and he doubted she’d let him help her, anyway. Leastways not after he’d broken a few dishes and mixed up a couple of orders.
So he sipped his coffee and thought about whether Jessica had worked too hard while she was pregnant with Elizabeth. She should have notified him right away when she found out she was pregnant. Thinking of her struggling through the pregnancy and birth by herself drove him crazy with guilt.
The coffee had warmed him up considerably, so he took off his leather jacket and laid it across his lap. Then he unsnapped the breast pocket of his shirt and took out the note he’d gotten from Jessica. He’d read it about a million times, yet he still needed to keep looking at it to convince himself this wasn’t some bad dream he was having.
Dear Boone,
I’m counting on you to be a godfather to Elizabeth until I can return for her. Your quiet strength is just what she needs right now. I’ve left her with Sebastian at the Rocking D. Believe me, I wouldn’t do this if I weren’t in desperate circumstances.
In deepest gratitude, Jessica
The letter was dated more than two months ago. She’d gotten the zip code wrong, so that had delayed it some, and then when it had finally arrived in Las Cruces, he’d been on the road hunting up horseshoeing jobs.
Still holding the letter, Boone rubbed his chin and gazed out the window at the steady snow. Snow had landed him in this fix in the first place. More than two years ago he’d let his three best buddies—Sebastian Daniels, Travis Evans and Nat Grady—talk him into a skiing trip in Aspen. He didn’t belong on skis any more than a buffalo belonged on roller skates, but he’d gone for Sebastian’s sake. They’d all nearly gotten themselves killed in an avalanche while they were blundering around on the slopes.
Jessica Franklin had been working the front desk of the ski lodge, and it was their dumb luck that they’d struck up a friendship with her and she’d offered to go with them that day. Otherwise Nat would’ve been toast. Jessica had figured out where he was buried and had kept her head, directing the rest of them to help dig him out before he smothered.
“More coffee?” Lucy asked as she passed by again.
Boone glanced at his cup. It would be a long night, and he could probably use the caffeine. “Sure,” he said, smiling at her. “And thanks.”
“Anytime.”
After she left, he resumed staring out the window, and his thoughts returned to his predicament. He wished he could think about something else, but he couldn’t. If only he hadn’t gone to the avalanche reunion party last year. He’d thought the idea was kind of morbid, but once again he’d gone along with the crowd.
Besides, he’d needed the distraction. Darlene had just announced that she was breaking up with him to marry that dork Chester Littlefield.
As it had turned out, Nat hadn’t made it to the reunion party because of some prior commitment. That had left Boone, Jessica, Sebastian and Travis to celebrate. Boone didn’t usually drink much. Over the years he’d seen what liquor could do to a man while watching his father’s bouts with the bottle.
But that night, thinking about Darlene, he’d guzzled everything in sight. Sebastian and Travis had put away a fair amount themselves, but Jessica, being a good friend, had stayed sober so she could drive them back to their cabin and see that they all took some aspirin before they tumbled into bed.
And that was when Boone figured he’d stepped over the line and dragged Jessica into bed with him. Sober he’d never have considered such a thing. But drunk and depressed about Darlene, he might well have.
He was sure Jessica knew he hadn’t meant to, that he didn’t think of her like that. Hell, he’d probably called her Darlene in the middle of it all. So Jessica had shouldered the whole burden when she found out she was pregnant. But now she was in some kind of trouble and had asked him to be a “godfather.”
Boone didn’t buy that godfather label, not for a minute. He was the baby’s father. When he’d called the Rocking D, he’d found out that Sebastian and Travis had gotten letters naming them as godfathers, too. But those other letters were a smokescreen. Sebastian was too honorable to have done such a thing, and Travis was too experienced to be caught like that. Besides, Jessica easily could have shoved those two guys away, considering they were drunk.
But even drunk, Boone had the strength of two men. Jessica wouldn’t have been able to get away. He hoped to hell he hadn’t hurt her. He’d spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her for being a brute. And he would never touch another drop of alcohol as long as he lived.
“Mr. Connor?”
The soft voice brought him back to his surroundings. Turning from the window, he realized the blonde and her little boy were standing right next to him. Quickly he folded Jessica’s letter, tucked it in his pocket and snapped the pocket closed. Then he stood.
“Sorry,” the woman said. “You don’t have to get up. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“No problem,” he said. Women were constantly surprised by his manners, but he couldn’t help that. His mother had taught him to stand in the presence of a lady, and he couldn’t change that training now, even if he’d wanted to. “How did you know my name?”
Color tinged her cheeks. “I looked at the registration form before the clerk threw it away.” She held out her hand. “My name is Shelby McFarland.”
“Pleased to meet you, Shelby.” He took her soft hand gently in his, careful not to put too much pressure into his handshake. She was so delicate, he imagined he could leave a bruise if he was the least bit enthusiastic.
He enjoyed the contact, though, enjoyed it more than was good for him. He liked looking into her blue eyes, too. He read basic goodness and honesty there, but she was wary, too, as if something was spooking her. He put that together with the way she’d argued with the Smoky about going up the hill and wondered if she was running from something…or someone.
“And this is Josh,” she said, bringing the little boy forward. “Josh, can you shake Mr. Connor’s hand?”
Josh nodded and stuck out his hand, but his eyes widened as he looked Boone up and down. “You’re big as a elephant,” he said.
“Josh!” Shelby reddened.
Boone laughed out loud. “Can’t argue with the truth, son. I’m about as graceful as one, too.” He glanced around. “I’m afraid all the booths are taken up, so if you’re here to eat, you’ll have to grab a couple of stools.” The prospect of having her sit down beside him gave him a forbidden thrill. Then he thought of the note in his pocket and reminded himself of his reason for being on this road in the first place.
“Oh, we’re not staying,” she said.
He frowned. Surely she wasn’t going back out in that snowstorm now that she had a roof over her head. And truth be told, he didn’t appreciate having his generosity thrown back in his face.
She must have figured out he was ticked, because she put her hand lightly on his arm. “I mean we’re not staying in the café,” she said quickly. “We’ll just get something to go. We’re definitely staying in the room you so graciously gave up. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I would like to do…something in return. Buying your dinner seems inadequate,
