Page 6 of The Cowboy Comes Home

Maybe it was whatever had shown in her eyes for a moment. Maybe it had weakened his resolve, which usually held in the face of questions from other riders, the stunt crew, even former fans.

It happened. I’ve moved on.

That was his usual answer, followed by a change of subject so abrupt only the most oblivious could miss it.

“Are we goin’, Uncle T?” Jeremy said, having clearly had enough of being a bystander. Tucker had never been so glad of an interruption.

She switched her gaze to the boy, giving him, Tucker noticed, her full attention. He liked that. “Where are you two off to?”

“We gotta go home. There’s some new people coming to learn to ride,” the boy said, sounding like some kids probably did when heading out for Six Flags or some other amusement park. That made Tucker smile, and all the turmoil that had been kicked up by painful memories faded.

“And I,” he said, reaching out to ruffle the boy’s hair, “need to finish unpacking.”

“I’ll show you the way,” Jeremy said earnestly, clearly remembering his tardy arrival.

“You often do,” he said quietly.

Jeremy smiled. And when Tucker turned back to say goodbye and give the lady cop another thank you, there was something in her expression that made his throat tighten.

“You two have a great afternoon,” she said. And oddly, she sounded as if her throat was as knotted up as his own.

“You too, Officer Stratton,” he said with a nod.

“And thanks,” Jeremy chimed in. “For makin’ those bullies go away.”

“You come tell me if they ever bother you again,” she said to the boy. “I’ll be around when you get out of school whenever I can.”

“With Lobo?” the boy asked hopefully.

“With Lobo,” she confirmed. She was smiling now, and Tucker thought he’d underestimated. She was a lot more than pretty. She was beautiful. And he had a feeling it wasn’t just on the outside.

But you know what happens to nice cops.

He bit off the memory before it could start to unreel in his mind. That was a fact that he and Jeremy had in common that he tried not to dwell on.

“She’s nice,” Jeremy announced when he was settled into the car and had his seat belt properly fastened.

“Seems to be,” Tucker agreed neutrally, wondering if the boy had read his mind for that assessment.

“And Lobo’s cool. I’ll bet he can be fierce.”

“I sure wouldn’t want to cross him,” he said. “So it’s a good thing he’s your friend.”

“Yours too,” Jeremy said. “He shook your hand and everything.”

Tucker laughed. “Yeah, he did. I’m honored.”

The boy looked suddenly thoughtful, that expression he got when he was trying to figure something out. Recognizing it, Tucker stayed silent, letting the boy work on whatever it was. Finally, as they were making the turn on the road that would lead back to the Baylor ranch, Jeremy spoke.

“Lobo’s job is to help catch bad guys, right?”

“Pretty much,” Tucker agreed, wondering where this would go. The way the boy’s mind worked was fascinating.

“And he knows we’re friends now,” Jeremy went on.

“I guess, now that we’ve been officially introduced,” he said with an inward smile at what Officer Stratton—he wondered what the E. on the name plate stood for—had said.I believe the tail wag means you may pet him.

“So, if one of us did something bad, what would he do?”

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