Mountain Country Cowboy Read online

  Wait, wait, wait.

  Little Rio Hunter—okay, not so little now—was the manager of the Hideaway’s horse operation?

  During the interview, Jo had talked in general regarding a current manager’s imminent departure—J.C., he’d assumed—and expectations for the position. Then she’d touched on the summer hires. And she’d mentioned that a potential events booking agency would soon be inspecting the family-run business, including the horse-related part of the outfit. Rio’s name hadn’t come up. He hadn’t seen her when he’d toured the facilities.

  But did that mean he’d be...?

  “Looks like you’ll be reporting to me, Mr. Herrera.” Deep blue eyes that a man could get lost in gazed up at him with a hint of amusement.

  Reporting to the Princess? When pigs fly. He glanced at Jo, seeking confirmation that there was a misunderstanding.

  “Temporarily,” the older woman assured. “Rio departs in August.”

  Two and a half months. Not exactly what he had in mind when he’d decided to leave wrangling at a dude ranch in hopes of bettering his financial situation, but he could live with that, seeing as how he didn’t have much choice. Not if he wanted to give his son a home and gain legal custody.

  Speaking of which...he glanced out the door Rio was still holding open. No sign or sound of Joey. He’d better get moving.

  “If you don’t mind, I need to track down my boy.”

  “Then let’s plan to meet at the main barn at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow.” Rio’s chin lifted slightly. “You’ll have plenty to learn in a short time about how we do things here.”

  A muscle in his gut constricted. He couldn’t leave Joey by himself at that hour. When he’d applied for the job last month and then interviewed earlier this week, kid care hadn’t been part of the equation.

  Jo shook her head. “Not tomorrow, Rio. Cash needs time to make childcare arrangements and get his son settled.”

  “He can’t take care of that today? Saturday will be busy, and we can’t have a kid running loose around here.” Rio crossed her arms, clearly irritated and wanting to get the show on the road, even though she apparently hadn’t even known he’d been hired until a few minutes ago. “Not only does Cash have a job to do, but there are too many dangers a boy can get into if left on his own.”

  She sounded as if she didn’t think he was aware of that possibility. With Joey evading him right under her nose, was his amateur parenting status obvious?

  “He won’t be running loose,” Jo assured her granddaughter. “As I’ve mentioned to Cash, Luke’s Anna and a few of her high school friends want to pick up extra money this summer by babysitting the children of Hideaway guests. What’s one more?”

  Childcare. That was another expense on top of child support until he could track down his ex-wife—an endeavor he didn’t look forward to—and get things legally ironed out. Sure, her new husband—the second since she’d divorced Cash—didn’t want a boy around who didn’t belong to him. But typical of Lorilee, in the blink of an eye she could change her mind about the new marriage and the hasty disposal of their son. He didn’t trust her not to rethink her decision and call the law down on him for child abduction or something equally crazy.

  Like her accusations of assault when he’d told her he planned to seek legal custody of Joey.

  All he had now to stake a claim to his boy was a sack of personal documents with a scribbled note from Lorilee delivered by his former mother-in-law. The woman had dumped her grandson off at his place two days ago as he was readying to leave for Hunter Ridge.

  “A babysitter on the premises would be great,” he acknowledged. But except for his pickup, which he had to hang on to, he didn’t have anything to sell for ready cash. Having lost his job at a horse training facility while jailed three-and-a-half years ago, he’d sold his two horses to help cover child support during those six months. He’d dig deep and come up with the money, though. Somehow.

  But first, he had to find his boy. Who knew where the kid had gotten off to while his dad stood lollygagging with a pretty woman? “Maybe we can get together tomorrow, Rio. You know, once Joey’s settled in.”

  She nodded, but clearly wasn’t on board with his apparently unexpected arrival—which was confirmed when she gave her grandmother a pointed look.

  “Do you have a minute when I could speak with you, Grandma? In private?”

  “Come by my office after lunch.”

  He could guess the topic of that conversation, but if the delay didn’t suit her, Rio hid it well.

