Mountain Country Cowboy. Glynna Kaye

fly. He glanced at Jo, seeking confirmation that there was a misunderstanding.

      “Temporarily,” the older woman assured. “Rio departs in August.”

      Two and a half months. Not exactly what he had in mind when he’d decided to leave wrangling at a dude ranch in hopes of bettering his financial situation, but he could live with that, seeing as how he didn’t have much choice. Not if he wanted to give his son a home and gain legal custody.

      Speaking of which...he glanced out the door Rio was still holding open. No sign or sound of Joey. He’d better get moving.

      “If you don’t mind, I need to track down my boy.”

      “Then let’s plan to meet at the main barn at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow.” Rio’s chin lifted slightly. “You’ll have plenty to learn in a short time about how we do things here.”

      A muscle in his gut constricted. He couldn’t leave Joey by himself at that hour. When he’d applied for the job last month and then interviewed earlier this week, kid care hadn’t been part of the equation.

      Jo shook her head. “Not tomorrow, Rio. Cash needs time to make childcare arrangements and get his son settled.”

      “He can’t take care of that today? Saturday will be busy, and we can’t have a kid running loose around here.” Rio crossed her arms, clearly irritated and wanting to get the show on the road, even though she apparently hadn’t even known he’d been hired until a few minutes ago. “Not only does Cash have a job to do, but there are too many dangers a boy can get into if left on his own.”

      She sounded as if she didn’t think he was aware of that possibility. With Joey evading him right under her nose, was his amateur parenting status obvious?

      “He won’t be running loose,” Jo assured her granddaughter. “As I’ve mentioned to Cash, Luke’s Anna and a few of her high school friends want to pick up extra money this summer by babysitting the children of Hideaway guests. What’s one more?”

      Childcare. That was another expense on top of child support until he could track down his ex-wife—an endeavor he didn’t look forward to—and get things legally ironed out. Sure, her new husband—the second since she’d divorced Cash—didn’t want a boy around who didn’t belong to him. But typical of Lorilee, in the blink of an eye she could change her mind about the new marriage and the hasty disposal of their son. He didn’t trust her not to rethink her decision and call the law down on him for child abduction or something equally crazy.

      Like her accusations of assault when he’d told her he planned to seek legal custody of Joey.

      All he had now to stake a claim to his boy was a sack of personal documents with a scribbled note from Lorilee delivered by his former mother-in-law. The woman had dumped her grandson off at his place two days ago as he was readying to leave for Hunter Ridge.

      “A babysitter on the premises would be great,” he acknowledged. But except for his pickup, which he had to hang on to, he didn’t have anything to sell for ready cash. Having lost his job at a horse training facility while jailed three-and-a-half years ago, he’d sold his two horses to help cover child support during those six months. He’d dig deep and come up with the money, though. Somehow.

      But first, he had to find his boy. Who knew where the kid had gotten off to while his dad stood lollygagging with a pretty woman? “Maybe we can get together tomorrow, Rio. You know, once Joey’s settled in.”

      She nodded, but clearly wasn’t on board with his apparently unexpected arrival—which was confirmed when she gave her grandmother a pointed look.

      “Do you have a minute when I could speak with you, Grandma? In private?”

      “Come by my office after lunch.”

      He could guess the topic of that conversation, but if the delay didn’t suit her, Rio hid it well.

      Jo turned to him with a warm smile. “Welcome back to Hunter’s Hideaway, Cash. We’re looking forward to working with you for a good long time.”

      Her gaze briefly touched on her granddaughter, then she crossed the lobby and disappeared down a hallway.

      When Cash turned to Rio, he caught her eyes narrowed on him in speculation—and a hint of female interest that caught him off guard. If it wasn’t for the sudden flush on her cheeks when his eyes met hers, he’d think he imagined it. Princesses didn’t usually look at Herreras with interest.

      He shifted uncomfortably as they openly sized each other up. This situation had the makings of a complicated employer-employee relationship for more reasons than one. “I’ll be in touch as soon I get the childcare arranged. But right now I need to—”

      “Look, Dad! He likes me!”

      * * *

      To Rio’s relief, their locked gazes released as they turned to the now-giggling, black-haired boy who’d earlier made a mad dash out the door. He hopped up on the low porch, a German shepherd at his side licking him every inch of the way.

      “See, Dad?”

      The gleam in his dark brown eyes reminded her of the boy his father had once been. Cashton Herrera a dad. Unbelievable.

      Cash joined them on the porch, crouching to playfully tug on the bill of the boy’s baseball cap before roughing up the dog’s glossy coat. The excited canine made a tongue swipe in his direction, but a laughing Cash dodged it, then stood. Rio watched the lively exchange with mixed emotions, finding it difficult to reconcile that the gentle hand on the boy and dog had once fisted in anger against an ex-wife...

      Joey looked at his father with a sweetly dimpled smile, eyes bright with hope. “Can I keep him?”

      “I imagine he has a home.” Cash glanced at Rio for confirmation.

      “He does. His name is Rags, and he belongs to my brother Luke and his family. But you’ll be seeing him, Joey, if Luke’s daughter Anna babysits you.”

      A cloud descended over the boy’s expression as he eyed Cash accusingly.

      “I don’t want a babysitter. I want to hang out with you, Dad.” He looped an arm around the dog’s neck. “And Rags.”

      Cash’s gaze flickered momentarily to Rio, then back to his son. “We’ll hang out together. But I’m here to work with the horses, so we can’t be together all the time.”

      “But—” The anxious-eyed boy glimpsed Rio watching him and self-consciously halted, giving the dog a hearty squeeze.

      Sensing his distress, she offered an encouraging smile. “Do you like horses as much as your dad does, Joey?”

      She’d noticed he wore tennis shoes and shorts. A Phoenix Suns tank top. Not a miniature of Cash in that respect.

      The boy shrugged, not meeting her gaze. “Dunno.”

      “You don’t?” Rio cast a doubtful look at his father.

      “There hasn’t been much opportunity,” Cash responded as he looked thoughtfully at his son. “But we’re going to make a horseman of you yet, aren’t we champ?”

      Joey nodded, but without much enthusiasm, his grip further tightening on the dog so that it struggled to pull free. It was hard to imagine a child of Cash Herrera not being exposed to horses from the crib onward. Most kids liked horses, though, didn’t they? If not, it might make for a long summer for the little guy.

      And his dad.

      At that moment she sensed Cash stiffen. Curious, she glanced in the direction his attention had focused, then she stifled a groan. Braxton and Luke were still standing by the deputy’s vehicle and now looking their way.

      So what did the deputy want this time? To ask her out for coffee or to the library book sale? Or was he here to pester her again to train that new horse of his? Why couldn’t he get it through his head that she wasn’t interested in him?