Boone's Bounty

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.”