A Baby For The Rancher

Chapter Three

Sitting around the large table in the kitchen, Lucy still felt shell-shocked. She hadn’t intended to stay longer than necessary for her job. The horse ride had been over an hour when she’d thought it would last maybe thirty minutes. And now she was eating lunch with the family. How had she let Ben talk her into staying? He was lethal when he turned his full-fledged smile on her. But in her defense, she’d been starving, and riding the mare had only increased her hunger.

Yes, that’s it. Not Ben’s charm.

But then she looked across the table at Ben. A hard knot in her stomach unraveled. He was feeding Cody, who sat next to Ben in his high chair, and she had a front-row seat to watch. His baby giggled, grabbed for the spoon and flung some sweet potatoes into Ben’s face.

Lucy pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. She couldn’t hold it in and joined the rest at the table while Ben patiently took his napkin and wiped it off his cheek.

“Good aim, son. I guess you aren’t hungry anymore.”

“I always say when a child starts playing with their food, they’re finished.” Mamie grabbed the plate while Ben went for the spoon in Cody’s hand.

But the baby was too quick, and the utensil sailed halfway across the table, landing in the middle of the pasta salad.

Ben moved the high chair back a little so Cody couldn’t get hold of anything else to throw, then took a bite of his turkey sandwich.

Lucy turned to Chloe. “See what you get to look forward to. Food fights.”

Chloe chuckled. “Cody is definitely preparing me for my own child.”

“When are you due?” Lucy took a swallow of her sweetened tea.

“Three months and counting. That’s why,” Chloe said, glancing at her fiancé, Grady, “we’ve decided on a small wedding this month with family and close friends. I don’t want to be a whale waddling down the aisle.”

“Never, not you.” Grady leaned toward her and gave her a quick peck on her cheek.

“Just let me know when to show up,” Ben said, accompanied by a wail from Cody.

But as he turned toward his son, Mamie stood and took the crying child out of his high chair. “He usually takes a nap after lunch. Almost like clockwork. I was afraid he wouldn’t last since we held lunch. I’ll be right back.”

“Grandma, I can take him to his room.” Ben started to rise.

His grandmother waved him down. “Nonsense. You have a guest here.” Then she scurried unusually fast for a seventy-eight-year-old woman.

Ben watched them leave, then faced the three remaining at the table. “I know everyone has tried to fill me in on what I’ve missed while I was in a coma and the hospital. Besides the crime spree with the Robin Hoods, anything else you’ve forgotten to tell me other than the letter you gave me finally yesterday morning?” He stared at his brother.

“I’m pleading ignorance.” His mouth twitching, Grady took a sip of his drink. “I was gone for two months of that. You’ll have to depend on Chloe and Lucy to tell you.”

Everyone peered at Lucy. She held up her hand. “Why are you looking at me?”

“You’re the sheriff, and you know everything,” Ben said with a grin.

No, she didn’t. What had been in that letter from Cody’s mother? “Other than six months of robberies and now nothing, that’s it. It’s been pretty quiet, thankfully.”

“Carson finally proposed to Ruby. They are engaged, and it was about time. I thought they would marry in high school.” Chloe reached for the pasta salad and took the spoon from it before dishing up more on her plate. “You know the saying. I’m eating for two.”

“And Eva and Tyler got married. I’m glad our cousin and Tyler are together.” Grady stood and took his plate to the sink.

“Yes, and I hope they’ll adopt a baby,” Mamie said as she came back into the kitchen. “Eva was really good with Cody and would make a great mother.”

Lucy finished the last bite of her sandwich. “I guess the biggest surprise was Amelia and Texas Ranger Finn Brannigan. I never saw her falling for another Texas Ranger. Funny how things work out.”

“You should never say never. I’ve found it comes back to bite you.” Ben retrieved a wet dishcloth and wiped down the high chair. “I never saw myself as a father, and I wake up from a coma to find the baby left on our doorstep is my son.”

