Her Homecoming Cowboy by Debra Clopton Read Free Book Online

had given him clutched tightly in his hand. When he saw Colt, his eyes lit up and he started running.
    “Colt!”
    Annie was nowhere in sight as Leo skidded to a halt in front of him. “Hi, Colt. I came to see you,” he declared, as if he hadn’t just walked across a pasture and through a small stand of woods.
    “Yeah, I see that. You look like you came to learn to rope.”
    “I did. I brung my rope and ever’thing.”
    Colt glanced back at the woods. No Annie. “Is your aunt coming?”
    Leo kicked a rock with the toe of his small boot, and his shoulders drooped slightly. “She was busy.”
    “Busy?” And she’d let the kid walk all the way across the pasture by himself, and then wander through the trees looking for Colt’s cabin? He hadn’t known Annie long but he knew this didn’t sound right. Colt stooped to eye level with Leo. “Little buddy, does your aunt know you’re here?”
    Leo shrugged, not quite looking him in the eye. “She knows I went outside to play.”
    The poor woman was going to be frantic when she realized Leo was gone. It took a while to walk the distance between houses, so he was pretty certain she was already searching for him.
    “Come on, we better get you back home.”
    “Aw, do we have to? I wanted to come see you.”
    “And I’m glad you did. But from now on, you’re going to need to let your aunt know what you’re doing, because she’ll worry about you. Matter of fact, it’s probably not a good idea for you to come all this way by yourself.”
    “You think Annie Aunt’s gonna be mad?”
    Colt grinned at the kid before he could stop himself and he tousled Leo’s blond hair. “Maybe. But, come on... I’ll face her with you. When a man messes up, he has to face the music.”
    Leo looked at him strangely. “I don’t think she’s gonna sing to me.”
    Colt laughed. “Probably not. But we’ve still got to go face her.”
    * * *
    “Leo!” Annie scanned the pasture while she jogged, hoping to see him. But he was nowhere. She’d been unpacking some of their things in the bedrooms while Leo played with his rope in the backyard. When she’d checked on him twenty minutes later, he was gone.
    “Leo!” she called again. Stopping to catch her breath, she scanned the pasture. He hadn’t been in the barn or the front yard. He hadn’t answered when she’d called his name over and over again. And then she’d thought about Colt. Leo had asked her on the way home from day care if he could go to Colt’s, and she’d told him that today wasn’t a good day.
    Please let him be okay . Please.
    She started moving again, just topping the slight hill when she spotted them. Colt and Leo walking side by side, crossing the pasture. They walk alike . The thought registered in the back of her mind, but she was too overwhelmed with relief for the implications to completely register. Gasping, Annie rushed forward.
    “Leo! Honey, you scared me,” she scolded, though she was so relieved it was a wonder she could speak. Scooping him into her arms, she hugged him tightly, fear washing over her. “Please don’t go running off like that. Please.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said, squirming as she set him back on the ground. “I just wanted to see Colt.”
    “I brought him back the minute I realized you weren’t with him.”
    Colt’s quiet words steadied her and she drew back from some of the terror that had clutched her. She tried to force the overreaction away. “Thank you. I feel awful. I was unpacking and he was right outside roping. I didn’t check on him for twenty minutes, so I didn’t know how long he’d been gone. And then I had to check the barn and the area around the house.” She was rambling and couldn’t seem to stop it.
    “He’s fine. I don’t think he’ll be doing that again. Will you, buddy?”
    Leo shook his head. “Colt told me I made you worry.”
    “I know you didn’t mean to.” She fought to let the episode go as she brushed his bangs off his forehead.