Authors: Jennifer Faye
Her heart swelled with sympathy for the boy, but that didn’t mean he could do as he pleased. And right now she needed to notify someone of the boy’s whereabouts.
“How did you get here?”
Johnny reluctantly explained how he’d been at the ranch and had overheard Tracey’s husband mention he was going home to check on his wife, so Johnny hid in the back of the man’s pickup.
“Do you know how dangerous that was to do?”
“I had to. No one would bring me to see Patch.”
Words of warning and a stern lecture teetered on the tip of her tongue, but first she had to reassure Tony that Johnny was safe. He’d already dealt with one emergency. He didn’t need to wonder what happened to a little boy on a sprawling ranch with a million different hazards.
“Sit on the couch.” She handed over the squirming puppy. “And don’t you dare think of leaving. Understand?”
He nodded.
She turned and headed for her bedroom to call Tony. This time, she hoped he would realize the boy needed more discipline than a few stern words.
F
ifteen minutes later, Tony’s truck skidded to a stop in Ella’s graveled driveway. A torrent of relief and anger consumed him as he marched up the worn path. His cowboy boots thudded against the handful of wooden steps leading to the covered wraparound porch. After his brief knock on the door, Ella appeared.
Words of greeting escaped him as he took in her casual appearance. Her face was makeup free. Her bouncy, blond locks were swept back in a ponytail instead of being twisted and pinned up in back. She wore a white long-sleeved T-shirt with a pair of denim shorts that showed off her slender legs. This relaxed, girl-next-door appearance suited her. His hands clenched as he stomped out his current train of thought. He needed to pick up Johnny and leave.
“Hi,” she said, pulling the door open wide.
Her smile made his heart palpitate. Concentrate on Johnny, he told himself, dragging his gaze away from her pink lips.
He glanced around, searching for the boy. “Johnny, where are you?”
The boy stood at the other side of the couch holding Patch. “Here.”
He immediately approached his nephew and wrapped his arms around the boy, careful not to squash the puppy.
After releasing him, Tony studied the boy. “You okay?”
Johnny nodded.
“Good. Now, I want some explanations. Starting with how did you get here?”
The boy’s head hung low. “I hid in the back of Mike’s truck.”
Tony’s chest clenched. Anything could have happened to him. Anxiety over the child’s actions bubbled up. This matter couldn’t wait until they got home.
“Don’t you ever do something so dangerous again!” His words came quickly, and his voice rose as the control over his emotions unraveled. “Do you know what could have happened to you in the bed of the truck with no seat belt? If Mike had hit the brakes too hard, you’d have flown out and been severely injured or worse.”
Johnny’s face paled. The puppy squirmed out of his arms and escaped to the bedroom.
Tony could see only the ghastly images in his mind of his nephew lying in the roadway. He swallowed hard, fighting back his alarm. “From now on, you’ll ask before going anywhere. Do you understand me?”
Johnny’s dark head nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“This better never happen again.” His voice thundered, causing his nephew’s eyes to widen. “Are you listening?”
“Ye…es, sir.”
Ella cleared her throat. “Can I speak to you outside?” She pushed the screen door open.
Tony glowered at her, not wanting to be bothered until he drove home the severity of Johnny’s actions. She didn’t take the hint and instead nodded toward the door.
“I’ll be right back,” he told Johnny. “Go sit on the couch. And don’t you dare even think of moving.” Once the boy was seated, Tony strode outside to the porch. His gaze met Ella’s worried look. “I’m sorry he involved you.”
“I’m partly to blame.”
“You are?”
She nodded. “I was the one who came up with the playdate idea. I knew how much Johnny wanted to see the puppy. I wanted to help. I never thought it’d lead to this.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
Approaching the rail, Tony rested his palms against the weathered wood. His gaze moved over the wilderness, but none of it registered. In his mind’s eye, he envisioned the fear that had been in Johnny’s face when he’d yelled at him. Tony drew in a deep breath and exhaled. He was wrong to let his emotions get the best of him with Johnny, and now he grappled with what to do next. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to talk to Ella.
