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

  “So just Ted,” she said, needing this moment to stay light, because she didn’t want to think about such hard things.

  “Did you want to see who the license plate belongs to?” he asked.

  Anxiety tripped through Emma, and so much for not thinking about hard things. What if she knew the name? What if it was Robert? What if they’d found her?

  “I guess,” she said.

  Ted looked at her with something in his eye she didn’t like. He definitely looked like a lawyer, and Emma focused back on her wrapper.

  “It’s a guy named William Leavitt,” he said, the words low and slow coming out of his mouth.

  Emma pinched everything tight and held it, though she continued to fiddle with the crinkly plastic her ice cream bar had come in.

  “Do you know that name?”

  Emma really didn’t want to lie, but her voice had disappeared behind a giant, flaming ball of anxiety.

  “I think you do,” Ted said. “And I think you’re terrified. In fact, I can feel it. You don’t have to tell me, but I really can help you.”

  She looked at him then, feeling her eyes and how wide and round they were. Ted looked at her steadily, not a trace of judgement or scrutiny in his expression. Maybe she could trust him….

  You don’t have to tell him about Missy, she told herself.

  She cleared her throat, and it physically hurt. “Will was one of Rob’s guys.”

  “Yeah, I figured,” Ted said, looking back at his phone. “Well, he’s looking for you, is my guess.”

  “Why would he do that?” Emma asked, though she knew why. She knew exactly why.

  “Do you have anything that belongs to Rob?” Ted asked. “A car, owe him some money? Heck, even his old sweatshirt. Maybe he wants it back.”

  Emma couldn’t even shake her head. “I don’t have his sweatshirt,” she said. “Or his car.”

  She’d had his child though. How would he even know? How could he have possibly found out?

  Emma couldn’t swallow, and when she blinked and looked away from Ted, absolute terror tore through her. She wanted to say excuse me and fly from the house, but she didn’t get the words out before she leapt from the barstool, grabbed her car keys, and fled the West Wing.

  Sometime later, Emma didn’t know how long, she pulled to the side of the road. Her vision had cleared enough that she could see she’d driven north. Her heart hadn’t stopped sprinting in her chest, and she’d ignored three calls from Ginger. One from an unknown number, but the message Ted had left had identified it as his.

  He’d said he’d had to tell Ginger, and he was sorry, but he was worried about her.

  Emma was worried about herself. She had no recollection of getting to where she was, but she recognized this stretch of road as the one leading to San Antonio. Of course she’d come this way. At the same time, her mind had slowed enough for her to realize that perhaps William would be following her.

  She couldn’t go to Fran and Matt’s. She couldn’t go make sure Missy was okay. Her daughter had a cell phone, and so did Fran and Matt. They had safe words set up. Emma had left no stone unturned, and she forced herself to calm down again.

  Her phone rang, and she looked numbly at the screen. Ginger.

  Emma couldn’t ignore her best friend and boss. Ginger would be so worried, and Emma didn’t want to be the cause of that. She wondered what Ted had told her, and Emma supposed there was only one way to find out.

  “Hey,” she answered.

  “Emma, praise the Lord,” Ginger said. “She answered.”

  “Who’s with you?” Emma asked.

  “All the girls,” Ginger said. “We’ve been pooling our intelligence to figure out where you would go, but you weren’t at the ice cream shop, and you left no clues on your desk, and we’re all really worried.”

  Emma exhaled and leaned her head back against the rest behind her. She needed someone and something to hold her up.

  Ginger’s there, she thought. Jess and Michelle and Hannah and Jill.

  Ted’s face flashed through her mind too, and she had no idea why. He’d been in her life for two or three days.

  But he’d looked at her with kindness, and he’d seen her years ago when no one else had. When Emma had been hiding from everyone, her picture had been in a folder, and he’d seen it. He’d seen it and remembered her, all of these years later.

  “Emma?” Ginger asked.

  “What did Ted tell you?” she asked.

