Page 35 of My Cowboy Salvation
We look out again at the view of the valley below, the county road, and the town not far in the distance. There are also dark storm clouds coming over the ridge that brings with them a gust of wind that’s making the horses skittish. I hold tighter onto my reins as Hope calms them with her soothing voice.
“We probably should head back.”
I nod. There’s a strange prickling sensation rising at the back of my neck, a certain uneasiness I try to blame on the changing weather. I sweep my gaze one last time over the scene below, almost like I’m looking for something that might explain the sudden sense of uneasiness that’s fallen over me. But I don’t see anything or anyone to explain it.
Probably nothing. Turning Verona around, I catch up with Hope, and we make our way to the ranch.
Chapter 18
Logan
“Two double cheeseburgers with fries,”our server says as she sets our plates in front of me and Parker late Saturday afternoon. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks, Linda,” I say as she bustles away to greet some new customers.
My son studies me a moment before grabbing the ketchup. “Is there anyone in this town you don’t know?” He pounds at the bottom of the bottle until it pours out on his plate.
“I’m sure there are a few.” I toss a fry in my mouth before picking up my burger.
We’re quiet as we eat, and I try to think of some common ground we can talk about that won’t touch on the fact that I’ve been fucking his ex-girlfriend. I feel guilty as hell about it, but apparently not guilty enough to stop.
“Dylan seems to be holding up, don’t you think?” Parker asks, having already inhaled half his burger and is now coming up for air.
“Seems to be.”
“It’s strange, though. Her music has always been the most important thing in her life. It was that way ever since high school. But this week, she seems to have lost some of that… I don’t know… that obsession. It makes me wonder if maybe she’s ready to, you know, have something more with someone. I mean, once this Simon guy is permanently out of the picture.”
This is probably when I should tell him that Dylan has been opening herself up to new priorities and experiences in her life outside of her music. To me. But I can’t bring myself to break the news. Not when my son is actually talking to me about things he cares about—even if it’s Dylan.
I’m careful with my words. “You’re right. I think going through the kind of trauma this Beaufort creep has caused her would be a reason to look at those things differently. Maybe realize her priorities aren’t the same anymore. Like I once thought my first priority was to my duty as a soldier, to doing what I needed to do to protect this country, and by extension, you and your mom. Until one day, in a town in northern Afghanistan, I was staring at a kid who couldn’t have been more than thirteen, the same age as you at the time, who was holding an assault weapon on me. He was scared as shit, trying to stand his ground and protect his mom who was hovering behind him. He never should have had to take on that burden. He should have been a kid, like you, with a dad there to watch out for him, protect him. It wasn’t long after that my tour was up, and instead of accepting another tour, I got out. Came home to be there for you. I’ve been trying to make up for all those years we lost ever since.”
“Wow. You never told me that before. I didn’t know.” He’s quiet, staring at his fries, moving them around his plate. “For what it’s worth, Dad, I’m sorry I was so angry with you when you got back. Because as angry and resentful as I was, I still was always proud of you and of what you were doing. It was just… hard. I can look back now and see you were doing what you thought was right. And I had Mom. We were okay because we knew you were out there, trying to keep us safe.”
It was as close to a mea culpa as either of us was ever going to say. “Well, so you know, I’ve always been proud of you, of how you got a bum deal with me being gone, and still came out so solid. And now look at you. Studying for your LSAT. I’m proud of you. I’ll be proud of you whether you pursue law or something else, because I know you’ll be making a thoughtful, reasoned decision that’s right for you.” He nods, appearing as caught up with emotion as me. Time to get back to even footing. “So. Have you given any thought to what kind of law you might want to practice?”
We chat about his interests and goals until Linda is bringing us out two pieces of banana cream pie. I’m just digging into mine when my phone rings from my pocket. I pull it out and stare at an international number I don’t recognize. “I’ll be just a minute,” I say to Parker and, getting up from the table, head outside to take the call.
There’s muffled noises and static on the other end, and then a voice that sounds like it’s coming through a tunnel. “Hey, McCall. Heard you were looking for me.”
Shit. It’s Conner. “Sure am. I need your assistance with something important.” There’s a loud crash in the background, followed by shouts. “Where are you?”
“Caracas now, but I should be back in the states soon once I finish this mission. What can I help you with?”
I summarize everything I know about Simon Beaufort and how he’s terrorizing and stalking Dylan, and how I’m hoping he can dig up some shit on the guy to put him away forever.
“Let me reach out to Noah. He heads our cyber forensics team. If the guy is as dirty as you think, he’ll find it.”
“Thanks. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. Have your team bill me whatever they need.”
“Not a chance. We’re brothers. Having each other’s backs when we need them is what we do. So… how are things in Castle Falls?”
“Currently? Pretty quiet. I don’t expect it will stay that way for long.”
“And my mom and Horace and everyone? They doing okay.?”
“Your mom and Horace are taking it easy, enjoying the usual fall events. Everyone is. Hope especially. Her new center is doing great. She even offered Dylan some work around the stables to keep up with it all. Thinks she’s looking to expand.”
“Good, good. Well, as soon as Noah finds something, I’ll have him get in touch. Take care.”
