Free The Convenient Cowboy by Heidi Hormel Page B

with him. He might be in court, though.”
    “You promised,” the boy said, his face reddening.
    “I didn’t know. I’ll call him,” Missy said, pushing the clinging kid away.
    As the woman dialed, the little boy tried to hide behind his mother without touching her. Poor little guy. Olympia had an idea of how scary it was to be dragged into a situation you didn’t understand, expecting bad and scary things to happen.
    “Pick up, pick up, pick up,” Missy breathed into her bejeweled phone. “Payson, as soon as you get this, call me.”
    Olympia crossed her arms over her chest where the button was missing, very aware of Missy’s scornful look.
    “This is our son. Calvin.” Missy pushed the boy toward her. He kept his head down, his hair sticking out over his ears.
    Olympia didn’t want to talk to the boy because she didn’t want to get involved in whatever this drama was. “Yes. I’ve seen pictures.”
    “Spence really lives here?” Missy asked as she looked past Olympia and into the house.
    “Crap. Sorry. You wanna come in?” She’d let the implied insult slide since the woman had been stuck standing outside.
    “Just a second. Go on, Calvin. Go in. I’ll be right back.”
    The boy hesitated for a second, then scurried into the house. Maybe more mouse than bunny, Olympia thought as she followed him. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked. He shook his head and stopped in the middle of the living room. The broken-down furniture looked worse than usual. “Take a seat,” she said. He sidled past her and sat on the edge of the couch. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She moved quickly down the hall to put on another shirt. She couldn’t stand around with her arms crossed.
    As she changed, she tried to imagine what Missy could want. Spence and his ex didn’t talk, if what he said was true, and he didn’t see his son, except in closely supervised visits. “Calvin, you can turn on the TV if you want. I don’t know what’s—” Olympia stopped when she saw a suitcase and two duffel bags along with a neon-green backpack beside the little boy. His face was whiter than milk, and he looked as if he might throw up. She knew that expression well. “What’s this?” she asked gently, determined not to scare him even though her brain screamed
no
.
    “My stuff.”
    “Is there a reason your stuff is here?”
    “Yes,” he whispered. She took a step closer, and he hugged himself. “Mommy brought it in. She says I have to stay here.”
    The world went blindingly bright for Olympia as her anger surged. “Your mommy left you here?” She tried to keep her voice soft. She didn’t want to terrify the kid any more than he already was. She knew what it was like to be scared because the adults in your life were crazy. Apparently, Missy was certifiable. What mother ditched her kid at someone’s house? Well, to be fair, Missy thought of this as Spence’s house. But maybe she hadn’t left. He might have misunderstood.
    Olympia raced to the door and looked out. Nothing. No vehicles, just a distant plume of dust from a car moving fast. She swallowed hard on the nausea that bubbled up. She had to get this settled.
Call Spence.
After all, this was his problem...his kid.
    Back inside she said, “I’ll call your dad and see what he says. I bet there’s some kind of mix-up. You know, like your mom didn’t know he was away in Texas. And she’ll come back to get you.”
    “She can’t,” he said so quietly that Olympia had a tough time hearing him.
    “Why not?”
    “She’s going to rehab. Grandpa Stu and Mimi are mad at her. They yelled, and she said that Daddy should take care of me.” His voice hiccuped on a sob.
    Olympia wanted to reach out and hug him close, but she reminded herself she wasn’t that kind of woman. More important, Spence had agreed that she wouldn’t have to be his stepmother. He understood that she wasn’t the sort of cowgirl who should be looking after a little boy.
    * *