Epilogue

Three months later

Surrounded by close friends and family in the kitchen of the ranch house, a beaming Cody inhaled a lungful of air, puffed out his cheeks, and then squeezed his lids shut on a long, hard gust. When he opened his eyes again, they widened to comic proportions to discover all ten birthday candles still blazing. “I didn’t get none of ’em?” he cried in dismay.

“Guess you better try harder,” Dirk replied with a mischievous grin.

Janice hadn’t known until that instant that Dirk had switched out the birthday candles. His good-natured teasing and growing relationship with Cody warmed her heart, but today was a particular joy.

“You’ve both done wonders for Dirk,” her misty-eyed mother-in-law murmured beside her. “I haven’t seen this side of my son in years and didn’t think I’d ever see it again.”

“They’ve been good for each other,” Janice replied. In the few short weeks since she and Dirk had wed in a private ceremony at the Sacajawea, Cody had come to idolize his “stepfather.”

“Yes, they have been,” Donna agreed. “He loves that boy, Janice.”

“And Cody idolizes him in return. Dirk wants to go ahead with a legal adoption if Cody agrees. I think he plans to ask Cody later today.”

“Adopt his own son?” Donna looked aghast. “Aren’t you going to tell him the truth?”

“We’re not. At least not yet. It was Dirk’s decision, not mine,” Janice explained. “He said Cody’s been through enough. We won’t withhold anything he asks about, but we both want him to adjust gradually.”

“If you think that’s best…” Donna’s expression revealed her doubts.

“We believe it’s the best way,” Janice affirmed and then looked back to Dirk and Cody.

“You better take a bigger breath this time,” Dirk coached the boy.

Wade, an obvious co-conspirator, was capturing it all on video as Cody huffed and puffed and then made his second valiant attempt to blow out the candles. This time he kept his eyes open. The candles sputtered only to reignite before his incredulous face.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” He flashed an accusatory look at Dirk and then Janice. “Is this some kinda trick?”

“What do you mean, Cody?” Dirk deadpanned.

Janice covered her mouth in an attempt to suppress the burst of mirth that bubbled in her chest, only to lose the battle when Dirk winked at her. A full-bodied chuckle erupted from her, echoed by Dirk’s baritone rumble.

“Hey! It is a joke!” Cody cried. “How do we put these out? I want some of Grandma’s chocolate cake.”

“Tell you what, partner, why don’t we let the women figure that out while we head out to the workshop?”

“What’s in the workshop?” Cody asked.

Dirk handed him a jacket. “It’s a surprise.”

“What is it?” Cody asked, bright-eyed, eagerly thrusting his arms into the new Carhartt jacket he’d wanted—the one just like Dirk’s.

“A birthday present,” Dirk insisted. “You’ll find out what it is when we get out there. Here. You should wear this too.” He thrust the black Stetson Wade and Nikki had gifted Cody onto the boy’s head.

“What kind of present?” Cody cajoled.

“The kind that’s a secret. Dang, boy. You’re as bad as your mother.” Dirk sent a mock glower Janice’s way.

“Why don’t you go out there too?” Donna suggested to Janice. “You won’t want to miss this. Nikki and I can serve up the cake.”

“So you know what this surprise is?” Janice asked Donna.

“I do. Justin and Dirk built it together.”

“What did they build?” she persisted.

Donna shook her head with a laugh and shooed Janice out the door, tossing her jacket after her. Janice chafed her arms and then pulled it on, following the fresh tracks in the snow to the workshop behind the house. She was only seconds behind the men, arriving just as Dirk instructed Cody to cover his eyes.

“No peeking,” Dirk commanded. He and Justin rolled back the workshop’s double doors. “OK. You can open now.”

The moment Cody’s hazel eyes popped open, Dirk swept out his arm. Surrounded by a pile of wood shavings was a bucking barrel, the kind beginner bull riders train on.

“Cody, meet your first bull. Your grandpa and I named him Twister,” Dirk said, “but you can call it anything you like.”

“You’re really gonna teach me to ride bulls?” Cody’s voice was breathless. His eyes shone.

“Said I would, didn’t I? You can start on the barrel and then when the new calves are big enough, we’ll put you on a few of them.”

“Really?”

“Yup. C’mon, partner. We’ll go over all the particulars about ropes and rosin later. Right now I know your teeth are itching to get on this thing. Up you go!”

He hoisted Cody onto the barrel. “Hold out your left hand. This is your bull rope.”

Dirk spent several minutes explaining the bare basics before wrapping the rope around Cody’s hand. “Your hips and heels are your anchor,” he explained.

Dirk positioned the boy’s hips forward over his hand and then pressed Cody’s booted heels into the sides of the barrel. Dirk’s ice-blue gaze met and held Janice’s.

“The single most important thing I’ve ever learned about bull riding is that it’s just like life. It’s all about finding your balance.”