He was speechless at her honesty. “I like you too. Always have felt a connection between us, but I’m having second thoughts about this place. I’ve had a love-hate connection to the ranch, though. Seems like it’s tainted when it comes to relationships. I don’t care if I had ten daughters and no sons, I’d never send them away, and they’d all inherit an equal share of whatever I had when my days on this earth came to an end. And Ezra shouldn’t have treated his wives the way he did. Far as I could tell, none of them did a thing wrong, and it wasn’t their fault their first child wasn’t a son. The second one might have been.”
“You won’t get an argument out of me on any of what you just said,” Bonnie agreed, “but a ranch is basically just dirt and grass. Is it really worth losing a friend, or the love of your life, over? Neither of my older sisters thought it was.”
“Sometimes the place is just dirt if we don’t get rain when we need it,” Rusty chuckled. “When y’all first got here, you were sure enough ready to put on the gloves and go to war for the ranch, and now all you can talk about is selling it and gettin’ the hell out of Dodge, or the Palo Duro Canyon, as this case is.”
“Yep, but then we bonded, and now I feel pretty alone. It’s not the first time. Every time Mama moved us, I had this same feeling of not knowing anyone. I hated walking into a new school three or four times a year,” she said. “But not putting down roots is part of me now, and I don’t know if I can stay in one place and be happy, Rusty. I’m afraid to even give it a try, but my heart has grown roots here and I have sisters who are living close by. Plus, you and I need to make the decisions about what happens on this place. Ezra is gone, and he doesn’t get a say-so anymore.”
Rusty moved over to sit beside her. “No, he doesn’t, but he’s buried right here on the property.”
“He left you his knowledge of ranchin’.” Bonnie nudged him with her shoulder. “I inherited his blue eyes and stubborn will. That’s all he should get credit for.”
“If you stay, and I hope you do,” Rusty said, “what will you tell your kids about him someday? You do realize, he’ll be their grandfather.”
“I’ll tell them the absolute truth, and then I’ll tell them that they have a father who is amazing and loves them, even if their grandfather wasn’t a nice person,” she answered.
“How can you make that kind of statement when you have no idea who the father of your kids will be?” Rusty turned and studied her face.
“Because I won’t ever marry until I can find a man that I can truly say is amazing and that will love our children. I grew up without a father, for no other reason than I wasn’t a boy. My kids, boys or girls, are going to have a daddy to love them, protect them, and provide for them, or I won’t have a husband,” Bonnie declared with so much conviction that Rusty could have sworn the temperature in the hot barn raised a few more degrees.
“Now, let’s talk about you,” Rusty said. “Are you staying or leaving?”
“Staying. I can’t let Ezra win, and besides, I kind of like having roots, now that I realize how it feels,” she answered. “Let’s make a deal. We both stay until Christmas and see where this attraction between us goes. No rush. No hurry. But I want to talk to that lawyer who set up Ezra’s will. Think you could arrange a meeting with him?”
“What do you want to talk to him about?” Rusty frowned.
“I want to understand a little more about the way the will is written,” she answered. “Then we’ll be ready for another talk. When can we visit with him?”
“I’ll call him tomorrow morning and set up an appointment,” Rusty answered. “Now we should be ready to talk honestly about us. I’ve missed you the last two days.” He scooted over closer to her.
“I wouldn’t want to run this place without you.” She turned so they were facing each other. “And I like having you around. I missed you too.”
He cupped her face in his hands and their lips met in a fiery kiss that warmed the barn right up to a full ninety-plus degrees. His hands trembled and his pulse raced when the kiss ended.
“So, we’re good then?” He wanted to kiss her again, just to see if the second one stirred his feelings as much as the first one.
“Yes, we’re good.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “Can we go over this one more time, though? We’ve agreed that neither of us will leave the ranch, but we haven’t talked about the dogs.”
“According to the will, they are mine,” he said, “but I’m willing to share them with you as long as you stay on the place.” He leaned back and frowned. “Are you keeping me around just so you don’t have to give up the dogs?”