  “He told me about a blue truck,” Ginger said. “And some guy who’s been hanging around the homestead, and that you guys looked up who the truck belonged to.”

  Emma nodded, but she didn’t volunteer anything.

  “He said he thought you probably knew the guy, and that you’re afraid of him,” Ginger said. “And we want to help you.” A beep came over the line, and Ginger’s voice was less echoy when she said, “It’s just me, Em. No one else is listening, and I just want you to know that no matter what it is, we’re here for you.”

  “I know that,” Emma said, her tears welling up again. She had not let them fall in all the time she’d been driving.

  “Ted is ultra-concerned about you. He said he can’t help it, and Nate explained that he was a lawyer, and very used to working with victims, being their advocate, and getting justice for them.”

  Emma nodded, though Ginger couldn’t see her. She had the very real feeling that Ted wouldn’t fight for her if he knew what she’d done.

  In this case, she’d stolen something from Robert Knight. He was the victim, not her.

  “I need a couple of days,” Emma finally said, her voice high-pitched and filled with emotion. “I’m sorry, Ginger. I know you’re already behind on so many things. Could you take care of my foals for me? Just for a couple of days.” She was supposed to be off this weekend anyway, and maybe she could take the next five days and find her center.

  Recommit to what she needed to do.

  Something.

  “Ted said he’d do it,” Ginger said. “It’s no problem. Please stay in touch, though. I’m really worried about you.”

  “I know,” Emma said. “Love you, Ginger.”

  “I love you, Emma.”

  “We love you,” everyone chorused, and Emma hung up and finally let her tears fall

  Chapter Nine

  Ted held the bottle for Second Best, his thoughts as far from baby horses as they could be. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Emma, and when Ginger had texted him to say that she’d spoken to Emma and she was okay for now, Ted’s relief had been instant and hot.

  It had cooled quickly, because he knew Emma was not okay. He’d worked with plenty of people like her in his six years practicing law, and while she was very, very good at hiding how she really felt, when it came out, it gushed from her.

  He’d felt her fear, experienced her anxiety as his own, and seen her run away, her flight instinct the only thing driving her.

  He wondered where she’d gone, and how long she’d be away from the ranch. Hope Eternal didn’t feel as hopeful or as peaceful without her there, and that made no sense to him. When he’d talked to Nate in private, his best friend had suggested that Ted’s hormones might be a little out of sorts, since he hadn’t really interacted with a beautiful woman in a very long time.

  Ted had considered it; conceded it. That could be true. He’d said, “I still know she needs help, Nate. Who better to help her but me?”

  He wanted to be helpful and useful. He had to be. Otherwise, what was the point of his life? Why had he experienced what he had? Gone through what he’d endured?

  “Please, God,” he whispered, and Second Best finished up his milk. “Good boy, bud,” he said to the horse. He did love the horses, and the babies had a special spirit about them.

  He didn’t mind the extra work, especially if it would help someone who desperately needed it. When he finished in the stable, he cleaned up the bottles so he’d leave them the way he found them, and he heade
d back to the Annex.

  Chocolate scented the air as he crossed the deck, and he found Connor and Spencer in the kitchen, spreading frosting over a cake. “Oh, boy,” Ted said, shutting the door quickly to keep the hot evening air out. “What have we got going on here?”

  They did not serve cake in prison, and Ted couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten it. Oh, wait, yes he could. That day at his office party. That cake had been disgusting, with that slimy shortening frosting they used at the grocery store.

  The light brown frosting Connor had on his knife, his knuckles, and his face looked so much better. “Cake, Uncle Ted,” he said. “I made it with Daddy, but he had to go check on a sprinkler.”

  “He did, huh?” Ted grinned at the little boy, who’d climbed right up onto the countertop to frost the cake. He glanced at Spencer. “Problems with the sprinkler?”

  “It’s going to be the death of all of us,” Spencer said. “Thus, the cake.” He reached for Connor and picked him up. “Come on, bud. Let’s have a piece of cake and you need to get in the tub so you’re nice and clean when your daddy comes home.”

