LITMIR.BIZ

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something out.’”

      She hesitated. “I don’t want my son to grow up thinking that money is the answer. He made a bad choice. He needs to learn that there are consequences for bad choices.”

      Her words had Noah taking a step back. He cleared his throat. “Yes, of course.”

      “Some parents are all too happy to pay for their kids’ mistakes, but I’m not one of those people. I want Colton—and Piper—to know that every choice has a consequence. And I want them to learn now, while they’re young.”

      Hmm... He couldn’t have said it better himself. “That’s commendable.”

      She glared at him. “I’m not looking for any commendations, Mr. Stephens. I simply want my children to grow up to be good people.”

      Okay, so he’d definitely underestimated her. “All right then. What if we had him work it off?”

      The light in her green eyes shifted. “I like that.” She hesitated then. “Depending on what you have in mind.”

      Ah, now he got it. Pay the consequences without really paying the consequences. “I was thinking he could come by tomorrow morning and muck out the horse stalls.”

      Lily choked back a laugh. Something he found rather cute. “That’s perfect.”

      “Really?”

      “Yes. Of course, it’ll be ‘stupid.’” She made air quotes with her long fingers.

      “Of course.”

      Her expression softened. “But I think it’ll drive home the message.”

      “That stealing is wrong.”

      “Among other things, yes.”

      The heel of his boot scraped across the concrete floor. “Okay, so what time can I expect him?”

      “The earlier the better. How about seven?”

      “In the morning?” Humph. He would have taken her for a not-before-ten kind of girl.

      “You don’t think I’m going to let him sleep in, do you?”

      “I...obviously wasn’t thinking. My apologies.”

      She studied him, a smile playing on her lips. “I believe in teaching my children values. So I will see you in the morning.” With that, she turned and marched out the door, passing his father as she went.

      Moving beside Noah, Clint Stephens watched after her. “She’s pretty.”

      Noah made a quick left into the office. “Is she?” He grabbed the day’s consent forms. “I hadn’t noticed.”

      His father followed him. “Since when have you been blind?”

      Noah chose to ignore the remark. He wasn’t blind at all. But his heart belonged to his late wife, Jaycee. Now and always.

      Dad paused beside the desk. “Newspaper called. Wanted to know about the ads for the rodeo school.”

      Noah scrubbed a hand across his face. While the new building should be completed in time for Ridgway’s annual rodeo on Labor Day weekend, now that summer was here, he’d barely had any time to think about the grand opening that was supposed to coincide with the Ridgway event.

      “Oh, and that Realtor called again.” Dad watched him. “Have you given any more thought to renting out the cabin? Might bring you some extra income.”

      Noah tossed the forms into the file cabinet and threw the drawer closed with more force than he’d intended. He didn’t need the extra income. He’d earned plenty during his rodeo days, made wise investments and lived modestly. Dad knew that.

      And you’ve put all your savings into the rodeo school. Even so, how the old man could think that he would allow strangers into the home he and his wife had once shared boggled his mind.

      “Son, you know I’ve never been one to tell you and your brothers how to live your lives, but Jaycee’s been gone twelve years now. Don’t you think it’s time you started living again?”

      “Living?” He gestured to the stacks of papers and plans for the rodeo school. “What do you call this?”

      “Oh, you’re going through the motions, all right. It’s just...”

      “Just what?” Hands on his hips, he tried to get a handle on his annoyance.

      The man looked everywhere but at Noah, then let go a sigh. “It’s been a long time since you’ve been happy.” He didn’t miss the sorrow in his father’s tone.

      “Dad, I love this place, you know that. And the horses... I can’t wait to get the rodeo school up and running.”

      His father held up his hands. “No need to get defensive. I believe everything you’ve said. I’d just hate for you to be so stuck in the past you close yourself off to the future God has in store for you.”

      Noah chuckled, wondering what had gotten into his father. After all, he was a widower, too. Perhaps spending so much time with his old classmate Hillary Ward-Thompson was finally getting to him. But Noah wasn’t about to head down that road again. He’d loved and he’d lost. And he never wanted to feel that kind of pain ever again.

       Chapter Two

      Clouds dotted the sky as Lily passed under the arched metal sign that read Abundant Blessings Ranch late the next morning. She could hardly wait to hear about Colton’s experience. Lord willing, three hours of mucking out stalls would teach him a lesson.

      A shudder ran through her as she approached the stable, though this time it had nothing to do with equines. Hands tightening around the leather-wrapped steering wheel, she stared straight ahead. Colton was becoming so much like his father it was scary. The lies, the bullying, now stealing...

       God, please help me to train my son up in the way he should go.

      Something that wasn’t always easy for a single parent. Especially when the other parent didn’t share your faith. Not that Wade ever spent any time with his kids. Even during their visitation, they were often left in someone else’s care. Because Wade didn’t care about anything but himself and having a good time.

      Unfortunately, it was Colton who suffered the most. Like most young boys, he wanted his father’s approval. And, apparently, he thought that behaving like him was a means of getting it.

      Only one of many reasons she’d wanted to get the kids away from the city. And while they usually took an extended summer trip, this year she hadn’t wanted to go somewhere exotic or to some exclusive resort. That was Wade’s style, not hers. She wanted something simpler. Something meaningful.

      Okay, so it hadn’t even been a week since they arrived in Ouray. Still, she’d never expected things could actually get worse.

      By the time she and Piper stepped out of their SUV, Lily had determined that there would be no TV, handheld devices or computers of any kind for Colton for at least a week. And if he pulled another stunt, or she caught him lying, his sentence would be even longer.

      That should provide the perfect opportunity for plenty more Jeep rides and family hikes. Maybe the kids would enjoy exploring some of the old mining towns that dotted the area. Anything that didn’t involve horses was fine by her.

      Inside the stable, she spotted her son midway down the wide corridor, standing on the bottom rung of the pipe fencing that surrounded the practice arena in the center of the building. His arms were draped over the top of the fence as he watched something or someone inside the arena. Whatever it was had certainly captured his interest, because not only had he not noticed her or his sister, he was completely engrossed. Something Lily had rarely witnessed outside of his video games.

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