Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2016 Box Set Read online

  Despite his attraction to new owner Cassie Peterson, his number-one job was to make sure that she wasn’t unknowingly harboring a man capable of such evil.

  CHAPTER 4

  Dusty had just gotten out of his truck when the motel room door flew open and a pint-size little boy in jeans and a red T-shirt and ball cap came barreling out with Trisha just behind him.

  “Howdy, partner,” he said to Dusty in a surprisingly deep voice.

  “Howdy. You must be Cooper. My name is Dusty.”

  Cooper grinned, his blue eyes so like his mother’s and sparkling with obvious excitement. “I know, and you’re going to take us fishing.” His voice was no longer deep, letting Dusty know that his initial greeting was probably his idea of a John Wayne imitation.

  “Hi, Dusty,” Trisha said. “I guess I don’t have to make official introductions between the two of you.”

  Dusty grinned at the little boy and then looked back at Trisha. “I think we’re good, right, Cooper?”

  “We’re good,” Cooper echoed. “Let’s go.”

  It took several minutes to actually get going as Dusty transferred the child seat from her car to the backseat of his truck. Finally, they were all buckled in and on their way.

  “I’m going to catch a great big fish,” Cooper said. “Maybe even a whale.”

  Dusty exchanged a glance of amusement with Trisha. “I don’t think you’ll find any whales in the pond, but you might manage to catch a big old catfish.”

  “A catfish? Do they meow? I can meow.” Cooper proceeded to make cat sounds. “I can bark, too. You want to hear me bark, Dusty? I bark real good.”

  “Honey, you might want to keep the animals all quiet for now,” Trisha said.

  Once again Dusty shot a quick glance in her direction. She looked as amazing as he’d ever seen her. She was definitely born to wear denim. Her eyes had taken on the hue of her blouse and her shorts displayed long shapely legs.

  Her hair sparkled in the sunshine and was caught up in a ponytail that emphasized the delicate bone structure of her lovely face.

  A wave of heat rushed over him as he thought about the kiss they had shared the night before. As much as Dusty wanted to taste her lips once again, there would be no kisses today, not with Cooper present. This afternoon wasn’t just about the two of them, but rather the three of them.

  Cooper kept up a steady stream of chatter on the short drive from the motel to the ranch. He asked a hundred questions of both Dusty and his mom.

  Dusty certainly didn’t know anything about three-year-olds, but he was surprised by how bright Cooper appeared, how eager he was to learn things. Why was definitely one of his favorite words as he asked why trees grew up and why did cows have four legs? These were among other questions of seemingly great importance to Cooper.

  When they reached the ranch, Dusty parked his truck in the shed and then they all transferred to one of the motorized carts that were used occasionally to get around the place without horses.

  Trisha sat in the passenger seat with Cooper in her lap and Dusty took off for the cowboy dining room to retrieve the picnic food Cookie had prepared for them.

  “I’ve already got the fishing equipment down by the pond,” he said as he drove slowly, aware of his precious cargo. “We just need to stop and pick up the food.”

  “Mommy and I had a picnic once at the motel,” Cooper said. “But we ate inside ’cause it was too hot.”

  “There are several nice shade trees down by the pond, so we can eat outside,” Dusty replied and was rewarded by Cooper’s hoots of excitement.

  They pulled up in front of the dining room door and before Dusty could step out of the cart, Cookie appeared with a medium-size cooler in his hands.

  Dusty made the introductions and Cookie gave them his usual taciturn grunt.

  “I think he must be a bad cowboy,” Cooper said once the cooler had been loaded and they were on their way toward the pastures and the pond in the distance.

  “He’s okay, Cooper,” Dusty replied. “He feeds all of us who work on the ranch, so in my book that makes him a pretty good cowboy.”

  “He has bank-robber eyes,” Cooper said, obviously not completely convinced. “Look, there’s lots of cows!”

