One Night with a Cowboy - Sara Richardson Page 0,17

didn’t he? Maybe not. She’d never in her life had the luxury of waking up after him…

Sprinting out into the living room, Thea resorted to calling his name. “Ry-ry! Hey, buddy, where are you?”

The kitchen sat empty, as did the small bathroom at the other end of the hallway. That meant he was outside. With thousands of acres to explore. And the lake. Oh, God. The lake!

Thea bolted out the front door and ran directly into Wes, who had been walking up the porch steps.

It was like ramming straight into a brick wall.

“Whoa.” The man teetered backward before reaching for the railing, and she quickly jolted back to the top step. “What’s going on?” Wes’s T-shirt clung to his torso and his jeans were soaked. Her son stood behind them on the grass, sheepishly digging his toe into the dirt. “Ryan, where were you?” She didn’t wait for him to answer before shifting her gaze to Wes.

As the man stared back, a few things occurred to her. First, she was still in her pajamas—tiny shorts and a tight tank top that she would never ever, under any circumstances, allow anyone to see her wearing. Second, she’d neglected to put on a bra before busting down the door to get outside. And third, Wes Harding likely thought she was a lunatic. Or a lazy lunatic, given the fact that she’d obviously only just managed to roll out of bed and discover her son was missing.

Humiliation burned hotter across her skin than any sunburn ever could. “I’m so sorry.” She wasn’t sure if she was apologizing to Ryan, to Wes, or to herself for the spectacle she’d created. She tried to smooth her wild bedhead waves away from her face. “I must’ve slept in. I can’t believe I…I never sleep past six. Never.” She always woke before the kids and got herself ready and made them breakfast…

“Don’t worry about it.” To his credit, the man didn’t gawk at her or back away or even raise his eyebrows. He gave a simple shrug accompanied by a smile. “It seems Ryan here wanted to do some fishing.” He glanced over his shoulder at her son with a wink. “Like he said, the early worm gets the fish.”

“I didn’t want to wake you up,” her son added, edging his way up the steps to join them on the porch. “’Cause you looked so happy sleeping, and you don’t get to sleep a lot.”

“You can always wake me up.” Her voice got shaky. “You know that, Ry-ry.” She did her best to strike a tone between stern and understanding. “Did you go out on the lake by yourself?” She could already see the answer in his downcast eyes, in his wet clothes. He knew the rules. He wasn’t supposed to come within twenty feet of the lake without an adult present. Her stomach lurched. “God, did he fall in?”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I was so excited. I didn’t want to wait.” Ryan didn’t have to try for puppy dog eyes; he simply already had them.

“I happened to be walking by and saw the canoe out,” Wes said.

She couldn’t quite look the man in the eyes. Oh, what he must think of her right now. As if she’d had any right to judge him last night for having a party. She couldn’t even keep track of her children. Her son had almost drowned! Her heart seemed to flood with emotion, buckling her knees, but she had to keep it together. She couldn’t fall apart in front of Wes.

“Everything turned out okay,” the man said as though trying to comfort her.

“Thank God.” Thank God Wes had walked by. She shuddered, the panic and embarrassment fading enough that she could finally feel the cool breeze against her skin. She hugged her son. That was all she wanted to do. Hold him right there forever.

He was okay.

He was okay.

He was okay.

And yet her heart was not.

“I’m real sorry, Mom.” The words were muffled under her shoulder.

“I know you’re sorry.” She pulled away, struggling to keep the tears at bay. “And thank you for owning up to your mistake. But you’re still going to have a consequence.”

Wes laid his hand on her son’s shoulder. “Don’t go too hard on him. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”

Easy for him to say. Thea’s cheeks flamed again. Handing down punishments had never been her favorite part of parenting. If she relied solely on her heart to raise her kids, she would’ve hugged her son and