Carrillo's Cowboy by Tee Smith (classic novels to read .txt) 📗

Austin it was a girly thing to do, and of course, being a boy, he just wanted to be a big man like his dad.”

Cody scoffed. “I think Adam was just too scared to get on a horse. Austin is more of a man than his dad will ever be.”

Looking back up to watch her son trot around the yard, she shielded her eyes and nodded. “I agree, but don’t let Austin hear you say that. He thinks world centres around his dad.”

“I suppose we all do at that age,” Cody agreed. He had thought there wasn’t a thing in the world his dad couldn’t do.

“I know I was.” Callie laughed, her laughter tinged with sadness. “I just wish he would have told me to stay away from Adam.”

“Would you have listened?”

“Probably not,” she answered as she shook her head. “I thought getting out of Harlow’s Bend was the best thing. I think I was so determined not to fall in love with a cowboy, that instead, I fell for the first man that wasn’t.”

“Yeah, can’t trust those cowboys.” He tipped his hat and smirked.

“Right,” she agreed with a chuckle and a jab to his ribs with her elbow.

“Oww,” he feigned, clutching his side. “You’re gonna have to kiss that better now.”

“Oh yeah, you’ll use any excuse to get my lips on your body, won’t you?” she teased, running her fingers up his side.

She wasn’t wrong. Reaching out, he wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her into himself, pushing his lips into hers. He loved being around her. Loved that it was out in the open and he didn’t have to sneak around behind the kids’ backs anymore.

Within a couple of hours, Austin was handling the horse like he had been riding his whole life. Cody had taken him down to the creek as promised, and they stopped for a break.

“You really like my mum, huh?” Austin’s voice dropped an octave, making him sound younger than his twelve years.

“Yeah, yeah, I do,” Cody agreed.

“Are you going to get married?”

A lump rose in his throat, threatening to choke his words. He hadn’t expected that question. “It’s only early days, mate.”

“My dad says she’s just using you.”

“You told your dad about me?” This kid was full of surprises.

Austin nodded. “Mum says we shouldn’t keep secrets.”

“No, your mum’s right,” he agreed.

“I don’t think Mum is using you. I don’t know why dad says things like that.”

Seconds passed before he realised Austin was waiting on a response. “Well, I don’t know your dad, but I think sometimes people find it hard to move on. They might not want to be with someone, but they don’t want them to be with someone else. Does that make sense?”

“Not really?” Austin shook his head. “I mean, dad got a new girlfriend.”

“Do you like her?” he asked curiously.

“No!” His answer was emphatic and without hesitation. “She hates us.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” he tried. Not knowing if it was or not, but overwhelmed by the desire to protect Austin’s feelings.

“That’s why dad doesn’t come to see us.”

“Is that what he told you?”

“No, but he’s always too busy with her and her kids.”

“That must really suck.”

“Yeah,” Austin huffed out, picking up a rock and throwing it at the water that bubbled through the winding creek. They watched it hit the water with a small splash. “I miss having him around. I mean, I know we never did much. He’s always busy. Mum says she gets upset because he promises us stuff, but doesn’t do it. I know he wants to.” He let out a long frustrated sigh. “Do you know what it’s like living with two girls?”

Cody chuckled at the question and shook his head.

“It’s all about hair products, and fashion, and stuff,” he went on. “At least dad talked about golf and man stuff.”

“Do you like golf?”

“Don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’ve never been allowed to go. Dad always said I was too young. Mum says that’s rubbish, and we should be allowed to do stuff. Dad nearly had a heart attack when Granddad taught us how to ride the quads.” A laugh escaped from the boy’s chest, and Cody realised it was the first time he had heard him laugh in weeks. “Mum’s pretty cool like that. At least she lets us do stuff.”

After spending the last weeks with Callie, he struggled to imagine her married to a stiff. She was bubbly and adventurous—no wonder she hadn’t been happy in her marriage.

“Should we head back inside? It will be dark soon,” Cody asked. “Mum will probably have something on the stove for dinner. We don’t want her to worry about us.”

“Sure,” Austin sang, springing to his feet and making his way back to Marla and Kimba. He still needed a hand to mount, but he would get the hang of it soon enough. “Thank you, Cody,” he said as he settled into his saddle for the ride home. “This has been the best day I’ve had since we moved here.”

“No worries, mate.” Cody smiled up at him and gently slapped his knee. “It’s been good hanging out. I enjoyed it too. We should make a habit of it.”

They rode home in relative silence, but Austin’s words played over and over in his mind. The kid just wanted the love and attention of his absent father. Poor Callie, no matter how hard she tried, there was no way she could fill that void for him.

Chapter Twelve

“I loved seeing you with Austin today.” Callie tucked her legs under herself as she leaned into Cody on the veranda’s swinging seat. Crickets chirped somewhere off in the distance, and she breathed in the peace. It was the happiest she had felt in a good long while.

“He is a good kid,” Cody agreed. “I think I probably enjoyed it as much as he did.”

“Do you ever think you will have kids?” she asked.

Cody pulled back slightly, and she quickly realised he had not expected her line of