Lucy almost asked Ben why he didn’t think he’d ever be a dad, but she didn’t. She knew about the shaky relationship he’d had with his own father, but from what little she’d seen today, Ben was trying hard to be a good one.

“Another surprise was Clint falling in love with Olivia. He’ll be an instant dad to triplets when they marry in June.” Grady refilled his iced tea.

Just weeks ago Clint’s father’s remains were found in the Deep Gulch Mountains, where he’d met an accident years ago. Clint hadn’t been abandoned like he’d thought. “The nice thing is Clint now has closure about his dad leaving him when he was a child. I think he’ll be able to relate to Olivia’s boys.”

“Lucy, what happens if you can’t find out who’s stealing from the ranchers?” Ben retook his seat across from her.

“I’m going to.” She was up for reelection next year, and if she didn’t find the persons responsible, Byron McKay would probably put all his money and community presence behind getting a new sheriff.

“The Rustling Investigation Team thinks it could be teenagers,” Grady said, covering Chloe’s hand resting on the table.

Ben threw Lucy a look. “Is that really why you want to hang around the barn? I thought it was my irresistible charm.”

“Like I already told you, Betsy McKay is connected somehow, and Maddy was her best friend. I’ve talked with her as the sheriff before today, but she was wary. I didn’t feel that way earlier.” She was not going to let Ben get to her.

Chloe’s forehead creased. “You think Maddy and Betsy are robbing the ranchers?”

“We’ve tried to find Betsy but haven’t been able to locate her. But no, not Maddy. I did some checking, and she has an alibi for one of the robberies. She was at a sleepover with four other girls. She may know something and not realize it.” From what she’d seen and heard about the foster child, she was a good kid.

“So this is why you asked the league for a list of members with teenagers,” Grady said.

All eyes turned to Lucy, and for a brief moment she felt like a suspect being interrogated. “Yes. As we have surmised, the Robin Hoods are probably two or more teenagers, most likely boys based on the equipment they took. The thieves would have to be strong. Neither Maddy nor Betsy fit that profile. The Robin Hoods would have to be comfortable around cattle and horses to take them without anyone knowing. They would also have to be able to drive a trailer and be familiar with the area around here.”

“That describes most of the teenage boys in the vicinity. I see why you want that list.” Ben shifted his attention to his twin. “I understand Tyler is going on his honeymoon soon. I’d like to take his place on the Rustling Investigation Team. We need to find whoever is doing this.”

Grady shook his head. “You’ve only been home awhile, Ben. You’re just getting your strength back.”

Ben drilled a hard gaze into his brother. “I know what I’m capable of. Do I have to go to Carson about this?”

“No.” Grady glanced toward Lucy. “If you want to take Tyler’s place, then do, but don’t forget you were in the hospital for a long time. You don’t have to do everything the minute you are released. I was going to sit in for Tyler, but you can instead. I have to go to the VA in San Antonio for a couple of days next week. The team is meeting Wednesday night. Lucy, is that okay with you?”

“Sure.” Oh, great. More time she’d be spending with Ben. She placed her napkin on the table. “Thank you for inviting me to lunch, but I have paperwork to finish at the office, so I’d better leave.”

Ben’s grandmother grinned. “I’m so glad you could join us. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.” Ben rose at the same time Lucy did. She shouldn’t be surprised he’d said that because Ben was always a gentleman.

Outside, Lucy set her cowboy hat on her head and slipped on her sunglasses. Ben strolled next to her without his Stetson. When he paused next to her car, he squinted, the wind catching his sandy-brown hair that touched the collar of his plaid shirt.

He took her hand. Lucy started to pull it away when she spied Maddy and Christie standing just inside the barn doors looking at them.

“I thought we decided not to play that game,” she whispered while giving him a sweet smile.

“We’re not playing any games. You are a friend, aren’t you?”

She nodded.

“I’m thanking you for a nice ride this morning. I didn’t think about falling from my horse once while on Thunder. It must be the company I was keeping. Will I see you before Wednesday night?” The volume of his voice rose enough that the girls probably heard the question.

“At church tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there. But I thought you’d want to go on another ride before the sun sets after work next week.”

