How to Handle a Cowboy (31 page)

“I'm glad you're alive,” he said.

“Me too.” She smiled.

“I sort of saved you,” he said. “I found your purse and stuff.”

“Sort of?” Sierra struggled to sit up, accepting Ridge's help so she could sit up and dangle her legs over the side of the cot. “Sort of? Heck, you saved me for sure. Nobody ever would have opened up that truck if you hadn't said something.” Her expression softened and she smoothed the boy's hair. “You
said
something. I'm so proud of you.”

“I'm not scared to talk anymore,” Jeffrey said, sitting beside her. “And I'm not scared of Mitch.”

“We'll talk about Mitch sometime, okay? But right now, let's just wait.” She cupped his cheek with one hand and pulled him close—a mushy mom-type gesture some little boys shied away from, but Jeffrey closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, a beatific smile on his face.

Like so many foster kids, he'd been starved for love. He might have been hungry, tired, and hurt too, over the years, but Ridge knew that lacking love was the worst of the pain he'd been through. He knew firsthand the empty ache it caused, the deep, dull pain that never really went away, that couldn't be relieved by any kind of medicine.

Only someone like Bill, or Irene or Sierra, could heal it. And there was no more valuable thing you could do for the world than to lift a child out of a loveless life.

Jeffrey opened his eyes and reached out. Eyes tearing, Ridge sat down and put an arm around the boy. The three of them sat motionless for a moment in a family tableau—one that Ridge knew would be a reality as soon as he and Sierra and the state of Wyoming could make it so.

Okay, guys, this is going to be a long one. As many readers know, breast cancer brought a screeching halt to my normal life just as I began this book. I lost my hair, but I didn't lose my mind (or my life!), thanks to the following people:

My friend Mary Throne, who inspired me to go get that mammogram. She was always there for me despite her own struggle and her day job as Super Woman. She's an inspiration as well as a friend.

I drew on a deep well of love from my friends through every difficult day. Thanks to Kate Wright and Ellen the Superchicken for the eggs, and Colette Auclair for the marvelously tasteless get-well cards. Thanks to Elizabeth Roadifer for the lovely and tasteful get-well cards. (Colette and Elizabeth, you need to talk. Really.) Thanks to Mary Gilgannon and Jeana Byrne for the good advice and the sharp red pens. Thanks to Amanda Cabot for the most generous (and beautiful) gift ever, and to Laura Werstak for leaping into action with funny animal videos, gifts, and a friendship that never wavers. Also, thanks to Wendy Soto, Jeran Artery, and Mike Bleakley, Mike and Chris Shay, Laura Macomber, and Cie and Samantha Patterson for the love and friendship that warmed me every day. Thanks to the kids—Alycia Fleury, Scott McCauley, and Brian Davis, for being there. And thank you to my parents, Don and Betty Smyth, and my sister, Carolyn Smyth, for not freaking out too much and staying supportive from start to finish.

Another huge thank you goes to my agent, Elaine English, for her help navigating the challenges of working—and living!—through cancer.

As for my publisher, Sourcebooks—I am so glad we found each other. Everyone in this organization has been nothing but supportive, despite the inevitable delays my illness caused. Thank you to editor Deb Werksman and everyone else for believing in me.

To anyone going through the breast cancer ordeal—it's long, it's hard, and it's different for every one of us. Chemotherapy in particular is full of surprises, many of them unpleasant and all of them inconvenient. But you will survive, and you will be stronger for it.

Last but definitely not least, I am grateful every day for the support of my husband, Ken McCauley. Being a caregiver is at least as hard as being a patient, but his support and understanding never wavered. Always and forever, he is the love of my life and the inspiration behind all my heroes. Mwah!

Joanne Kennedy's lifelong fascination with Wyoming's unique blend of past and present inspires her to write contemporary Western romances with traditional ranch settings. She is the author of
Cowboy
Trouble
,
One
Fine
Cowboy
(nominated for a RITA award for best single title contemporary),
Cowboy
Fever
,
Tall, Dark and Cowboy
,
Cowboy
Crazy
, and
Cowboy
Tough
. Her fascination with literature led to careers in bookselling and writing, but at various times, Joanne has dabbled in horse training, chicken farming, and bridezilla wrangling at a department store wedding registry. She lives with two dogs and a retired fighter pilot in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The dogs are relatively well behaved.

Joanne loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website,
www.joannekennedybooks.com
.