose is beautiful, isn’t he?” Ginger asked, and Emma very nearly rolled her eyes. Leave it to Ginger to focus on a horse over anything else.

  “I made cookies,” Emma said, looking at the girls. “Who wants one?”

  They both looked at their mother, a woman who had the same dark hair as Ted, the same sparkling, intense eyes, and plenty of fashion sense in her white capris and violet blouse. She nodded, and the two children moved with Emma into the kitchen to get the cookies.

  “Oatmeal chocolate chip,” she said, picking one up. “Take one to your momma, okay? And your grandmother.”

  “Thank you,” the youngest said, smiling at Emma.