“How about next Wednesday? I’ll come early, maybe go for a ride, then go to the meeting?” The things she did to get to the bottom of this investigation.

“Sounds like a date.” He quirked a grin and squeezed her hand before releasing it and opening her driver’s-side door.

As she drove away from the ranch, she glimpsed Ben saying something to the two teenage girls, then heading back to the main house. Tall, he walked with confidence, but he’d lost weight while in the coma. But that wasn’t the only thing that was different from before. There was something in Ben’s bearing that had changed. Maybe because he was a father now.

* * *

Lucy entered Maggie’s Coffee Shop and spied the owner behind the cash register. Maggie Howard had been a few years ahead of her in school and had always been a kind and generous woman. Lucy smiled and waved at the petite redhead, then scanned the café for Chloe. Lucy saw her and made her way toward one of her best friends. Although Lucy’s job as sheriff took her all over the county, Little Horn would always be her home and base. She’d discovered when she lived more than six years in San Antonio that she was a small-town girl at heart.

“I’m glad you could meet me for lunch,” Chloe said to Lucy as she sat down.

“It sounded important.”

“We finally decided last night what we want for our wedding. Pastor Mathers will marry us at church, and then we’ll go back to the ranch for a small gathering of family and friends.”

Lucy knew about all the problems Chloe had had in her first marriage and her ex-husband’s unfaithful behavior, and was thrilled her friend had found someone who would be a good dad for her unborn baby. When Chloe’s ex-husband had heard he would be a father, he’d wanted nothing to do with the child. “When is it?”

“In ten days on Friday evening. The wedding will be at six and the dinner at the ranch at seven.”

“I hope I’m invited, or I’m going to crash your wedding.”

“Of course, you are. I want you to be my maid of honor. The only people at the church will be Mamie, Ben as best man and you.”

The waitress stopped at the table to take their orders.

After she left, Lucy leaned forward and asked, “What can I do to help?”

“The beauty of a small wedding is there won’t be much to do. The cook at the Stillwater Ranch and Mamie are going to plan the dinner. So all you have to do is show up at the church.” When the waitress set their drinks on the table, Chloe paused, then said, “Are you dating anyone?”

Lucy dropped her jaw, then snapped it closed. “Why?”

“Just wondering. The last time we talked about men I was going through a divorce and you weren’t dating anyone, but you’ve been at the ranch a lot lately. Interested in Ben?”

“It’s police business.” Lucy sighed. “Are you going to be one of those women who because she’s deliriously happy thinks everyone around her should be in a relationship?”

“What’s wrong with that? I want my friends to be happy.”

“You forget I tried a serious relationship in San Antonio. Jesse didn’t work out.” That was putting it mildly. She and Jesse had been talking about getting married until she’d stumbled across a woman he was dating in Austin when he went there for work. Then to make it worse, he had begun taking out another lady in San Antonio while professing the whole time he was in love with Lucy. “The men I’ve seen and dated have a commitment phobia. I’m usually around two kinds of men—law-enforcement officers and criminals. Neither have I found to be good husband material.”

“Your father has been married to your mom for thirty-eight years. Every time I’ve seen them when they visit you, they’re still in love as though they are newlyweds.”

“My dad is the exception.” He was nothing like Jesse, the FBI agent in San Antonio who’d stolen her heart and stomped on it. But besides Jesse, she’d also seen fellow officers on the San Antonio police force she’d worked with either drink excessively or date excessively. When they did marry, the marriages usually didn’t last. She didn’t want that for herself.

“Do you find it hard to follow him as sheriff?”

“Lately I’ve felt I’m letting people down.”

Chloe waved her hand. “Stop right there. That’s Byron McKay talking. He’s never happy about anything.”

“He has been hit hard by the cattle rustlers I can’t seem to find.”

“That isn’t your only case. You take care of everyone in the county. Remember the robbery in the next town? You caught the guy within twelve hours. And when that toddler went missing six months ago? You found the two-year-old within hours.”