  Just thinking of Nate as a dad made Ted think about his own desire to have a family. He did want a wife and kids; he just hadn’t thought the best years of his life for obtaining them would be spent in prison.

  Spencer cut the cake and served them before walking over to the stairs and calling down, “Jack, Bill, there’s cake.”

  “Comin’!” one of them called while Ted got forks out of the drawer. He handed one to Connor and helped him onto a barstool—a better place for a boy to eat his cake. The other cowboys came upstairs, and the noise level grew.

  They talked about the Marvel movie they were watching, and Ted just listened. He hadn’t seen what they were talking about—and a lot of other stuff. Thankfully, they didn’t ask him what he’d thought of the movie or even if he’d seen it. They probably knew he hadn’t.

  After all, he wasn’t the first prisoner they’d hosted at the ranch. He hoped he was the best, but he’d come after Nate, which meant he wouldn’t be the best.

  “Come on,” Ted said to Connor the moment he finished his last bite of cake. “Time for a bath.”

  “Can I have another piece of cake?” Connor asked.

  “After you’re in your pajamas.” Ted lifted the boy into his arms and carried him into the bathroom. He said, “Get undressed. You want bubbles?”

  “Yeah, the blueberry ones,” Connor said, fumbling with the button on his shorts. Ted got the water going, making sure not to make it too hot. He poured in some of the blueberry liquid, making a face at the light blue bubbles that immediately started to foam up.

  “Thanks, Uncle Teddy,” Connor said, and his voice was so sweet and so angelic that Ted couldn’t help smiling at him. His tiny hand landed on Ted’s thigh as he steadied himself to step over the edge of the tub, and he giggled as he sat down in the bubbles.

  “Be sure to wash behind those ears,” Ted said, wondering when he’d turned into his father. He’d spoken to his dad for a couple of minutes last night, and he and Shane were coordinating when they could come see Ted.

  Nate would take him to visit them too, but it was hard to get away from the ranch. And taking two men from the ranch for a whole day wouldn’t make Ginger very happy.

  “Shoot,” Ted said, his heart leaping into the back of his throat. “Ginger.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket and dialed her.

  “Hey, Ted,” she said. “You’re waiting for me in the West Wing, aren’t you?” The wind blew across her receiver, telling Ted she was outside.

  “I’m actually sitting in the bathroom with Connor while he takes his bath,” Ted said, though he could’ve let her think she was late. “I just now remembered we were supposed to meet tonight.”

  “I’m exhausted,” she said. “Let’s do it in the morning, right after you finish with the foals.”

  “All right,” he said, glancing at Connor as he said, “Look, Uncle Ted. I have a bubble beard.”

  He nodded and smiled at the child and Ginger said she’d see him then. He hung up and sighed. He wasn’t sure what the point of meeting with her was. Probably to make sure he settled in okay, and that he was following the rules.

  Ted had, and he did. The last thing he wanted was to cause any problems for anyone here, or for himself. He’d have to meet with a parole officer eventually, and until then, he had to meet with Ginger. She’d told him they had to meet daily for the first little bit, and Ted didn’t mind. He was used to being told what to do.

  He reached up and scratched the hair on his face, as he hadn’t gotten any beard oil yet. He wasn’t even sure how to do that. He did know how to help Connor wash his hair, and dry off, and put on a clean pair of pajamas. He did all of that and tucked the boy into the big bed he shared with Nate, and then sank onto his best friend’s side of the bed.

  He started tapping on his phone, which had the Internet, realizing he could buy things online now. No one monitored how much time he spent online or what he did with his money. A simple search for beard oil overwhelmed him though, and he made a mental note to ask Emma about it when she returned to the ranch.

  With his thoughts lingering on her again, he did a search with her name. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find. A secret website or blog? One didn’t come up. A LinkedIn profile? She didn’t have one.

  She had some social media, but Ted did not, as all such things had to be deleted before prison, and he hadn’t set anything up again. He didn’t have a computer, and he didn’t want one.

