Rough Rider (Hot Cowboy Nights, #2)(80)

“Sure,” Janice replied. “I’m happy to teach you anything you want to know. We can practice driving in the pasture once the snow melts.”

She put the truck into park and shut off the ignition and then hopped down into the mud. The trailer shook as the men dropped the ramp to unload the cattle. The next few minutes passed in organized chaos as the lowing cows trotted off the trailer to join the rest of the herd.

Janice observed Dirk and her son with a smile. Cody had always been energetic, but he seemed to positively bloom whenever in Dirk’s company. Although she’d tried her best to fill the roles of both mother and father to Cody, it wasn’t until observing him and Dirk together that she’d realized how sadly insufficient she had been.

The boy had become Dirk’s shadow over the past couple of months. Dirk had shown infinite patience in teaching Cody how to ride, gather cows, and handle a rope. Although she’d been a little hurt that Cody had asked to ride with Dirk when they’d made their road trip to Idaho, she realized the time together would only strengthen their growing bond.

He now stood by the gate with prod in hand, intently watching and mimicking Dirk’s every move. “Hey, Mama!” he greeted her with a mile-wide grin. “Mr. Dirk has something real important to ask you.”

Dirk scowled. “This isn’t exactly the right time, Cody.”

“Oh yeah?” Janice looked from Cody to Dirk. “And why’s that?”

Dirk replied, “Because it’s not the kind of thing you discuss in the middle of a cow pasture.”

“Really? Then where do you suggest we discuss this thing?”

“How about over dinner tomorrow night?”

“Sure,” Janice replied. “I’ve got a lasagna made up that I was planning to pop in the oven. What time do you want to come over?”

Cody and Dirk exchanged a conspiratorial look. “Wade said he and Nikki would watch Cody so we can go out.”

“Out?” Janice repeated in surprise. It had been weeks since they’d gone anywhere without Cody. “You sure you two don’t mind?” Janice asked Nikki.

“Not at all. Why don’t we just keep him for the whole night?” Nikki replied with a wink.

“Think maybe you could put on that little black dress?” Dirk suggested.

“Sure,” Janice replied. The last time she’d worn it was their dinner at the Sacajawea. It was also the last full night she and Dirk had spent together. They’d only had stolen opportunities for intimacy since her mother had moved up to Helena. The memory of that night sent a ripple of lust through her. Dirk’s expression said he remembered it too.

*

“You ever gonna tell me what this big secret is?” Janice asked Dirk over dessert at Sir Scott’s Oasis, another steak house test-marketing Flying K’s American Kobe beef. “Cody looked like he was about to burst when we left tonight.”

Dirk chuckled. “He gets that trait from you, not me.”

“How is it going between you two?” Janice asked.

Dirk sobered. “He’s a great kid, Janice, and a credit to both of us. I just wish to hell I could have been part of his life sooner.”

“I do too, but all we can do now is make the most of the time we have.”

She deeply regretted that they’d lost all those years that they could have been a family, but there was no point in dwelling on past mistakes when they had a future to build.

“Speaking of building… Mama called this morning to say she and the ol’ man found a condo they like in Lake Havasu City. They want to sign the house over to me and remodel the bunkhouse for their summertime use. Which now leads to my big question…” He reached into his coat pocket.

Janice’s heart leaped into her throat when he pulled out a small velvet box.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yeah. I asked Cody yesterday. Rest assured he has given me his full blessing.” Dirk popped the box open. “I know I’m ten years late and it’s not as big as I would have liked—”

“It’s perfect,” she whispered. She licked her lips as her gaze met his.

“Will you marry me?” he asked. “Be my partner and my lover for the rest of my life? I can’t promise you much, Red, but I need you. Hell.” He laughed. “All I can guarantee you as a rancher’s wife is a lot of hard work.”

“I’ve never been afraid of hard work, and I want to help you, Dirk. Your dreams are my dreams now. For better or for worse, right?”

His hands shook as he slipped the ring on her finger. “Yeah, Red, that’s one promise I can make.” He brushed his lips over her face. “For better or for worse, but for damn sure never for granted.”





Epilogue


Three months later

Surrounded by close friends and family in the kitchen of the ranch house, a beaming Cody inhaled a lungful of air, puffed out his cheeks, and then squeezed his lids shut on a long, hard gust. When he opened his eyes again, they widened to comic proportions to discover all ten birthday candles still blazing. “I didn’t get none of ’em?” he cried in dismay.

“Guess you better try harder,” Dirk replied with a mischievous grin.

Janice hadn’t known until that instant that Dirk had switched out the birthday candles. His good-natured teasing and growing relationship with Cody warmed her heart, but today was a particular joy.