Cowboy At Arms

When he’d been in Bob’s Bait Shack earlier he’d picked up two things especially for Cooper. The first was a child’s fishing pole and the second was a bright orange life jacket.

“You’ve gone to so much trouble,” Trisha said soberly. “I’ll be glad to reimburse you for anything you bought.”

“Nonsense,” he replied. “It was my pleasure.” He picked up the life jacket and then crouched in front of Cooper. “And now, my little buddy, if you want to fish you have to wear this.”

“Why?” Cooper held his gaze intently.

“Because only the very best fisherman in the whole wide world wears this special orange vest,” he replied. “Can I put it on you?”

Cooper nodded. Dusty helped him into the vest and fastened it. The last thing he wanted for today was any kind of a tragic accident.

When he stood and looked at Trisha, a burst of warmth that had nothing to do with the sun overhead filled him. She gazed at him with a softness that almost took his breath away.

He cleared his throat and picked up a rod and thrust it into her hands and then handed Cooper his shorter, bright yellow rod complete with a red bobber already on the line.

“How do you feel about worms?” he asked Trisha as he picked up his own rod. “Are you the squeamish type?”

“I’ve changed dirty diapers. I think I can handle worms,” she said with a small laugh.

“Dusty, I don’t wear diapers anymore. I’m a big boy.” Cooper looked up at him with pride.

“That’s good, Cooper. But I could already tell that you’re a big boy. And now I think we’re ready to hit the dock and catch some fish.” Dusty placed a hand on Cooper’s shoulder and they all walked out onto the floating wooden structure.

For the next hour and a half Dusty gave lessons to Cooper about how to bait his hook and cast out and then the absolute importance of watching his bobber in the water.

They sat on the dock with Cooper between them and as the little boy focused solely on the task of waiting for a fish to bite, Dusty and Trisha talked about everything from their favorite foods to what crazy things people ordered at the café.

He discovered that she loved Chinese food and that her favorite color was purple. She confessed that she enjoyed watching reality television and was afraid of spiders. Each and every tidbit that he learned about her only made him like her more.

She caught the first fish, a crappie no bigger than his fingers. Cooper wanted to keep it, but Dusty explained that it needed to grow a bit more and the little boy helped him release it back into the water.

“How about we set down our poles for a while and see what Cookie packed for us to eat?” Dusty suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Trisha agreed and began to reel up her line.

“But I want to catch a fish.” Cooper’s bottom lip began to tremble ominously.

“We’ll take a break and eat and then we can fish some more,” Dusty said. He was rewarded by Cooper’s bright smile.

“Okay, and then I’ll catch a fish,” he replied happily.

The kid was definitely a little charmer. Trisha took off Cooper’s life jacket and when they sat on the blanket, Cooper planted himself nearly in Dusty’s lap. It was a strange feeling for Dusty, to feel Cooper’s utter trust in him, to know that the boy liked him.

It was equally heartwarming to see the approval in Trisha’s eyes. She obviously liked the interaction between him and Cooper.

“Let’s see what we have,” Dusty said and opened the top of the cooler. “Why don’t you help me unpack this thing, Cooper?”

“I can do it. Mommy says I’m a good helper,” he said eagerly and began to pull out the containers of food and set them on the blanket in front of them.

As he set them down, Dusty removed the tops to reveal fruit cut up in bite-size chunks, cubes of cheese, ham and cheese sandwiches, and three fat slices of chocolate cake. There was also bottled water and juice.

“Cake!” Cooper exclaimed.

“After a sandwich,” Trisha quickly replied.

They ate and talked and laughed and Dusty couldn’t remember the last time he’d known such easy joy. Just as Trisha had tackled the worms for bait, she ate with a gusto he found refreshing.

Even with Cooper’s presence, Dusty couldn’t help the small burn of physical desire she wrought in him. As she slipped a slice of strawberry into her mouth he wanted to chase it with his mouth against hers.

His fingers fought the need to loosen her hair and rake through the silky strands. When she threw her head back to laugh, he wanted to rain kisses down the length of her slender neck. The pearly snaps on her blouse seemed to beg him to pop them open and explore.

Thank goodness Cooper is here to keep you in line, he thought. The last thing he wanted to do was move too fast with her and frighten her away. Still, he couldn’t control the hot images that continued to dance in his head.

He also regretted the fact that the day probably wasn’t going to yield any answers as to why she had reacted the way she had the night before to the flowers and note that had been left for her. But this obviously wasn’t the time or the place to discuss the topic.

All he knew for certain was that he liked Trisha...he liked her a lot. He admired the way she mothered Cooper and that the three-year-old was obviously secure and happy in his mother’s love. That was the way it was supposed to be, that was something Dusty had never known.

He knew she must be a hard worker, otherwise Daisy would have let her go. The brassy red-haired woman was known to be a demanding boss.

She was well liked among the people she served at the café, and he’d never heard a whisper of gossip about her that would send up any red flags in his head.

She was obviously a strong woman. She had no family to depend on and had taken off from her familiar home to build a new life for herself and her son after the tragic death of her boyfriend.

He hoped that this was the beginning of something special between them. And more than anything, he hoped that he could be the man she wanted, the man she could depend on in her life.

The phantom pain shot off in his ear and he fought the impulse to raise his hand to cover it. The only sound he ever heard in that ear was the echo of voices telling him that he would never be good enough for anyone.

* * *

If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the way to a single mother’s heart is definitely through her child, Trisha thought as Cooper and Dusty talked about the life of a cowboy.

Dusty had shown infinite patience throughout the afternoon. He hadn’t spoken down to Cooper or shown any kind of irritation at the boy with his million questions and abundant energy.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Dusty was definitely a piece of eye candy with his white T-shirt stretched taut across his broad shoulders and emphasizing his slim waist. And she’d never seen a man who wore a pair of faded jeans better than him.

He watched her lips when she spoke, as if he were contemplating another kiss. Far too many times the memory of the kiss they’d shared the night before intruded into her thoughts.

As the two of them snapped lids back on the food containers and returned them to the cooler, Cooper rolled over on his back and within seconds he was sound asleep.

Dusty gazed at Cooper and then grinned at her. “Ah, the action of a true cowboy who has indulged in the three major Fs of life,” he said softly.

“The three major Fs,” she repeated curiously.

“Fresh air, fishing and food,” he replied. With the last of the food put away, he stretched out on his side and propped his elbow up beneath him.

She smiled and mirrored his position on the blanket. “Add in a shortened nap in the afternoon and you get a little sleeping buckaroo.”

“He’s a great kid, Trisha.”