Follow a Wild Heart: A Christian Contemporary Western Romance Series by Natalie Bright (top reads .TXT) 📗

“Well, I’m not sure who she belongs to, but I guess you can.”

“I wonder what her name is.” Lexi blossomed with puppy love.

“L.J.” In walked Lank. “Lily Jane. I got me a dog.”

Lexi’s arms were full of puppy, gyrating and licking her entire face.

“Looks like she’s trying hard to make sure she can stay.” Carli couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll help take care of her,” Lexi offered a plea, full of excitement.

“Just might be one of your first jobs on the ranch, but you’ll have to ask Lank first.”

She studied Lank as he watched his puppy, fatherly pride beaming on his face. Carli was never allowed pets growing up, and after she moved out on her own, they just seemed like so much of a handful and extra time she didn’t have. Buck had told her that Lola was highly allergic, which is why they didn’t have a ranch dog. With everything else going on, Carli added high-maintenance teenagers and now Lank had a puppy. She shrugged. Oh well, the more, the merrier.

Chapter Thirty-One

It had only been a short month, but Carli poured most of her efforts into figuring out all what was needed to run an equine program for at-risk children. The weeks rolled by since that disaster on the first Saturday in April. Now it was the first Saturday again, and she was expecting a few new kids this time based on inquiries to the public page. Luckily, she found more horses for the students. Older, calm demeanor. She was anxious for the kids to meet them.

The riding school preparation was in addition to learning about running the Wild Cow Ranch, and also doing some heritage searches for her birth father before closing her eyes at bedtime. Everything was zapping her strength, mentally and physically, but she also felt invigorated and enthused. She wanted to do all of it and felt driven towards her goals. Maybe, just maybe, she had figured out God’s plan for her life. But then hanging over her head was Nathan’s profession of love, and the argument between him and Lank. She still couldn’t figure that one out, even though she replayed the incident over and over in her mind.

For the equine program, she contacted the group in Oklahoma that had a similar one established for many years with lots of children participating. She also spoke to a woman with the Department of Family Services to get an idea about the kinds of kids she’d be dealing with, if her program ever grew. During the telephone conversation, Carli couldn’t believe her ears. How could parents hurt their children like that? Rage and enormous sadness welled up inside of her. This program might be harder than she thought. Could she handle it? That old self-doubt always reared its ugly head, but she had to learn to trust in her faith and push onward.

As Carli walked towards the corral to get ready for the kids, her stomach did a somersault of dread at seeing the sheriff’s cruiser parked in front of the Wild Cow Ranch cookhouse. What now? But the idyllic scene of Buck, Lola, Lank, and the sheriff all laughing and playing stick tug-o-war with the new puppy immediately dispelled any worries.

“What are y’all doing? Besides roughhousing with—er...”

“L.J.,” Lank offered. “Lily Jane.”

“Right, L.J. Hello, Sheriff.” Carli extended her hand.

Sheriff Anderson stood and dusted off his khaki uniform. “I’m here about those kids who were acting up the other day on the ranch. Buck called and told me about it.”

L.J. wiggled over to Carli and commenced to biting and tugging on the bottoms of her jeans. She tried to pull her leg away, then looked to Lank and just said, “Lank, your dog?”

“Oh, sure, I’ll put her in one of the stalls.”

“Thanks.” She surveyed the tiny bite marks and a new rip in the bottom of her pants. Great.

Lank left but Buck and Lola stayed with Carli and the sheriff.

“I found out more about that kid,” the sheriff started. “We know who Raven is. Real name is John Andrew Gibbons. Dropped out of school. Been in juvie trouble before. Rough home life. Dad’s not a good role model. Not sure who his passenger was but we can make an educated guess.”

“I don’t want to get them in real trouble, Sheriff. Can you maybe put a scare into them, and make sure they don’t come back here? I’m also hoping to convince Lexi to stay away from them.” What Carli said was true. She didn’t want the boy to end up back in juvenile jail again, but he needed to understand he couldn’t drive around terrorizing people. And Lexi was way too young for him.

“Young people have minds of their own," the sheriff said. "As much as their parents might warn against their choice of friends, sometimes they end up doing just the opposite.”

“That’s for sure.” Carli thought of her own mother.

“But, Carli, there’s something else you should know. Raven was picked up a few months back for possession of methamphetamine. Because he’s underage he was let off with community service and drug counseling, but it’s on his juvenile record. When he turns eighteen, all bets are off. If he’s still messing with that stuff by then, he could go to jail for quite some time.”

“Oh, no,” Lola said quietly.

Carli shook her head back and forth and pressed her lips together. “I had a bad feeling about that guy. I sure don’t want Lexi getting mixed up in his lifestyle.”

“I’ll go find him and his buddy and try to put the fear of God into them about trespassing on the Wild Cow.” Sheriff Anderson tipped his hat to Carli and Lola before climbing back into his cruiser.

“Good luck with that,” Buck said. They all waved as the sheriff drove away.

In the barn Carli watched Lank cradling L.J. in his arms like a baby. A big baby, not a tiny puppy, which looked to be a couple of months old. He was nuzzling her and whispering. Her