She reached up and ruffled his dark hair. “You’re smarter than you look.”
He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss each knuckle. “I’ve got lots of surprises to show you, since you’ve said you’ll stick around for a while.”
Chapter Eight
On the day of Ezra’s funeral, Jackson Bailey had served as executor to Ezra’s estate and handed each of the sisters a copy of his will. Bonnie shoved hers into the bottom dresser drawer in her new bedroom and never gave it another minute’s thought. When she awoke on Thursday morning, the first thing she did was go straight to the dresser and get the blue binder.
She padded barefoot to the kitchen, where she made a pot of coffee and then sat down at the table to try to make heads and tails out of the legalese its pages contained. Most of it was so deep that she couldn’t understand a word of it, but the language that said the sisters had to stay on the ranch for a year to share it was plain enough. If two of them left, it went to the third one—kind of like the last girl standing. Bonnie would have to have the lawyer verify what she thought that meant, but if it did, everything could change in a hurry. Because the way she read it said that if she was the last one on the ranch, then it went to her, even before the year was up.
“Good mornin’.” Rusty came into the kitchen by the back door. “What have you got there? Coffee smells good. Let’s have ham and cinnamon toast for breakfast.”
“Ezra’s will,” she answered. “That sounds fine.”
“I’ll call that lawyer about nine. That’s usually when businesses open up in Claude. Don’t get your hopes up. He’s an old guy, maybe Ezra’s age or older, and he pretty much keeps hours when he wants to.” Rusty poured two mugs of coffee and brought them to the table. “What’s got you worried about it? I thought it was pretty straightforward.”
“I can’t understand anything I’m reading, but I wanted to at least have looked at it before we go into town to see the lawyer.” She pushed it to the middle of the table. “What’s on the agenda for today?” But then she cocked her head to one side and listened intently. “That sounds like a car or maybe a truck.”
“I thought it was a tractor with a bad engine problem coming up the lane,” Rusty said.
“Are we expecting company?” Bonnie asked.
She pushed back her chair and frowned as she started toward the door. When she stepped outside, she could see the dust boiling up as the old blue pickup truck drove down the lane. She heard the door open and close behind her and felt Rusty’s presence even before he laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Friend of yours?” he asked.
“Holy crap on a cracker!” Bonnie sighed. “That would be my mother, arriving without notice. I guess she sold her car and got a truck.” Could the morning get any worse? she thought as she took a step back. “Mama?”
“I’ve come to rescue you,” Vivien yelled as she got out of the truck and jogged across the yard. A tall blond woman, she was so thin that Bonnie used to tell her to put rocks in her pockets to keep a strong wind from blowing her away. She looked every one of her fifty-three years, but then she lived on cigarettes, coffee, booze, and an occasional joint or two.
Vivien opened up her arms, and Bonnie walked into them.
“I don’t need or want to be rescued,” she said. “Mama meet Rusty. Rusty, this is my mother, Vivien Malloy.”
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“I’ll stick around until tomorrow and maybe you’ll change your mind.” Vivien took in the house and surrounding area in one sweeping glance. “This place ain’t changed since you was a baby.”
Vivien released her daughter from the hug. “You don’t have to live like this another day, darlin’. I’ve changed my mind about you staying here to get his worthless piece of dirt. I want you to take whatever the money is offered in the will and go with me to California. If this old truck won’t make it, we’ll stop and get another one or finish the trip on the bus.”
Bonnie folded her arms over her chest and stepped in front of the door. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Vivien looked rougher than usual. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair hung in limp strings. She reeked of whiskey and marijuana and smelled like she hadn’t had a bath in a week.
“Have you been drinking and driving again?”
“Yep, but I didn’t get caught, so it’s all right,” Vivien giggled. “And yes, I had a joint or two to relax me on the long drive, and now I’m coming down off it. You know what that means—munchies. What’s in the kitchen?”
“We haven’t had breakfast yet, and we’ll be glad to have you join us. We were about to make cinnamon toast and fry up some ham to go with it. The coffee is ready. You ladies can have a cup and visit while I get the food ready. Come on in and make yourself at home.” Rusty held the door open.
