Cowboy Logic - B.A. Tortuga Page 0,57
of something with Miss Bailey, so they might run a little late.” He doubted it, because those clerks down at the courthouse weren’t about to put in overtime…
“That’s cool. I’ll get my homework done first. What’s for supper?”
Bottomless pit. “Tacos. Miss Bailey’s bringing them. There’s cheese and crackers for snack for everyone.”
“I like cheese,” Amanda said, giggling when Darcy blew a raspberry at her.
“Chicken Biskits?” Doug asked.
“If Trav left any the other night, sure.”
“Dad!” His boy giggled, and he loved that—the hint that he wasn’t grown yet.
“You eat enough for three boys. Maybe four,” he teased. Travis didn’t have a spare ounce on him. Working a ranch produced a lean, strong body, even at twelve.
“Maybe.” Trav shrugged. “You need to feed me more steak, that’s what I think. Steak and baked potatoes for my birthday.”
“I can do that.” Travis’s birthday was April Fool’s Day, which he’d always been tickled over. There was nothing his kid liked more than a filet and a baked potato actually cooked in the oven. Good thing he provided his own beef…
Otherwise he’d have to take out a second mortgage to feed his growing boy. He would warn Bailey, but she would find out soon enough.
“I want lasagna for my birfday,” Amanda piped up. She was talky today, which was just too damn cute.
“Do you like the melty part or the crispy part?”
“The white part.”
“The melty goo, then.” He would have to give Bailey the recipe for rollatini. He would bet her kids would like it. God, he was such a mom club type.
Still, he liked Bailey, and she was solid as a rock. A good mom, a good friend—a good person.
Hell, she’d handed him a check for the whole cost of fixing the fence. No question. No drama. That had been totally appreciated.
And her brother… Well, Jericho had a thing. A bad one.
Even worse? He was starting to suspect Logic was with him. This was going to get complicated. Or not. Or it would stay the same. He could hear his granny’s voice in his head when he paraphrased her old adage, “It will get better, or worse, it will remain as it is.”
“Are we going to our house and Miss Bailey coming over to eat and get Darcy and all?” Travis was ready to finalize his plans.
“Yep. She’ll take this bus back with her, and Mr. Logic will have his own truck.” And would stay until after Trav went to bed, as long as nothing bad happened with Morrow and Bailey’s ranch.
Then they could… build things. Together. For a few hours.
He wanted Logic to spend the night, but as long as Morrow was on the loose, that wasn’t gonna happen. His grin faded.
The sick part was that as soon as Morrow pushed it too far? Then Logic would be gone.
“Dad,” Travis whispered. “Is it true Mr. Logic is hiring a private investigator?”
“He already did. The man who’s bothering Miss Bailey is escalating. You remember what that means?” He didn’t let Travis watch the really gory crime shows, but there were a few that showed less, like the First 48.
“Yeah. I know. Have you met the PI? Is he interesting?”
“I haven’t. Logic has a friend in law enforcement in Dallas. Al, I think he said. He got the guy set up. Why?”
“I’m just interested. It’s cool—the idea of a private investigator, not why.”
“I can see that.” He’d bet Travis would like to interview that guy for career day.
Travis gave him a relieved grin. Sometimes he worried that no one understood his son like he did. Maybe Logic would someday, if they kept in touch.
Everyone filed out of the SUV at the ranch, and he fed them a snack not long after.
“Okay, who wants to help with chores?”
“I’ll take care of the babies. That’s my job.” Darcy smiled at him. “It’s a big job, after all.”
“Travis and Dougie and Ellie, then.” They all groaned, but he knew they would do it and not bitch. Ranch kids worked.
“When I get old enough, I’m not going to watch babies. I’m going to have my own horses.” Doug sounded so sure.
Darcy rolled her eyes. “I already do, silly. I have three.” She flipped her hair and marched into the house.
“Sisters.” Travis took Doug and headed into the barn, and Ellie sighed.
“No one understands me, Daddy. No one at all.”
Oh, drama llama!
“I try, baby girl. How about you work with me. We’ll water and hay while they muck. How was your day besides the bad man?” He needed to spend