  Jo turned to him with a warm smile. “Welcome back to Hunter’s Hideaway, Cash. We’re looking forward to working with you for a good long time.”

  Her gaze briefly touched on her granddaughter, then she crossed the lobby and disappeared down a hallway.

  When Cash turned to Rio, he caught her eyes narrowed on him in speculation—and a hint of female interest that caught him off guard. If it wasn’t for the sudden flush on her cheeks when his eyes met hers, he’d think he imagined it. Princesses didn’t usually look at Herreras with interest.

  He shifted uncomfortably as they openly sized each other up. This situation had the makings of a complicated employer-employee relationship for more reasons than one. “I’ll be in touch as soon I get the childcare arranged. But right now I need to—”

  “Look, Dad! He likes me!”

  * * *

  To Rio’s relief, their locked gazes released as they turned to the now-giggling, black-haired boy who’d earlier made a mad dash out the door. He hopped up on the low porch, a German shepherd at his side licking him every inch of the way.

  “See, Dad?”

  The gleam in his dark brown eyes reminded her of the boy his father had once been. Cashton Herrera a dad. Unbelievable.

  Cash joined them on the porch, crouching to playfully tug on the bill of the boy’s baseball cap before roughing up the dog’s glossy coat. The excited canine made a tongue swipe in his direction, but a laughing Cash dodged it, then stood. Rio watched the lively exchange with mixed emotions, finding it difficult to reconcile that the gentle hand on the boy and dog had once fisted in anger against an ex-wife...

  Joey looked at his father with a sweetly dimpled smile, eyes bright with hope. “Can I keep him?”

  “I imagine he has a home.” Cash glanced at Rio for confirmation.

  “He does. His name is Rags, and he belongs to my brother Luke and his family. But you’ll be seeing him, Joey, if Luke’s daughter Anna babysits you.”

  A cloud descended over the boy’s expression as he eyed Cash accusingly.

  “I don’t want a babysitter. I want to hang out with you, Dad.” He looped an arm around the dog’s neck. “And Rags.”

  Cash’s gaze flickered momentarily to Rio, then back to his son. “We’ll hang out together. But I’m here to work with the horses, so we can’t be together all the time.”

  “But—” The anxious-eyed boy glimpsed Rio watching him and self-consciously halted, giving the dog a hearty squeeze.

  Sensing his distress, she offered an encouraging smile. “Do you like horses as much as your dad does, Joey?”

  She’d noticed he wore tennis shoes and shorts. A Phoenix Suns tank top. Not a miniature of Cash in that respect.

  The boy shrugged, not meeting her gaze. “Dunno.”

  “You don’t?” Rio cast a doubtful look at his father.

  “There hasn’t been much opportunity,” Cash responded as he looked thoughtfully at his son. “But we’re going to make a horseman of you yet, aren’t we champ?”

  Joey nodded, but without much enthusiasm, his grip further tightening on the dog so that it struggled to pull free. It was hard to imagine a child of Cash Herrera not being exposed to horses from the crib onward. Most kids liked horses, though, didn’t they? If not, it might make for a long
summer for the little guy.

  And his dad.

  At that moment she sensed Cash stiffen. Curious, she glanced in the direction his attention had focused, then she stifled a groan. Braxton and Luke were still standing by the deputy’s vehicle and now looking their way.

  So what did the deputy want this time? To ask her out for coffee or to the library book sale? Or was he here to pester her again to train that new horse of his? Why couldn’t he get it through his head that she wasn’t interested in him?

  “Cash!” Luke called over, then said something to the deputy at his side before motioning Cash to join them.

  Puzzled, she glanced at the man standing rigidly beside her. Eyes alert. Jaw tight. Pulse thrumming at the base of his throat. Then abruptly he stepped off the porch and halted on the other side of his son in an almost protective move.

  What was...?

  Deputy sheriff Braxton Turner’s voice rose authoritatively. “I need a few minutes with you, Mr. Herrera.”