“So, you’re Rusty,” Vivien said as she pushed her way inside. “I need to clean up a bit. Don’t worry about me. I still remember where everything is located in this godforsaken place.”
“In my wildest imagination I can’t see Ezra married to her,” Rusty whispered as he got down a loaf of bread and began to slather butter on each piece.
Bonnie got a slice of ham out of the refrigerator. “Her favorite men have been bikers who stick around for a few weeks or maybe even a couple of months and then they get into a big fight and we usually wind up moving somewhere else.”
“And even after you got out of school, you moved with her?” Rusty asked.
Bonnie nodded. “I hold down a job better than she does, so she needed me.”
“That’s called an enabler.” Rusty shook a mixture of cinnamon and sugar over the buttered bread and slid it into the oven.
“Well, well, ain’t this cozy?” Vivien arrived back in the kitchen. “I don’t remember Ezra ever helping me cook a damn thing. You sure ain’t related to him in anyway, Rusty.”
She wore a pair of Bonnie’s newest jeans, one of her shirts, and she’d changed out her ratty sneakers for Bonnie’s cowboy boots.
“You are welcome to take my things without asking,” Bonnie said in a saccharine tone.
“Thank you.” Vivien poured herself a mug of coffee and added three heaping spoonfuls of sugar. “I knew you wouldn’t mind. We’ll be traveling together anyway and sharing hotel rooms, so it’s not like you won’t get them back.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Bonnie reaffirmed. “Why are you going to California? You’ve always stuck around Kentucky and east Texas.”
“About two months ago, Big Ben came into the bar where I’ve been working since you left Kentucky. We hit it off.” Vivien shrugged. “And then he cheated on me. I’ve always wanted to see the ocean, and you talked about it when you was a kid, so I sold everything I had and headed this way. With what you’ll get, surely, we can get out there and rent us a trailer. We can always find a job as bartenders. Come on, Bonnie, have some sense. This damned ranch ruined my life. Don’t let it tear yours up too.”
Bonnie sat down at the table beside her mother and laid a hand on Vivien’s arm. “Mama, you need to slow down. Why don’t you stay a few days here with me and forget about California?”
Vivien jerked her arm free. “Honey, this is my life. I’ll live it the way I want to. If you’re smart, you’ll come with me and do the same. It’s exciting. Settling down ain’t in my blood. I was glad that Ezra kicked us out. I would’ve probably left him before long anyway. I damn sure wasn’t happy being here or being pregnant, and I vowed after you was born I’d never go through that again, not even to give him a son and get part of this ranch.”
“You are going to get yourself killed,” Bonnie scolded.
Vivien shook her head. “Maybe, but I’ll die happy, not withered up on a worthless ranch doing something I hate. Rusty, darlin’, if she stays with you when I leave, you just remember whose daughter she is before you go gettin’ involved with her. What the hell good could come out of me and Ezra Malloy? You just think about that.”
“I don’t believe that our heritage determines our future,” Rusty said. “Bonnie, if you’ll take a step to the side, I’ll get the toast out of the oven, and we can eat breakfast.”
“And that’s real sweet of you, Mama, to say that about me. Maybe I’ve done something you’ve never been willing to do—like change for the better,” Bonnie said through clenched teeth.
“You always were a smart-ass. Got that from your daddy,” Vivien told her. “You wouldn’t have a denim jacket around here somewhere, would you?”
Bonnie realized she would be relieved when her mother had breakfast and left. One minute she wanted to cry for her mother’s bad choices in life; the next she wanted to send her to her bedroom without supper to punish her.
“Why do you want a denim jacket?” Bonnie asked.
“They say it gets cool in the evenings in California, and I left in such a hurry that I didn’t pack a coat.” Vivien helped her plate with three pieces of toast and a big chunk of the ham slice.
“Why’d you leave so fast?” Bonnie asked and then shook her head slowly. “You took all of that biker’s money when you headed west, didn’t you? Like you used to do when I was a little girl and you got tired of living with some guy.”
