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“Nothing you could do, sweetheart,” he said softly, and bent to kiss her warmly. “Go back inside.”
“Call me when they find him. Please?”
He nodded. He strode to his truck and took off, following the other cowboy out into the road.
* * *
Todd was one of Dal’s favorite hands. He was thrifty, meticulous, and one of the best horse wranglers Dal had ever worked with. He was never late for work, never absent a day. To have him missing was disturbing, especially since there were no tracks.
Dal pulled in behind Larry, his top hand, and cut off the engine. He grimaced at the complication that had just presented itself. Charity Landers and her little boy, Pete, were sitting on Dal’s porch. Todd’s family.
They came running when they saw Dal.
“We have to find him,” Charity said in a rush. “The snow’s so deep . . .” Her voice broke.
“Where’s my daddy?” Pete asked Dal, and pale blue eyes looked up at him with absolute trust. “You’ll find him, won’t you, Mr. Blake?”
The child fascinated him. He’d seen the little boy around, gone to the christening. But this was something new. The child loved his father, and it showed. Dal had never thought about a child of his own before.
“We’ll find him, Pete,” he promised, and hoped he could keep the promise.
Just as he finished speaking, a car came up the road and stopped at the house. Todd climbed out, thanked the driver, and walked to the porch, where he was smothered with kisses by his wife and son.
“We thought you were dead or something!” Charity wailed.
“Daddy, we was scared!” Pete cried into his dad’s throat as he was held close. “I love you so much, Daddy!”
“I love you, too, son.” He kissed Charity. “Now, now, I’m fine. The damned truck quit. I had to hitch a ride into town to get a wrecker, then the trucks were both out, so I had to hitch a ride back home . . .” He paused. “Sorry, Dal, I left the truck parked on the highway, but they said they’d send the first wrecker they had free—lots of people stuck in the snow, he said. I’ll have to go back and wait for it.”
“Larry can go,” he said, and nodded to the other man, who threw up a hand and ran for his truck. “You take your family and go home.” He chuckled. “You’ve had enough adventures for one day.”
“Gosh, thanks, boss,” Todd said, grinning from ear to ear.
“You’re welcome.”
Pete wriggled to get down. He walked over to Dal and held out his little arms.
Dal picked him up, amazed at the perfection of that small face up close.
“Thanks, Mr. Blake,” he said, and hugged the big man.
Dal hugged him back. It was the most amazing feeling, that tiny body so trusting in his arms. The child was a reminder of what he’d been running away from most of his adult life. He found that he liked the idea of a son.
He laughed and put the boy back into his father’s arms. “Nice kid,” he told Todd.
“We think so. Night, boss.”
“Thanks, Mr. Blake,” Charity added.
“You’re welcome.” He waved them off.
The child was on his mind when he drove back down to Meadow’s house.
She came out onto the porch. “Did you find him? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine,” he said, following her into the house. “The truck quit and he had to hitch a ride into town to get a wrecker. Forgot his cell phone.” He laughed. “I’ve done that a time or two myself.”
“And here I thought you were perfect,” she teased.