  Chapter Two

  Lorilee hadn’t wasted any time.

  Muscles tensed, Cash stood between Joey and the two men facing him across the parking lot, his instincts at peak alert. Like the last time, would he be arrested? What would happen to Joey? Would they haul his boy off to social services or deliver him to his irresponsible mama’s doorstep—wherever that might be?

  Please God, this can’t be happening. Not again.

  And not here, not smack in the same place where his father’s sorry behavior had gotten the whole family kicked off the Hunter property. Cash had taken a big risk accepting a position where people would remember his dad and judge him by that long-cast shadow. But this was by far the best job offer he’d gotten. Did the deputy, not much older than Cash, come from around here and recall the legacy of Hodgson Herrera?

  Heat coursing up the back of his neck, aware that Rio and his son were watching curiously, he forced himself to take a calming breath as he strode across the parking lot to where the men stood.

  As he cautiously neared, a grin suddenly appeared on the red-haired deputy sheriff’s face. The man thrust out his right hand.

  “I’m Braxton Turner, friend of your buddy Will Lamar.”

  Cash’s gaze flicked from one man to the other. Both the deputy and Luke Hunter were smiling, with no undercurrent of anything that might threaten him or his boy. He shook the man’s hand with a firm grip that didn’t acknowledge a need to show deference to the badge.

  “I was chattin’ with Will last night,” the deputy continued, “and he mentioned you’d be in my neck of the woods. That I should come on over and introduce myself.”

  This was a social call?

  Or was Deputy Lamar—his friend and ally since that last arrest—having second thoughts concerning him moving so far from his oversight? Was he passing the baton, so to speak, to another officer of the law?

  “Will roped you into checking up on me?”

  The deputy laughed. “Actually, I was bemoaning to him the bad habits of a mare I recently picked up at a bargain price. Wild Card’s living up to her name, a real handful. Rio won’t touch her with a ten-foot pole, but Will said you’d be the man to see.”

  Was that the truth? That’s all this was?

  The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. He scuffed a toe in the dusty gravel, anchoring his mind to the present, reining it in from alarmist excursions. The man wasn’t here to arrest him for child abduction. To take Joey away.

  Cash offered what he hoped was a relaxed smile. “Bargain price, was she?”

  The other man chuckled. “For good reason, I soon found out. Think you could give my new nag deportment lessons?”

  Cash rubbed the back of his neck, kneading still-tight muscles. Always enjoying an equine challenge, he’d love to get his hands on the ornery horse. Success there might further enhance his growing reputation as a horse trainer, as well. But first things first. He got the distinct impression his primary mission would be proving himself to Rio Hunter. “I arrived this morning, so my time’s not yet my own. You probably should talk to Rio about my availability if the horse needs attention right away.”

  The deputy glanced in her direction and, if Cash wasn’t mistaken, there was a glimmer of interest in the lawman’s eyes he didn’t much care for. Not that it was his business, but an unexpected protectiveness welled up for the sassy little girl he’d once known. He didn’t know her now, though. And, like Lorilee, it appeared she might have a string of love-struck males queued up awaiting her beck and call.

  The man’s smile widened. “I just may have a word with her, then.”

  Cash, too, glanced back to where Rio now crouched next to his son. Having gotten the German shepherd settled down between them, she was talking quietly to the boy as they patted the animal, effectively distracting Joey from what was going on with the deputy and his dad. His heart swelled with gratitude.

  But what was she finding to talk to the boy about? With prompting, kids could be blabbermouths. He didn’t need the whole world knowing that up until now he hadn’t played as much of a role in his son’s life as he’d have liked. Even now he was clueless as to where to start.

  “So what do you think of mountain country, Cash?” Drawing his attention from the woman and the boy on the porch, the deputy folded his arms and leaned back against the door of his SUV. “Quite a contrast to the Valley of the Sun where you hail from.”

