Free Into the Arms of a Cowboy by Isabella Ashe Page A

Cassie.” He elbowed Jess right in the bruised ribs.
    Jess let out a whoop of mingled pain and amusement. “Ten years younger?”
    “All right, thirty years younger.”
    They traded insults for a few minutes before Cassie reappeared. She wore a white cable-knit sweater with a long skirt that buttoned down the front. She’d done up her hair in one braid that fell to the middle of her back.
    “You look mighty purty this morning,” Gus said.
    Cassie’s smile lit up the room. “Why, thank you, Gus.”
    “Jess, don’t you think she looks purty ?” the older man asked.
    “Sure she does,” Jess muttered darkly. “Gus. . . .”
    At that moment, a knock on the front door gave Jess a chance to escape Gus and his not-so-subtle hints. “I’ll get it,” he said, grabbing for his crutches.
    A freckled girl of about 11 stood outside on the porch, clutching a shoebox to her skinny chest. Jess recognized the daughter of his next-door neighbor.
    “Hi, Tanya,” he said. “What’ve you got there?”
    “Baby raccoons. Three of them.” Her forehead creased with concern. “Mr. Logan, I found them on the ground, all wet and cold. I think they fell out of a tree or something. I waited for hours to see if their mama would come get them, but she never did. My daddy says you might know how to take care of them.”
    “I’ll do what I can, Tanya. Come on in and let’s have a look.”
    Four people crowded around the kitchen table as the girl set down her precious burden. Tanya lifted the lid. “They’re so small,” the girl said. “Their eyes are still closed, even.”
    Cassie leaned over the box, her expression awed. “Oh, the little darlings! Look, you can already see their masks and the rings on their tails.”
    Jess studied the tiny, lightly furred babies on their faded bath towel. All three could have easily fit in his palm. They were deaf as well as blind, their ears pressed tightly forward on their heads. “I’d say they’re about a week old. We’ll get them warmed up, feed them, and see what happens.”
    “But they’ll be okay, won’t they?” Tanya asked.
    Gus rested a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, now. Jess knows just how to handle this.”
    “I’ll do my best,” Jess said. He meet Tanya’s eyes and held them with his own. “But, darlin ’, these raccoons are very young, and they’re awfully weak. Usually they’d be making some noise--chattering and twittering away like little birds--but right now they’re barely even moving. You have to understand that the odds are against them.”
    Her lower lip trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. “You mean they might-- might die?”
    Jess nodded. “They might. You have to be prepared for that. But I’m going to do everything I can to keep them here with us, okay?”
    The girl sniffed and blinked back her tears. “Okay.”
    Jess felt Cassie’s gentle touch on his arm. “How can I help?” she asked.
    “There’s kitten milk replacement formula in the top right-hand kitchen cupboard. You’ll find clean eyedroppers in there, too.” He turned to Gus. “Would you get the small animal carrier out of the shed? There’s a heating pad in it already, and we’ll put a towel over that for a bed.”
    When Cassie and Gus brought the supplies, Jess set to work. It took a good amount of patient coaxing, but eventually he had the babies drinking eagerly from the eyedropper, within an hour or so they were full, warm, and huddled together in one furry lump, fast asleep.
    Cassie watched him, her face glowing with admiration. “You’ve done this before.”
    “Sure he has,” Gus boasted. “He’s licensed in wildlife rehabilitation. He’s saved hawks, owls, squirrels, fawns, and once even a baby fox.”
    Tanya, too, looked at Jess with adoring eyes. “That’s why my daddy said I should bring the raccoons over here. I guess Mr. Logan knows everything there is to know about animals.”
    Jess squirmed under their praise. “Don’t get