Lucy chuckled. “Okay, you’ve made your point. But reelection is next year, and I want to continue my dad’s legacy.”

“You are.”

Abigail set the plate with a chef salad in front of Lucy, then gave Chloe her order. “Can I get y’all anything else?”

“No, this looks delicious.” Chloe dug into her hamburger immediately. “Mmm, and I wasn’t wrong.”

Abigail grinned. “I’ll tell Maggie. She loves to hear her customers are satisfied.” The waitress left, hurrying toward the kitchen, her long black ponytail bouncing with her strides.

Lucy glanced around. Every table was occupied, which was usual at this time of day. When the door opened, she caught sight of Ben entering. He scanned the coffee shop.

“Ben!” Chloe held her arm up. “You can join us.”

Lucy chewed her bottom lip as Ben threaded his way through the crowded café. She always looked forward to her girl time with Chloe, but she couldn’t blame her for signaling that Ben should sit with them. Chloe would be his sister-in-law in ten days, not to mention she was taking care of his son.

Ben removed his hat and set it in a vacant chair and then took the last one at the table for four. “I keep forgetting this isn’t a good time to come to Maggie’s, but I thought I would grab something to eat before heading to see Pastor Mathers.”

“You’ve been out of action for a while. That’s understandable.” Chloe popped a french fry into her mouth.

Ben peered at Lucy, his gaze penetratingly warm. “You’re still coming to the barn before we go to the meeting tonight?”

She nodded and speared some of her lettuce, trying to ignore the quickening of her heartbeat at his perusal. “I want to spend time with Maddy, Lynne and Christie. I find when teenage girls get together they gossip. I might overhear something that will help me.” That was the easiest way for her to get a glimpse of what was going on with the teenagers in Little Horn. She still felt two or more were involved in the thefts. At twenty-eight, Lucy was the youngest sheriff to date for the county, but she would stand out at school, so her undercover work had to be somewhere else.

After Abigail took Ben’s order, Chloe retrieved a couple of five-dollar bills from her wallet. “This is for my lunch. Cody will be getting up from his nap, and I need to be there. I’ve been gone all morning to the doctor.”

Ben pushed the money toward Chloe. “Keep it. My treat. Is the baby okay?”

“Right on target. In three months, she should be here.”

“Grady is excited and can’t wait.” Ben took his mug of coffee from Abigail and drank a long sip. “I’ll be back after I meet with Pastor Mathers.”

Chloe stood. “Are you going to be at the barn, then?”

“Yes, but I can always be reached by cell. Thanks, Chloe, for staying on as Cody’s nanny. It’s hard being a single parent, and I’ve only dealt with it for a brief time.”

“I love being with Cody. It’s good experience.” Chloe headed for the exit.

Ben turned his full attention on Lucy. She felt he was assessing her in a new light. “Did you enjoy Pastor Mathers’s sermon on Sunday?” she asked, hoping to divert his focus.

“It’s made me think about what’s my purpose. I never really thought about it other than taking care of the ranch. But we’re more than our job.”

Lucy couldn’t really say that. “My work is my life. It requires long hours and being willing to go out to a crime scene in the middle of the night.”

“Do you have to do that often?”

“Lately, more than usual. If a serious problem arises, I need to be available.”

“Twenty-four/seven?”

She nodded and focused on eating while Abigail delivered a roast-beef sandwich to Ben. “I want to be involved. That’s the way my father was. By the time he retired, he knew most of the people in the county. That fact helped him numerous times besides knowing the terrain. I think some of the stolen cattle are being kept somewhere nearby, but I don’t have the manpower to cover every square inch.”

When her cell phone rang, she snatched it off the table. “Sheriff Benson.”

“There’s a robbery in Grafton. 214 Second Street. The feed store,” the dispatcher said.

“I’m on my way.” Lucy rose as she withdrew her wallet.

Ben shook his head. “My treat. See you tonight. If you can’t come to the ranch beforehand, let me know, and I’ll meet you at the Lone Star Cowboy League center.”

