Sitting down, she took a deep breath and said, “Hi.”
His quick glance wasn’t exactly encouraging. “Hi.”
Her appetite died. “Um...pretty cool about having a dance, huh?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I guess.” After a few seconds, he added, “I’ve never been to a dance.”
Becky gulped. “Me, neither.” She crumbled her toast over her eggs. “But Lizzie and Lena had a fight. Neither of them wants to plan it.”
He frowned. “What’s there to plan?”
Lizzie was right. Boys didn’t care. “Food. Music. Decorations.” She gathered her courage and said, “You have to help me.”
“Why me?”
Because I like you, she thought. Because I want you to like me and there are only three weeks left before I have to go home and the fairy tale ends. Before she had to return to a house crammed with junk of every description, where she lived with two women who fought all the time and cared only about themselves.
But she couldn’t say that. “Because nobody else will. Marcos and Thomas will just laugh at me if I ask them. I can’t do it by myself.”
Then he asked the hardest question of all. “Why not?”
She slapped her hands on the table. “Because then we won’t have a dance. And I’ll tell Ms. Caroline that it’s your fault because you wouldn’t help.”
He glared at her. “Is that supposed to be blackmail? What are they going to do—tie me to a horse and drag me around?”
“Please, Nate.” She didn’t have to fake tears. “It’ll be fun.”
“I doubt it.” But then he sighed. “Okay. What is it we’re supposed to do, exactly?”
“We’ll have a meeting,” she told him, grinning. “After lunch, before we go riding. Thanks!” Figuring she’d pushed him far enough, she stood up. “See you then.”
To her surprise, he flashed a grin in return. “Right.”
Taking her plate to the sink, she felt like dancing. Nate would have to talk to her if they were working together on the dance. And if they spent enough time together, he might decide he liked her more than Lizzie...maybe more than just a friend. Now she had a chance, at least.
On her way to the door, Lizzie caught up with her. “What were you talking to Nate about?”
Cornered, Becky couldn’t come up with a good excuse. “The dance.”
“What about it?”
“He’s going to help me plan it.”
Lizzie let her jaw drop. “You? You’re going to plan the dance?”
“You said you wouldn’t.” She shrugged. “Somebody has to. Or else there won’t be one.”
Eyes narrowed, Lizzie stared at her. “You’re supposed to be on my side. You’re my friend.”
“I can plan the dance and still be your friend.”
“You’re just trying to get Nate for yourself.”
Becky glanced around to check if anybody had heard her. “That’s dumb. He’s just one of the guys.” Then she said, “You can’t have them all.”
Lizzie sent her a mocking smile. “Watch me.” She sidestepped Becky and went straight to the table where Nate sat and took the chair beside him. In another minute, whatever she’d said made him laugh.
Becky slammed the bunkhouse door as she walked out.
Mr. Dylan was coming up the hill toward her. “Whoa, there. Everything okay? You look a little flustered.”
“Sometimes,” she said, “you need to fight for what you want.”
He nodded. “That’s true. If it’s worth having.” His understanding gaze didn’t seem to require more explanation. “You are as important, as valuable, as everybody else.”
“Right.” Striding toward the barn, she recalled Lizzie’s mean expression. This is war, she thought. A war for Nate’s heart.
And I’m going to win.
* * *
THURSDAY MORNING, FORD strode into the kitchen as Wyatt was finishing his breakfast. Taking off his hat, he said, “Good morning, Susannah.” Then he faced Wyatt. “Boss, I’ve got bad news.”
Wyatt put down his fork. “What’s up?”
“I just got a call from Judge Parker’s clerk. He wants to see me at ten o’clock this morning about one of my cases.” He looked at Susannah and smiled. “Not yours. Don’t worry.”
She pretended to wipe sweat off her forehead. “Thank goodness.”
“So you can’t drive me to my appointment in Casper at eleven.” Wyatt considered the other options. “Garrett’s got office hours at the church today.”
“Which leaves Dylan and Caroline to handle rodeo practice for the kids.”
“No problem.” The solution was simple. “I’ll drive myself.” After months of depending on other people to take him places, he relished the prospect of getting out on his own.
Ford made a slicing motion with his hand. “Not till you get the okay from the doctor, you won’t.”
“I’m able to drive,” Wyatt said. “I’ll make sure I wear the brace.”
