Read Online The Cowboy Way by Christine Wenger - Free Book Online

running. “Let’s get you off of Thunder. Now, just swing your leg over. It’s easy. I got you.”
    When both of Beth’s feet hit the dirt, shards of pain shot up her legs. She gasped.
    â€œIt’ll go away. Just lean on me.”
    She’d learned never to lean on a man. If she did, she might fall over. But this time she had no choice.
    He held her to his side, and she could feel the strength of his arms and the warmth of his chest through her light T-shirt.
    Jake handed the reins to a short, thin cowboy with a shiny face and freckles. “Would you mind taking care of the horses for us, Will?”
    â€œBe glad to,” said the cowboy as he led the horses away.
    â€œThis time I’m going to forget my rules about taking care of your own horse,” he said.
    â€œI can pull my weight. Just give me a minute to find my legs.”
    â€œDon’t worry about it.” He pointed to a group of kids by the bunkhouse. “Do you see Kevin over there?”
    â€œOf course I do.” He was the first person she had looked for when she rode in.
    â€œNo. Really look at him, Beth. Tell me what you see.”
    â€œKevin is sitting in his wheelchair and watching a cowboy show him how to rope a plastic steer head that is stuck into a bale of hay.”
    â€œBut how does he look? ” Jake pushed.
    â€œHe looks happier than I’ve ever seen him. He looks like a ten year old should. He has kids around him who are in wheelchairs like he is. He’s making friends, branching out, and he’s mesmerized by the cowboy who’s twirling a rope over his head.”
    â€œThat’s Jason Wyatt doing the teaching. He has five kids of his own. He comes from a big, extended ranch-family with lots of nieces and nephews. I’d say he knows his way around kids like he knows his way around bulls.”
    â€œKevin’s having fun.”
    â€œFun? That’s part of it. He’s fingering a rope. Dying to try it himself. But what I’m getting at is that you were gone for a while and he’s perfectly okay. You can have some time to yourself without worrying about Kevin so much.”
    She stepped away. Her legs were working again. “Tell me, Jake, how would you feel if you saw your child all broken and bleeding?”
    He winced. That question hit him right in the gut. He didn’t want to see any kids like that. Kids were cute and fun and trusting, and he hated to see them hurt or suffering. “Kevin was barely conscious in the ambulance after the accident. I held his hand, and I wouldn’t let it go until they pried me away. With every breath I drew, I willed him to live. Otherwise I couldn’t have gone on living or breathing myself.”
    â€œI’d feel the same way,” Jake said softly.
    â€œCan you understand, then, why I protect him? Why I keep him close by my side and fuss over him? Why I give him everything I possibly can in the world?”
    â€œThat’s why you brought him here,” Jake said. It was a statement, not a question.
    â€œYes. That’s why I brought him here.”
    â€œThen why don’t you let him have some fun? And while you’re at it, let yourself have some fun.”
    â€œYou don’t understand.”
    â€œYou’re still punishing yourself. You won’t allow yourself to have fun because you feel you don’t deserve it. I see it all the time with parents who come here.”
    A major curse word was on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back. Her hands balled into fists, and shepressed them to her sides in case she was tempted to let them fly into his jaw.
    But how could she, when deep down inside she knew that the cowboy was absolutely correct? Still, however good his intentions, his criticism cut deep.
    â€œBeth, I’m sorry. Like you said before, I have no right.”
    She held a hand up for him to stop. “Seems like all we do is apologize to each other. Maybe we should