  Emma’s name also came up as a teacher, and he remembered that Ginger had said that afternoon that she’d come to the ranch ten years ago, after quitting her teaching job. And if she had a teaching job, she must’ve earned a degree in education.

  Ted added a couple of words to his search, did some quick math on when she might have graduated given her age, and how long she’d been here…and her name popped up, along with Texas A&M International.

  “In Laredo,” he said out loud, the word searing his eyeballs. He’d asked her if she’d lived in Laredo, and she’d said no.

  He looked up from his phone, a keen sense of betrayal moving through him. He should’ve expected people to lie to him on the outside, especially a beautiful woman. People on the inside lied too. Everyone lied.

  “Heyo,” Nate said as he came through the bedroom door. “How’re my boys?” He wore a smile though it was far too late for him to be working.

  “Dad,” Connor said, bouncing to his knees. Nate laughed as he picked up his son, and he started asking him questions about that day, the cake, and his bath.

  Ted groaned as he got to his feet. “I’m exhausted. I’m not used to working so hard.”

  “You’ll get there,” Nate said, grinning at him too. “Thanks for helping with Connor.”

  “Yeah, of course.” Ted gave his friend a grin, clapped him on the shoulder, and went through the bathroom and into his own bedroom. He closed the door to the hall and the bathroom, sealing himself in the room with the huge bed he barely knew how to sleep in. He took off his boots and lined them up in the closet. He put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. He’d learned to be neat, neat, neat in prison, and he actually liked the organization and orderliness in his life.

  He lay down, trying to sort through his feelings for Emma, his own desires to finish his sentence and start his life somewhere, and a brand-new idea that maybe he’d just stay at the ranch and be a cowboy.

  The following evening, Ted sat on the tiny stool where he’d seen Emma sitting when she bottle-fed the foals. Patches was sucking hard tonight, and Ted had to really hold onto the bottle while the over-eager colt tried to get every last drop. “Slow down, bud,” he said to him, glancing to Ruby on the left. She watched the feeding with interest, and Ted smiled at her. “You’re next. Don’t worry.”

  He did like these horses, and it was easy to see why Emma did too. He fed Ruby and washed out the bottles, his life
already falling into a rhythm and routine he could see himself becoming bored with quickly.

  That was one thing he’d loved about working in a law office. The unpredictability of every day. How he never really knew what the day would bring. Just like he hadn’t known he’d have to confront a man during an office party, or that that guy would be an undercover cop bent on making sure the lawyers he should’ve been working with got punished.

  When he thought of the circumstances that had brought him to Hope Eternal Ranch always surprised Ted. The memories came at seemingly random times, and his reaction to them was never the same.

  Right now, he only felt weighed down by his own reality. He set the last bottle to dry and reached up to scratch his beard again. “That’s it,” he muttered. “I’m gonna have to shave this off.”

  “Oh, don’t do that,” a woman said, and he sucked in a breath as he spun toward Emma.

  Relief and shock moved through him, a pair of odd bedfellows, and he didn’t have time to think. He only acted. “Emma.” He took her into his arms and took a deep breath of her feminine smell.

  Flowers and sugar, with maybe a hint of pine and vanilla. He knew his hormones had kicked into overdrive then, but he didn’t care. She giggled, the vibrations of her laugh moving from her chest to his. “Hey, Ted.”

  “You’re okay,” he said, stepping back. “And you’re back. I thought you weren’t coming back for a few days.”

  “I had nowhere to go,” she said, tucking her hands into the back pockets of her shorts. She shrugged and looked toward her baby horses. “Thank you for taking care of them.”

  “Anytime,” he said easily. And he meant it. He had a weird feeling that he’d do anything for her, anytime, and he didn’t know what that meant.

  As if he’d forgotten, he reminded himself that she’d lied to him, and he shouldn’t get too attached to her.

  “I got you some beard oil,” she said, extending a small vial toward him.

  He just looked at it. “You’re kidding.”