“I’m losing control of this whole situation,” he said more to himself than her. “I’m failing him.”
“No, you’re not. Granted, you and Johnny still have adjustments to make, but you love him and you are there for him. You take him to his baseball games. You teach him about the animals on the ranch. You are setting a good example for him.”
“Then why does it feel like I’m constantly losing ground?”
“Can I ask you something?”
What could it hurt? He nodded.
“How long ago did Johnny’s parents die?”
The question made Tony pause. He searched his mind for today’s date. He straightened and turned to her. “Last week was the one-year anniversary. In fact, it was on Friday.”
Friday. The day he’d had to give up the puppy. Guilt bore down on Tony. How could he have let that monumental day slip by? He’d known the anniversary was coming, but no one in the family wanted to remember the tragic event, so they’d all buried it and not spoken of it, including his mother.
Ella reached out to him. Her hands wrapped over his and squeezed. Heat rushed up his arm and eased the pressure in his chest.
“See? It isn’t you,” she said soothingly. “Johnny is still grieving the loss of his parents. If you give him lots of love and structure, I’m sure he’ll pull out of this. He’s a good kid.”
“What if the court finds out about this?” Tony blinked repeatedly. “I…I’ll lose him.”
“No, you won’t.” She pulled her hand away and moved it to her waist. “You need a game plan to get Johnny back on track. Do you have any idea how to do that?”
He shook his head.
Ella came to stand next to him by the rail. Her hand brushed against his, sparking a wave of awareness. He shoved aside his unwanted attraction. Right now his priority had to be his nephew.
“How did your dad discipline you?”
Tony rubbed the back of his neck as his thoughts spiraled back in time. “Brady and I were always pushing the boundaries and our father’s patience. When Dad caught us up to no good, he made us work on the ranch from morning till night. I still remember dragging myself to bed with aching muscles and painful blisters. I hated every minute of it.”
“But you learned your lesson, didn’t you?” When he nodded, she added, “Your father sounds like he was a wise man.”
“He definitely was.”
Memories of his father revived his guilt over his part in his brother and sister-in-law’s deaths. His father had raised him to be responsible. Maybe if he’d paid more attention and not been so certain that he knew everything, Johnny’s parents would still be alive.
He might not be able to change the past, but he could do his best to keep Johnny from following in his reckless footsteps. He’d teach Johnny to put family first and to see his obligations through no matter what. Tony’s fingers started to ache. He glanced down to find he had a white-knuckle grip on the porch rail.
Ella touched his arm. “Tony, are you okay?”
He cleared his throat and pushed the painful memories to the back of his mind. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” He moved his gaze to what loosely resembled a yard—a safe topic. “This place has seen better days.”
“I’m working on it.”
Realizing she’d taken his words the wrong way, he struggled to explain. “I just meant that you’ll have to be careful, as it poses a fire hazard with all of the dried vegetation. Beneath the pinõn trees, the dried pine needles must be at least a foot or more deep.”
Concern flickered in her eyes. “Before my grandmother died, she hadn’t visited this place in years. Without my knowledge, Gran let the maintenance man go when money got tight. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to sell the place.”
Tony gestured at the unruly yard. “So this is the reason you’ve had blisters on your hands at dance practice?”
She nodded. “I started clearing the brush in the back of the house, but I haven’t gotten very far.”
He sympathized, but his first concern was protecting her. “You do know that red-flag warnings have already started to go up around the state. We’ve had a much drier winter than expected, and this year New Mexico is ripe for wildfires.”
“Oh. I hadn’t heard. I don’t have television reception up here.” Her face grew pale as she fidgeted with the hem of her T-shirt. “And with having just moved in, I haven’t kept up with the news.”
“Sorry. Warning people of fire risks is a side effect of being fire chief. In another life, I was a professional firefighter. That was before…before my brother died.” He rushed on, not wanting to dwell on that last part. “I also help out at the forest service during wildfire season. It just takes a careless camper, a spark, or a lightning strike to start a blaze in this dry tinder.” He glanced over at her, catching the fear in her eyes. He instinctively reached out to run his fingers over her now pale cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just rambling. Anything to keep from thinking about how I’m failing Johnny.”
