a burning building reminded her all too vividly of when she’d had that epiphany.
Pulling her thoughts away from those less pleasant ones, she saw Leo grinning up at Colt. He was rocking back and forth on his little cowboy boots as his eyes, so full of adoration, drank in his hero.
“Annie Aunt said we was coming on an adventure. I like adventures a lot. My momma used to tell me lots of stories about having adventures on bull riding and bronc bustin’ and rodeo’n.” He grinned wider at Colt. “You were always in the stories!”
Colt looked shocked, or as shocked as a man who was showing little emotion could look.
“You’ll have to come out here and ride horses. Isn’t that right, Colt?” Luke nudged Colt with his elbow when the man said nothing.
For a minute Colt looked like he was going to say something, but instead he reached for his door, wrenched it open and climbed inside the cab of his truck.
How rude—right in the middle of a conversation, the man was just going to drive off! And, he’d barely acknowledged Leo. For them to have come so far and for Leo to be so excited about seeing Colt, she knew this was going to hurt.
Just when she thought it was over and done, Colt looked down at Leo from his open window. “Hey, kid. I...I have to go. But take this.” He pulled the stiff blue rope from his truck. It had a loop on one end, and Annie recognized it was the kind used for roping steers.
“Do you like to rope?” he asked, causing Leo’s eyes to grow wide.
“I ain’t never done it before. Can I try?”
Colt handed Leo the rope. “Sure you can. Practice with this—it’s yours.”
“Thanks,” Leo gushed, his voice soft with awe, drawing the word out for a mile as he studied his gift.
Colt was backing out of the driveway before Leo got the entire word out. Annie was speechless.
“Colt, wait,” Luke called after him. But it was too late.
The cowboy was gone.
“Did you see what Colt gave me, Annie Aunt? Did you see what Colt gave me?”
“Isn’t that something?” Annie managed, totally and completely perplexed by the cowboy driving off into the midday horizon. What in the world had just happened?
Thank goodness Leo’s infatuation with Colt and the gift he’d been given distracted him.
Luke bent down and held out his hand to his nephew. Annie held her breath as Leo stopped trying to make the loop go around and shook Luke’s hand.
“You want me to show you how to hold that rope?”
“Sure. Are you a bull rider, too?” Leo asked, letting Luke position his small hands on the rope. “Or a roper?”
Jess laughed, stepping into the conversation. “Are you kidding? Luke couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a rope.”
Instead of getting mad, Luke’s mouth twisted into a wide grin. “Don’t listen to him. He and Colt are the better ones with the rope in the family, but ask them who taught them.”
Annie smiled, relaxing a little. Liking the kindness she sensed in these two men. They were teasing each other to smooth over the actions of their brother. Little did they know they were talking to their nephew. Hope kindled anew in her heart that she was doing the right thing.
Leo looked at Jess. “Who taught you?” he asked as Luke had suggested.
A teasing grin spread across Jess’s face. “My big brother, Luke. See, at one time when I was a little kid like you, I thought Luke was the best roper around. Then he taught me and Colt how to do it, and we found out just how bad he is at landing a loop. But he’s a real good teacher.”
Leo turned back to a smiling Luke. “Did you teach Colt to ride bulls, too? He’s the best there is, and I want him to teach me how to ride a bull.”
Nervous at all Leo had said, Annie realized she’d come without a well-thought-out plan of action and now she had to fess up. Before she could say anything, Jess spoke to Leo.
“I’m sorry about the fire, little buddy. But a bull busted Colt’s collarbone a couple of weeks ago, so he won’t be throwing a loop anytime soon. I bet when he’s all healed up, you could talk him into it, though.”
“Puppies!” Leo exclaimed, suddenly distracted when he spied two small puppies that came around the back of the office building, tumbling around as they wrestled together. Leo raced over to play, leaving Annie alone with the two brothers. They watched Leo fall to his knees and welcome the puppies into his lap. Both brothers had quizzical expressions as they studied Leo. When they turned almost as one to face her, Annie felt the weight of their gazes. An odd sense of guilt overcame her.
“That was good timing,” Luke said. “Is there something we can do for you? Anything we need to know?”
Annie’s heart hiccuped. That he’s your nephew.
“Yeah,” Jess added, an odd light in his eyes. “You came out here to see Colt. Was there a reason for that? Other than him being Leo’s...hero? Maybe something we can help with?”
The weirdest feeling overcame Annie—they knew. She shook it off as guilt making her paranoid as she contemplated her dilemma. She had no one to confide her problems to or to ask advice from other than her best friend back home who had urged her to leave Leo’s life as it was when Annie had confided that she was thinking of locating the boy’s dad.
Looking at Leo’s uncles, she told herself they didn’t know anything. Her imagination was playing tricks on her. Paranoia was setting in. Finally, realizing they were waiting on a response, she asked, “Can you tell me how to get to the veterinary clinic? I’m their new office manager.”
Jess snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah—that’s why your name sounded familiar,” he said, his lip hitching into a lopsided smile. “My fiancée, Gabi Newberry, is the vet tech there. I knew they were expecting someone. We’ve had so much going on, it slipped by me that it was this week you were supposed to arrive.”
She was going to be working with Colt’s soon-to-be sister-in-law.... “Oh, really,” she said, hiding her surprise. “I talked to Gabi last week. I’m excited about working with her.”
After a few minutes spent talking about the clinic, Annie called Leo over and they headed to the clinic using the directions Jess had given her. The clinic was right down the road from the Holden Ranch.
Annie glanced in her side-view mirror at Leo’s uncles as she drove away. She wasn’t sure whether she was going to break her news or not—only time would tell. She was here, though, and she had to admit that she liked the brothers very much. But the jury was still out on Colt Holden.
Annie, and Annie alone, would decide if Colt was worthy of being Leo’s daddy—or if he would forever remain Leo’s rodeo hero.
Chapter Three
“We are going to make this last rodeo the best one yet,” a spunky-looking redhead