“Thanks.” As Lucy left the coffee shop, she glanced over her shoulder, and her gaze instantly connected with Ben’s. Again her heartbeat picked up speed, and she hastened outside before she did something crazy like blush.

* * *

Ben entered Little Horn Community Christian Church and hurried toward Pastor Mathers’s office. When he’d called Ben to set up this meeting, Ben had wondered why. He almost felt like a child being called to the principal’s office, but he and his family had attended this church for years. He might have doubts about his faith, but the pastor had come to the hospital every week and prayed for him. Grandma Mamie had been certain he’d regained consciousness and recovered faster than the doctors thought possible due to all the prayers being sent up in his behalf, led by her and Pastor Mathers.

Ben spied the pastor in his inner office. The man waved to him to come straight inside.

“I’m so glad we have a chance to talk.” Pastor Mathers skirted his desk and stretched out his arm.

Ben shook his hand, then sat where the man indicated on a comfortable-looking brown couch against a wall. “I enjoyed your sermon Sunday.”

Pastor Mathers took his seat at the opposite end of the sofa. “I was glad to see you at church. It’s been months. I know how concerned your grandmother was, but our prayers were answered.”

It took all Ben’s willpower not to squirm on the leather cushion. He’d never felt comfortable talking about his feelings, and he certainly didn’t know his purpose in life. “Is there something you needed to see me about?”

“Yes. This year is the Stillwater Ranch’s turn to hold the children’s annual Easter-egg hunt and celebration. I told your grandmother we could skip your ranch this year because of your injury, but she wants to do her part. I know you’re still in physical therapy and with having been away from the ranch for months, you have a lot to catch up on, so I thought I would ask what you think. I don’t want to put too much on you. The community will understand if you pass. In fact, Carson offered his place so don’t feel you have to.”

“Are you kidding? It’s a big, fun celebration for the kids. I love helping with that event even when it’s not at my ranch, and now that Grady is home there will be two of us.” He and his brother hadn’t really talked about if Grady was staying in Little Horn or not, but Ben hoped so. Right before Grady had left for his last overseas assignment, they had gotten into a huge argument, to the point he was surprised to see Grady when he woke up from his coma. Their relationship was still strained, but there was hope it would heal. He’d been thrilled when Grady had asked him to be the best man at his wedding this morning.

“If you’re sure, then I’ll add you to the planning committee. Their first meeting was in January. I know every year you’ve helped with any extra activities like races. It’s always been a highlight, but I didn’t know what kind of restrictions your doctor has put on you.”

He remembered his neurologist had told him under no circumstances was he to participate in any bronco competition or a similarly dangerous activity that would cause him to be thrown from a horse repeatedly. If he hit his head like he had, he probably wouldn’t recover. “I won’t be doing anything risky. I have a son to think of now. No more things like riding a bronco in a rodeo.”

As he said that to Pastor Mathers, Ben was beginning to understand how Grady felt with his war injury. For years they had never had much in common except a last name, but maybe at least his head trauma would bridge the gulf between him and Grady.

Pastor Mathers nodded. “I understand. I know how much you’ve enjoyed working with children, so I believe you’ll be a wonderful father.”

Ben was glad the pastor thought that, because he felt as if he’d been thrown into deep water without the ability to swim. But the one thing he knew was that Cody was quickly becoming the center of his life. All his son had had to do was smile at him that first day Mamie and Grady had brought him to the hospital for Ben to see and hold him.

“Maybe next year you can think about being a helper with the youth group.”

“Me?”

“Sure. I think you’d be perfect.”

How? His attendance at church was sketchy, and he wouldn’t call himself an overly religious man. “I’ll think about it.”

“No decision needed until August, but there will be at least one vacancy at that time.”

Ben left the church, his mind in turmoil with thoughts racing through it. Ever since he’d started having the teenagers at the ranch in the intern program, he’d been looking for other ways to help the young people in the community. He wanted to give them chances he really hadn’t had. And now the pastor was asking him to help with the youth leader. Him! He wasn’t the most likely candidate, and the request had stunned him.