“You’re not. He loves you. And I’m here any time you need to talk.”
He suddenly didn’t feel so alone. Sure, he had his mother to talk to, but with her health problems, he tried not to burden her with his concerns. It was nice to have Ella to talk honestly with. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been keeping bottled up inside. There was something special about Ella, something that made him want to believe that happy endings were possible.
Their gazes locked, and the breath caught in his throat. As the tip of her tongue moistened her lips, a desire swelled within him to kiss her. His heart rate accelerated into the triple digits as he continued to stare at her inviting mouth.
The only thought he had at that moment was how much he wanted to press his lips to hers. His thumb moved underneath her chin and tilted her head. Surely her kiss couldn’t be as good as he imagined. Nothing could be that good.
Perhaps a brief peck would be enough for him to realize he’d let his imagination exaggerate what her lips would feel like beneath his. One taste, and he’d know there wasn’t any chemistry between them.
Anticipation coiled in his gut. He assured himself he was doing it to get her out of his system so that once again he’d be able to think clearly.
His gaze moved to her eyes. She didn’t turn away. He lowered his head. His lips tentatively brushed hers. He detected her hesitation and hoped she wouldn’t pull away. Not yet. He longed to deepen their kiss, to find the passion she kept under lock and key, hidden behind her conservative clothes.
He reached out to her, his hands naturally landing on her curved hips as he’d done so many times at dance practice. With a gentle pull, he drew her willing body to him. Her chest pressed flush against him. He ached to explore her—all of her.
Her soft, smooth lips moved beneath his, not the least bit resistant. She was like an intoxicating cocktail, and he was instantly addicted to her sweetness. Her touch turned him on more than his wildest fantasy. He longed for more of her.
She snuggled closer. The tip of her tongue slipped between his lips. He eagerly greeted her advance, and soon their tongues moved together in a timeless dance of passion.
Just a little longer, he told himself, and then he’d be able to pull away. Oh, who was he kidding? He never wanted their embrace to end. His desire ran unleashed as she responded to him. Her every touch heated the blood pulsating within him.
The more he tasted her, the more his body thrummed with need. A moan started to form in the back of his throat.
“Uncle Tony.”
They jerked apart with the speed of two exploding firecrackers.
“I’m coming.” Tony ran the back of his hand over his mouth.
Smooth move
. He glanced back at Ella. “Umm…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have.” The gentleness of her tone belied the sincerity of her words. Her cheeks were a dusty pink and her lips a rosy red—utterly stunning. “We can’t do that ever again.”
The whole idea of kissing her had backfired. His gaze once more dipped to her lips. He wanted more. He craved more with every fiber of his being.
He gave himself a mental jerk. What was wrong with him? He couldn’t follow up that steamy kiss with another one, even if he craved her with every fiber of his being. His jaw tightened. He had to focus on what mattered most, no matter how enticing he found her kisses.
He squared his shoulders. “Don’t worry. It won’t.”
Now, hot and bothered, he walked away. He cleared his throat as he attempted to compose himself. With Johnny in a precarious emotional state, he needed to focus all his attention on his nephew.
Tony entered the cabin, pleased to find the boy hadn’t moved. “What’s the matter?”
Johnny gave him a sheepish look. “Can I get off the couch now? I want to play with Patch. Pleeease.”
His nephew appeared to have recovered from the stern lecture he’d received. Kids were so resilient, especially Johnny. Otherwise, his nephew never would have been able to cope with the loss of his parents so soon in his young life.
“For a little bit. I need to finish speaking with Miss Morgan. I’ll be right back.” Tony returned to the porch, trying to figure out how to smooth things over with Ella.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Tony nodded, then decided to just deal with the situation head on. “I’m sorry about what just happened between us. I hope it won’t change your mind about helping Johnny.”
Her eyes grew serious when she said, “It won’t.”
“Thank you.” He turned and stared out over the untidy yard. “How about I lend you a hand?”
“You mean with the land?”