  Cash’s law-enforcement friend obviously hadn’t filled Braxton in that he wasn’t entirely a stranger to this more-than-mile-high forested territory well north of Phoenix, and Cash breathed easier. Horse business. This visit from a deputy amounted to nothing more. But he’d touch base with Will as soon as he could. Let him know of the potential legal hot potato of Joey’s arrival. He should have done that sooner. But he’d been reluctant to risk being advised not to relocate until the custody transfer was finalized.

  “Pine country,” Cash agreed, “sure beats the one hundred degrees the Valley hit yesterday.”

  Through the rolled-down window of the county vehicle the deputy’s radio crackled to life. Braxton jerked open the door, slid in behind the wheel, then buckled his seat belt. “Duty calls, gentlemen. Good meeting you, Cash. I’ll be in touch. See you around, Luke.”

  As the SUV pulled away, Rio’s older brother again welcomed Cash to the Hideaway, then headed off in the direction of a crew-cab pickup. Still wound tight, Cash nevertheless gratefully returned to the main Hideaway building.

  Talk about a close call.

  It underlined the importance of getting legal custody. He couldn’t live like this on a daily basis, never knowing when Lorilee might rethink things and turn on him. Nor did he want his heart knotting every time Deputy Turner’s vehicle pulled in at the Hideaway. And from the man’s expression when he looked in Rio’s direction, he’d be back often.

  Rio rose to her feet as he approached, her gaze cautious. “Everything okay?”

  She would have been out of earshot of the conversation, left in the dark. How much her grandmother had shared with her regarding his past run-ins with the law, he didn’t know. But probably at least some of it, which would account for the look of concern at the deputy’s need to see him. And maybe, too, why she didn’t seem overly thrilled with his acceptance of the job.

  Despite what his record showed, though, he’d never struck a woman. And he’d never hit a man who hadn’t swung at him first. But that was behind him. He was a changed man from the inside out, although it might take time for others to recognize and accept that.

  “As you know, the deputy has a horse needing work. A friend of mine who knew I was signing on here pointed him my way. I told him he’d need to speak with you before I could take that on.”

  Rio rolled her eyes in apparent exasperation. “It’s fine with me if you want to give it a shot, but you�
�re at least the fourth person he’s asked to tackle that horse, me included. The mare is beyond beautiful, but Brax won’t admit he needs to divest himself of a bad investment and move on.”

  “What seems to be the animal’s problem?”

  “You name it, she specializes in it.” She ticked off the offenses on the fingers of one hand. “Biting. Kicking. Balking. Bolting. Talk about headstrong.”

  Watching her animated expression as she related the horse’s shortcomings, Cash raised a brow. “Sounds like a little girl I used to know.”

  Brought up short by his teasing tone, she stared at him for a long moment. Then a hint of a smile touched her lips. “Very funny.”

  “You gotta admit, Princess,” he said, enjoying the sudden flash of irritation in her eyes when that long ago nickname rolled off his tongue. “You were trouble with a capital T.”

  “Don’t go princessing me, Cashton Herrera.” She indignantly tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “You’re one to point fingers. Between your and my cousin’s pranks, it’s a wonder I wasn’t permanently traumatized.”

  “You held your own, and you know it.”

  She cut him a look out of the corner of her eye. “I can still hold my own, and you’d better never forget it.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He was serious, too. Years ago he’d learned never to turn his back on her if it could be helped, and he wasn’t starting now. He’d do whatever he had to do to stay on her good side in the coming days.

  While accepting this job was risky, it looked to be the fresh start he needed. A significantly increased income. Responsibilities he could sink his teeth into. It had the potential to be his dream job with a future, even though it landed him back in one of the many places he’d had no intention of ever returning. To a town where he—and no doubt plenty of others—could still smell the lingering stink of his no-good father.

  * * *

  “I understand your concerns, but I have reason to believe Cash will be a good fit,” Grandma Jo assured her for what seemed the hundredth time since Rio appeared at her office door an hour ago. “You’re like I was at your age. Restless. Independent. Wanting to strike out on your own. Bringing Cash on will allow you to do that.”