The Cowboy's Second-Chance Family. Jules Bennett

newest resident.

      * * *

      After they’d finished the call, which amounted to a couple of guys getting too rowdy outside of Gallagher’s, the local bar, Noah climbed back into the patrol car. He wasn’t used to riding on the passenger side, but he also wasn’t used to this town, nor life without his ranch, not to mention life without his wife.

      Each day was better than the last, but there was still that void he figured he’d always carry around.

      Just as Officer McCoy started the car, Lucy’s calm voice came over the radio.

      “We’ve got a missing child at 186 Walnut Street. The mother reported he was in his room and was supposed to be changing for bed, but now he’s missing.”

      Just because he was a police officer didn’t mean he didn’t feel. Each case he encountered was different, and each one deserved his full attention and compassion. Noah’s heart clenched at the fear that mother must be facing. He knew that fear of loss and the unknown.

      “There’s a creek that runs behind their house so the mother and some neighbors are there now,” Lucy added.

      McCoy turned on the siren and raced through the streets. Lucy’s voice continued to keep them updated as she stayed on the line with a family friend. Lucy’s sweet voice was exactly what he’d told her earlier—a lifeline. She was the link between the caller and the officers and she truly didn’t see what an important job she had.

      He should feel guilty thinking of her in any way except as a coworker, but there was something so innocent, yet so... He couldn’t find the right word. Recognizable? Yes, definitely. He recognized the pain in her eyes, too. She did well to mask it, but it was there all the same. Perhaps she used that support group more for herself than she realized. And that was all fine and good, but talking among a group of strangers wasn’t for him. He could get over his grief just fine on his own time.

      Within minutes they were pulling up in front of a small white cottage. Already people had congregated on the lawn. Adrenaline pumping, Noah raced toward the back of the house where he was told the mother was. McCoy went to talk to neighbors to get a description of the boy.

      With the rains lately, the creek was up and Noah prayed this would only be a search and not a recovery.

      Flashlights shifted all over the backyard, Noah’s included. He tried to focus on the water, because if the boy was in there, he was in the most danger. Hopefully he was just in a neighbor’s tree house or something that innocent and safe.

      “He’s there!” someone shouted. “He’s caught under that shrub on the other side of the creek.”

      Noah followed the light stream from someone’s flashlight. Immediately he took off running in the direction, his light bouncing as he ran faster.

      He heard a woman scream and take off down the edge of the creek just in front of him. “Hold on, baby!”

      Noah didn’t think twice and he didn’t stop to say anything. He raced past the frantic mother and the other people who were trying to figure out how to get the boy out.

      As he ran into the cold water, Noah called out to the boy, “Hang on. I’m coming for you.” The poor little guy was crying and the hood of his jacket had gotten caught on a dead limb sticking out from a bush along the creek side. His jacket was dark, but the bright yellow shirt made it a little easier for Noah to focus in on him.

      The water was nearly to Noah’s waist and colder than he’d initially thought. He didn’t know how long the boy had been out here, but with the sun down, things had cooled off quite a bit.

      The frantic mother continued to encourage her son to hang on as Noah trudged through the water. Blocking out all the chaos behind him, Noah focused solely on this boy.

      “I’ve got you,” Noah told him when he finally reached the child. “Wrap your legs around my waist and put your arms around my neck. I’m going to untangle your jacket.”

      The boy continued to cry and didn’t move.

      “My name is Officer Spencer, but you can call me Noah. What’s your name?”

      “C-Conner.”

      The boy’s teeth were chattering. “Okay, Conner. I need you to be a big boy. I need a partner since my partner is in your house helping. Can you be my partner out here?”

      Conner nodded. “I just wanted to see the storm and then I saw a c-cat run to the water. I wanted to s-save it.”

      “You’re a brave boy, but right now I need you to wrap yourself around me so I can get you out of here. I don’t know about you, but I think this water is cold.”

      Finally, little arms and legs went around Noah. Realizing the boy was about Emma’s age, he felt a tug on his heart. Calls with kids always hit closer to home.

      If he didn’t get this jacket untangled in the next few seconds, Noah was going to cut it off. This boy had been waist deep in the water long enough. He shivered, not just from the cold, but from fear.

      Finally, the material came free with a rip. Noah wasted no time. He waded back through the chilly water as the boy clung to him. On the bank, the crowd had grown and the mother stood sobbing, reaching her arms out, anxious to take her son.

      The paramedics were right beside her, also ready to take the boy. Noah reached Conner out to his mom and climbed up the embankment. McCoy grabbed Noah’s elbow to help him out.

      The paramedics and the boy’s mother were racing through the backyard, toward the driveway around front to the ambulance. The boy would be fine, but protocol required he get checked out. Noah would bet Conner wouldn’t venture out to explore by himself anytime soon, and probably not near that creek for a long, long time.

      “Good job, Spencer.” McCoy slapped him on the back. “Already playing hero on your first serious call. You’ll fit in just fine.”

      Noah smiled as they walked through the yard. He didn’t want praise for doing his job, but he was glad he could help.

      “At least the dip in the creek got the coffee off me,” he joked.

      McCoy laughed. “I thought you didn’t get any coffee on you.”

      Noah shook his head. “I just told Lucy that so I wouldn’t hurt her feelings. She’d already burned her hand and felt bad enough.”

      They reached the car and just as Noah pulled the handle, Conner’s mother came up and wrapped her arms around him.

      “Thank you,” she cried, pulling back. “I promise I don’t let him get near the creek. He’s never done that before.”

      Noah placed a hand on her arm. “And I’m sure he won’t do it again. You both had a scare, but you’ve got a brave boy. He wanted to see the storm and then tried to save a cat. You’re doing a good job, mama. Kids are curious creatures by default.”

      She swiped the tears from her eyes and offered a smile before turning to go back to the waiting ambulance. Conner sat up on the cot inside the open doors and waved at Noah. Waving back, Noah offered his own grin.

      Within minutes he and McCoy were headed back to the station where Noah could change and get dry. And see Lucy. On the short trip back, McCoy and Lucy exchanged some information about the boy being transported to the hospital.

      Once again, her tone stirred something inside Noah. Something he didn’t want to address because he shouldn’t be having these feelings. Should he?

      He was human, he was a man, and he had natural desires. There was something about Lucy that made him not want to brush aside these unwanted emotions. No one had been able to reawaken the dead inside him for months. But whether it was her sweet voice, the compassion he already saw in her, or the underlying vulnerability she tried to hide, something about her drew him and made him want to get to know her more.

      At this point, he figured they’d be seeing each other