  They had crested a ridge and in the distance the huge herd of Black Angus cattle grazed on the grass and jostled each other for shade beneath several large trees. Dusty raised a hand and waved to a man on horseback riding among the herd.

  “That’s Mac McBride. He’s our singing cowboy,” Dusty said. “On most evenings he pulls out his guitar and plays and sings for us.”

  “Do you sing?” Trisha asked him.

  Dusty shot her a quick grin. “Only in the shower, and only if I’m alone,” he replied.

  “I can sing. Do you want to hear me sing ‘Bingo’?” Cooper asked.

  “Maybe later after we fish,” Trisha replied smoothly. “Maybe then we can all sing some songs together.”

  “That would be fun,” Cooper replied.

  Was this what families did? They fished and ate a picnic dinners, they sang and laughed together? It was all so alien to Dusty. He’d spent every minute of his childhood that he could remember dodging fists and being afraid.

  The pond was some distance from where the cattle grazed. It was a nice drink of water stocked with plenty of fish. A wooden dock stretched out about eight feet and made a perfect place to sit and dangle a pole.

  “I’m gonna have such fun,” Cooper exclaimed as Dusty pulled the cart to a halt.

  “We’re all going to have fun,” Dusty replied.

  It took only a few minutes for him to carry the cooler and a navy blue blanket into the shade of a nearby old oak tree. Together he and Trisha spread out the blanket and placed the cooler to one side while Cooper danced around them with an excitement that was contagious.

  “And now, the main event,” Dusty said and motioned for them to follow him to the edge of the dock where he had fishing poles and foam cups of night crawlers awaiting them.

  When he’d been in Bob’s Bait Shack earlier he’d picked up two things especially for Cooper. The first was a child’s fishing pole and the second was a bright orange life jacket.

  “You’ve gone to so much trouble,” Trisha said soberly. “I’ll be glad to reimburse you for anything you bought.”

  “Nonsense,” he replied. “It was my pleasure.” He picked up the life jacket and then crouched in front of Cooper. “And now, my little buddy, if you want to fish you have to wear this.”

  “Why?” Cooper held his gaze intently.

  “Because only the very best fisherman in the whole wide world wears this special orange vest,” he replied. “Can I put it on you?”

  Cooper nodded. Dusty helped him into the vest and fastened it. The last thing he wanted for today was any kind of a tragic accident.

  When he stood and looked at Trisha, a burst of warmth that had nothing to do with the sun overhead filled him. She gazed at him with a softness that almost took his breath away.

  He cleared his throat and picked up a rod and thrust it into her hands and then handed Cooper his shorter, bright yellow rod complete with a red bobber already on the line.

  “How do you feel about worms?” he asked Trisha as he picked up his own rod. “Are you the squeamish type?”

  “I’ve changed dirty diapers. I think I can handle worms,” she said with a small laugh.

  “Dusty, I don’t wear diapers anymore. I’m a big boy.” Cooper looked up at him with pride.

  “That’s good, Cooper. But I could already tell that you’re a big boy. And now I think we’re ready to hit the dock and catch some fish.” Dusty placed a hand on Cooper’s shoulder and they all walked out onto the floating wooden structure.

  For the next hour and a h
alf Dusty gave lessons to Cooper about how to bait his hook and cast out and then the absolute importance of watching his bobber in the water.

  They sat on the dock with Cooper between them and as the little boy focused solely on the task of waiting for a fish to bite, Dusty and Trisha talked about everything from their favorite foods to what crazy things people ordered at the café.

  He discovered that she loved Chinese food and that her favorite color was purple. She confessed that she enjoyed watching reality television and was afraid of spiders. Each and every tidbit that he learned about her only made him like her more.

  She caught the first fish, a crappie no bigger than his fingers. Cooper wanted to keep it, but Dusty explained that it needed to grow a bit more and the little boy helped him release it back into the water.

