LITMIR.BIZ

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      She looked at her children. “Are you two okay with that, or would you prefer to wait until later when we can go together?” Not that she’d be any more enthusiastic, but she’d settle for less nauseous.

      “I can watch Piper,” offered Colton.

      “Yeah, Colton can watch me.”

      Lily couldn’t help but laugh. For once her children were in agreement. “Okay. But I want you to be on your best behavior.”

      “We will,” they said in unison.

      The cowboy tipped his straw hat in her direction. “I promise to take good care of them.”

      To her surprise, she actually believed him. Probably because he’d come to check on her when she was outside. Something she found very chivalrous. And as they walked away, she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to be taken care of by someone like that. Someone strong, caring... Not self-serving like her ex.

      She quickly shook away the thought. God and her children were her only priorities. Not love or any notions thereof. Especially with a cowboy.

      * * *

      “Mom, you should have seen it.” Colton met his mother in the lobby, his enthusiasm obvious. And that made Noah happy.

      The kid was far too young to have the kind of attitude Noah had witnessed prior to their ride. Angry. Disrespectful. The type of kid Noah hoped to help. Not that troubled kids were the focus of his soon-to-open rodeo school at Abundant Blessings Ranch. Still, Noah knew firsthand the difference horses could make in the lives of troubled kids and adults dealing with loss. They’re what helped him get past the deaths of his wife and unborn child. And he had a feeling the root of Colton’s anger had to do with some sort of loss, too. During their ride, the kid had mentioned that his parents were divorced. Was his father involved in his life?

      While Noah’s parents had loved each other until his mother succumbed to cancer three years ago, he’d had many friends whose lives had been impacted by divorce. He understood the pain and anger that came from such an experience. Especially when it was something they hadn’t chosen and there was nothing they could do to fix it.

      If only he could help those kids deal with their feelings by giving them a way to channel their emotions into something else. Or perhaps the kids would simply benefit from spending time with a good listener. He knew for a fact that horses were very good listeners.

      “We got to ride on the mountain,” Piper said.

      Cute kid. Happy, smart, energetic... If his child had been a girl, he’d have hoped she’d be like Piper.

      “Can I get a soda?” Colton watched his mother hopefully. “Noah said there’s a machine around the corner.”

      The woman—what was her name? Some sort of flower. Lily? Yes, that was it—pulled a series of ones from the pocket of her jeans. “Okay, but no caffeine. And get one for your sister, too.”

      She looked at Noah then, her green eyes void of the anxiety that had been there before. “Thank you for taking them. I...hated to disappoint them.”

      “No worries, ma’am. I’m pretty sure they enjoyed themselves.” He turned his attention to her daughter. “Right, Piper?”

      “Right!”

      They both chuckled at her daughter’s exuberance.

      He eyed the woman again. She’d tucked her long reddish-blond hair into a crude ponytail, making him wonder if she’d gotten sick again after they left. “I trust you’re doing all right?”

      The pink in her cheeks heightened as she tugged on the hem of her fitted gray button-down. “I am. Thank you again.”

      “Good.” Suddenly uneasy, he glanced down the corridor. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something I need to tend to.”

      “Of course.”

      With the voices of Lily and Piper echoing in his ears, he rounded the corner and headed down the corridor. Passing the alcove where the soda and snack machines were, he saw no sign of Colton.

      Weird. Had Noah been so lost in thought that he’d passed him without even realizing?

      Continuing on to the tack room, he spotted the boy. And his heart sank.

      There, beside the bridle rack, Colton was stooped over a bucket of horseshoes. Horseshoes meant to be given to kids as souvenirs. Instead, Colton grabbed two, stuffing one into each of the pockets of his Nike hoodie.

      He was stealing.

      “Colton.” Noah kept his voice firm, all the while keeping it void of any accusation.

      The boy jerked his head up. “I...couldn’t find the soda machine.”

      “And the horseshoes?”

      Colton looked everywhere but at Noah. “I was just looking at them.”

      “If you want one, all you have to do is ask.”

      The kid’s green eyes narrowed. “They’re just stupid old horseshoes. Who’d want one of those?”

      Noah shook his head. He’d hoped the kid would at least acknowledge his curiosity. Instead, he’d lied. And there was no way Noah could tolerate that.

      He took hold of Colton’s arm. “Let’s go see your mother.”

      “Why?” The boy’s voice held a note of terror as he jerked free and started down the hallway.

      “I think you know why.” Noah could understand the kid’s attitude, but lying was a different ball game altogether.

      Rounding into the lobby with Colton in tow, he saw the bewildered look in Lily’s eyes as she rose from the old pew.

      Grateful no one else was present, he said, “I caught this young man stealing.”

      “I didn’t steal anything!”

      Noah glared down at the boy. “Care to show me what’s in your pockets?”

      Colton promptly turned his pants pockets inside out to show them empty. “He’s lying, Mom. I didn’t take anything. See?”

      A confused Lily looked from her son to Noah.

      Undeterred, Noah said, “And your jacket pockets?”

      The boy hesitated then. “This is stupid, Mom. I didn’t take anything. You believe me, don’t you?”

      His mother’s confused and seemingly pained gaze moved between Colton and Noah. Once. Twice.

      Finally, “If there’s nothing there, then you should have no problem showing us, Colton.”

      After a few moments, the boy pulled out the horseshoes and thrust them at Noah, the clanking of metal echoing through the small space. “They’re just stupid horseshoes. You have a ton of them.”

      The look on Lily’s face flitted between horror, disappointment and panic in a matter of seconds.

      What saddened Noah the most was that he would have given the kid the horseshoes if he’d asked. But Colton hadn’t asked. He’d simply taken something that didn’t belong to him. Then compounded matters by lying.

      Noah knew what he would do if this were his son. Question was, what would his city-slicker mother do? Offer to pay for it? Call it a misunderstanding?

      That was the problem with today’s world. Too many parents eager to bail their kids out instead of letting them face the consequences for their actions.

      “Colton...take your sister to the car and wait for me there, please.” With her arms crossed, Lily’s eyes never left Noah’s.

      Yep, she was going to pay for her son’s transgressions.

      “But, Mom—”

      “Now,

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