“And his bag of pot and two bottles of whiskey. I drove all night to get here,” she said. “And I came to get my baby girl so I can take her to see the ocean like she always wanted.”
“No thanks,” Bonnie said. “I like the ranchin’ business too well to leave it.”
“I swear to God, she’s just like Ezra,” Vivien said.
“I can call Cooper,” Rusty whispered just for Bonnie’s ears. “After all, he is still the county sheriff until the election is over.”
Bonnie shook her head and turned her attention back to Vivien, who was eating so fast that she couldn’t have enjoyed the food. “You think Big Bill will follow you here?”
“No, he’ll just cut his losses and move in with that hussy from the bar that he’s been flirtin’ with. And it’s Big Ben, not Big Bill. Come on, Bonnie. Let’s go see whoever we need to talk to and get your money. Between us we can have a good time,” Vivien said.
“For the last time,” Bonnie said, “the answer is no.” She couldn’t help but wonder what the answer might have been a few days before if Vivien had arrived with the same offer.
Bonnie remembered the dreams again and the empty feeling she had when she left her sisters behind. She didn’t ever want to experience that in real life.
And this is your third sign, that niggling little voice in her head said. Your mother is offering you freedom. You need to make up your mind for sure about what you want, and never look back.
“Your loss,” Vivien said as matter-of-factly as if she were discussing whether or not Bonnie should have a beer or a shot of whiskey with her.
“More coffee anyone?” Rusty asked as he brought the second pan of toast to the table and sat down.
“Hey, where is everyone?” Shiloh yelled from the front door.
“In the kitchen,” Bonnie called out.
“Who’s here?” Abby Joy’s voice preceded her into the kitchen.
Vivien looked up from the table and smiled when they entered the room. “I’m Vivien, Bonnie’s mother.”
“These are my sisters, Shiloh and Abby Joy,” Bonnie said.
“Half-sisters,” Vivien corrected her. “Glad to meet y’all.”
“Same here.” Shiloh and Abby Joy said in unison.
“We were taking the morning off to run into Amarillo to grocery shop. We stopped by to see if you want to go, but since you’ve got company…” Shiloh let the sentence trail off.
“Give me time to finish eating and then I’ll be leaving. You should never miss a chance to get off this ranch, Bonnie. Even if it’s just to go for groceries,” Vivien said.
Shiloh poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. “So what brings you back to the canyon, Miz Vivien?”
“My daughter,” Vivien answered and picked up another piece of toast. “I thought she’d be tired of this place, and she’d jump at the chance to go with me to California. Maybe y’all can talk sense to her.”
Bonnie could have sworn that the look Shiloh shot her way was one of pure understanding. But how could her sister know anything about the way Bonnie and Vivien had lived? Both of them had had a fairly stable life.
“We don’t know what we’d do without her.” Abby Joy pulled up a chair and sat down. “I’m having a baby soon, and my child is going to need her aunts to be close by, and I need her to help me. I don’t know anything about babies.”
“Neither does she,” Vivien said.
“But she knows me, and she can calm me down when I get scared.” Abby Joy smiled.
Bonnie could have hugged her sister for saying that.
“And she promised she’d stay close to us even if she didn’t stay on this ranch. We’ve kind of grown to like having siblings,” Shiloh said.
Vivien glanced up at Bonnie. “You’re going to be sorry. Every evening, I’ll watch the sun set over the ocean, and you could be with me.”
“You’re playin’ a dangerous game,” Bonnie warned her. “We have lovely sunsets right here, and you can get sober and clean, maybe even learn to put down some roots like I have.”
“That ain’t for me.” Vivien shook her head. “But, honey, I’ll call and check in when I get my new job. Maybe you and your boyfriend”—she nodded toward Rusty—“can come out and visit me. You know how I hate goodbyes, so don’t follow me to the door and wave and all that crap. We’ll keep in touch. See you later.” She stood up, finished off the last swallow of coffee, and grinned. “You wouldn’t have a spare bottle of Jim Beam for me to take along on the trip, would you?”
Cowboy Strong - Includes a bonus novella Page 31