  “How about we set down our poles for a while and see what Cookie packed for us to eat?” Dusty suggested.

  “Sounds good to me,” Trisha agreed and began to reel up her line.

  “But I want to catch a fish.” Cooper’s bottom lip began to tremble ominously.

  “We’ll take a break and eat and then we can fish some more,” Dusty said. He was rewarded by Cooper’s bright smile.

  “Okay, and then I’ll catch a fish,” he replied happily.

  The kid was definitely a little charmer. Trisha took off Cooper’s life jacket and when they sat on the blanket, Cooper planted himself nearly in Dusty’s lap. It was a strange feeling for Dusty, to feel Cooper’s utter trust in him, to know that the boy liked him.

  It was equally heartwarming to see the approval in Trisha’s eyes. She obviously liked the interaction between him and Cooper.

  “Let’s see what we have,” Dusty said and opened the top of the cooler. “Why don’t you help me unpack this thing, Cooper?”

  “I can do it. Mommy says I’m a good helper,” he said eagerly and began to pull out the containers of food and set them on the blanket in front of them.

  As he set them down, Dusty removed the tops to reveal fruit cut up in bite-size chunks, cubes of cheese, ham and cheese sandwiches, and three fat slices of chocolate cake. There was also bottled water and juice.

  “Cake!” Cooper exclaimed.

  “After a sandwich,” Trisha quickly replied.

  They ate and talked and laughed and Dusty couldn’t remember the last time he’d known such easy joy. Just as Trisha had tackled the worms for bait, she ate with a gusto he found refreshing.

  Even with Cooper’s presence, Dusty couldn’t help the small burn of physical desire she wrought in him. As she slipped a slice of strawberry into her mouth he wanted to chase it with his mouth against hers.

  His fingers fought the need to loosen her hair and rake through the silky strands. When she threw her head back to laugh, he wanted to rain kisses down the length of her slender neck. The pearly snaps on her blouse seemed to beg him to pop them open and explore.

  Thank goodness Cooper is here to keep you in line, he thought. The last thing he wanted to do was move too fast with her and frighten her away. Still, he couldn’t control the hot images that continued to dance in his head.

  He also regretted the fact that the day probably wasn’t going to yield any answers as to why she had reacted the way she had the night before to the flowers and note that had been left for her. But this obviously wasn’t the time or the place to discuss the topic.

  All he knew for certain was that he liked Trisha...he liked her a lot. He admired the way she mothered Cooper and that the three-year-old was obviously secure and happy in his mother’s love. That was the way it was supposed to be, that was something Dusty had never known.

  He knew she must be a hard worker, otherwise Daisy would have let her go. The brassy red-haired woman was known to be a demanding boss.

  She was well liked among the people she served at the café, and he’d never heard a whisper of gossip about her that would send up any red flags in his head.

  She was obviously a strong woman. She had no family to depend on and had taken off from her familiar home to build a new life for herself and her son after the tragic death of her boyfriend.

  He hoped that this was the beginning of something special between them. And more than anything, he hoped that he could be the man she wanted, the man she could depend on in her life.

  The phantom pain shot off in his ear and he fought the impulse to raise his hand to cover it. The only sound he ever heard in that ear was the echo of voices telling him that he would never be good enough for anyone.

  * * *

  If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the way to a single mother’s heart is definitely through her child, Trisha thought as Cooper and Dusty talked about the life of a cowboy.

  Dusty had shown infinite patience throughout the afternoon. He hadn’t spoken down to Cooper or shown any kind of irritation at the boy with his million questions and abundant energy.

  Of course, it didn’t hurt that Dusty was definitely a piece of eye candy with his white T-shirt stretched taut across his broad shoulders and emphasizing his slim waist. And she’d never seen a man who wore a pair of faded jeans better than him.

  He watched her lips when she spoke, as if he were contemplating another kiss. Far too many times the memory of the kiss they’d shared the night before intruded into her thoughts.

  As the two of them snapped lids back on the food containers and returned them to the cooler, Cooper rolled over on his back and within seconds he was sound asleep.

  Dusty gazed at Cooper and then grinned at her. “Ah, the action of a true cowboy who has indulged in the three major Fs of life,” he said softly.

  “The three major Fs,” she repeated curiously.

  “Fresh air, fishing and food,” he replied. With the last of the food put away, he stretched out on his side and propped his elbow up beneath him.

  She smiled and mirrored his position on the blanket. “Add in a shortened nap in the afternoon and you get a little sleeping buckaroo.”

  “He’s a great kid, Trisha.”

  “Thanks. He’s definitely the magic in my life,” she replied.

  “Are all kids his age as bright as he is?”

  Trisha laughed. “I don’t know about all kids. I only know about Cooper, and I believe he’s incredibly smart for his age. I think a lot of it has to do with my babysitter, Juanita.”

  “Juanita Gomez?” he asked. She nodded and he continued, “Her husband, Richard, worked on the Swanson ranch before he died of a heart attack. He was a good man.”

  “Juanita has been a real gift to me. She’s been babysitting Cooper for the last year and a half, ever since I started working at the café.”

  “The only kid I’ve ever spent any time around is Nicolette Kendall’s boy when she lived here at the ranch with Cassie.”

  “Sammy,” she replied. “Nicolette, Lucas and Sammy come into the café occasionally. Lucas was one of the cowboys here before he met Nicolette and they moved to the ranch where they live now, right?”

  “That’s right. Now that they’re married, Lucas told me they’re starting the legal proceedings so that he can adopt Sammy since his father is dead.”

  “That’s nice. I hope that someday Cooper will have a father figure in his life.”

  “Lucas was the first of us to find love. Then Nick Coleman wound up falling for Adrienne Bailey and Forest fell for Patience.”

  “She had a pretty rough time here, didn’t she?”

  Dusty nodded. “Yeah, her assistant wound up throwing her in the top of a corn silo in an attempt to kill her. It was a case of professional jealousy at its finest.” He shook his head. “Thank God Forest figured out she was in the silo and managed to get her out and in the process the two of them realized how much they loved each other.”

  She eyed him with open specu
lation. “Tell me, Dusty, why don’t you already have a special woman in your life?” It had been something she’d wondered about for a while. He was handsome and sexy and kind, but she’d never heard any gossip about him and any woman. In fact, she’d never heard any negative gossip about Dusty at all.

  His gaze held hers steadily. “I guess part of the reason is that for months I’ve had a secret crush on you and didn’t want to pursue anyone else.”

  Her heart fluttered and a wave of warmth swept through her at his words. “Then why didn’t you ask me out sooner?”

  “You don’t exactly have a reputation around town for being a dating fiend,” he replied dryly. “I know a lot of men have asked you out before and you’ve turned them all down. It took me forever to get up my nerve and brace myself for what I figured would be an instant rejection. So, why did you agree to go out with me?”

  She gazed at her son and then looked back at Dusty. “For the past couple of years my focus has been exclusively on working hard and raising Cooper. It’s only been in the last couple of months that I realized I was ready for more in my life.” She offered him another smile. “I guess the easy answer is that you were the right man at the right time.”

  “I’m glad. And speaking of secret crushes, last night you reacted pretty violently to those flowers that somebody left for you.” There was an unspoken question in his voice.

  The warmth that had suffused her dissipated. She had reacted badly the night before and he deserved some sort of explanation. She also needed to assure him that she wasn’t a crazy drama queen.

  “When I was younger I had a stalker,” she finally replied. “It was one of the most frightening things I’ve ever experienced. When I saw the flowers and the note, I guess I had a kind of flashback to that time.” It certainly wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth, either.

  His gaze softened. “I’m sorry you went through something like that, but I want you to promise me something.”

  “What?” She eyed him cautiously.