“It’s not worth the liability if something happened,” the lawyer pointed out. “Driving impaired is a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
Wyatt glared at him. “I am not impaired.”
“I can drive you,” Susannah said from the sink. “I’ll be glad to.”
Before he could react, Ford clapped his hands together. “Great idea. That solves the problem. Thanks, Susannah.” In another moment, he was gone.
Finishing his breakfast, Wyatt tried to invent a good reason for leaving Susannah at home. Unfortunately, only the truth occurred to him. He’d been staying out of the house or in his room as much as possible because spending time with Susannah only made him want more—more of her company, more connection, more commitment. Even though he had no right to ask.
And no right to tell her how he felt.
Which left him without an excuse for avoiding her offer to help.
So he found himself in the passenger seat of his own truck with Amber in the back seat and Susannah at the wheel. Turning onto the county road, she glanced in his direction.
“You’re grumpy,” she said. “You don’t like being driven.”
“Not hardly,” he admitted. “How did you know?”
She gave one of her deep, rich chuckles. “You get a wrinkle between your eyebrows when you’re aggravated about something. And your mouth goes straight.”
“And here I thought I was being stoic.” He tried not to picture what his face might be doing. “Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your time. I’m just tired of being...”
“Babied? I would imagine so. You’re the caretaker, not used to being taken care of. And you’ve done a great job,” she said as they accelerated onto the interstate highway. “Ford and Garrett and Dylan are wonderful. I know you’re proud of them.”
“Sure. When they aren’t being pains in the butt.” Like Ford, today.
“Well, of course. But your parents must have been great examples for you to follow.” When he didn’t say anything, she glanced over. “There’s that wrinkle again. What’s wrong?”
He ignored the temptation to change the subject, though they were heading into dangerous territory. “My mom was sick a lot, as I told you. She was sweet and loving but not very strong.”
“Which might be why you hate depending on your brothers.”
“Ouch.”
“Just a thought.”
“My dad...” Deep breath. “He adored her. Lived for her. And he fell apart when she died. Started drinking on the night we buried her. And never stopped.”
Susannah reached across the console and set her hand over his where it rested on his thigh. “I’m so sorry.”
Wyatt didn’t move. Barely breathed. Her simple touch seemed to be such a monumental gift that he wasn’t sure
what to do, how to respond.
After a few moments, her hand returned to the steering wheel. “So you lost two parents at the same time.”
He didn’t mean to sound pitiful. “My brothers weren’t hard to handle. We took care of each other.”
“Your dad died of his alcoholism?”
“More or less. He was driving drunk and crashed his car.” There it was again, that urge to tell Susannah what he’d never confessed to anyone else. “It was my fault.”
Her startled gaze flashed across the cab. “I don’t believe you.”
“We had a fight that night. After Ford and the others were asleep. A real wrestling match with a few punches thrown for good measure. He stormed out, got in the car and...” In silence, Wyatt lifted a hand, let it fall.
“And left you believing you’re responsible for the whole family,” Susannah said, completing his sentence. “You think you owe your brothers your own life because he died that night.”
Wyatt couldn’t deny the truth. So he didn’t say anything at all. As they rode to the Casper city limits, only the growl of the truck engine and Amber’s nonsense singing over her coloring book broke the silence. He spoke up only when he had to give her directions to the doctor’s office, which Susannah followed without speaking.
In the clinic parking lot, she shut off the engine and then shifted in the seat to face him. “You’ve never told them what happened. About the fight.”
He met her serious, intent blue gaze. “No.”
“So you’ve carried that burden all these years, on your own.” She sighed. “You’re a stubborn man.”
He managed a half smile. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Mommy,” Amber piped up, “are we getting out?”
“I am,” Wyatt said. “There’s a playground just a couple of blocks over—more fun than a waiting room.”
Susannah nodded. “We’ll come back in an hour—don’t worry if you’re not finished. We won’t leave without you.”
But even though he had to endure an X-ray and then wait to talk with the doctor, he walked out of the office in less than sixty minutes, grinning like a fool. When the truck pulled up beside him, he held the hated brace over his head in one hand.
“Where’s the nearest trash can?” he asked as Susannah rolled down the window. Then he got a good look at her pale face, her shadowed eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Travis,” she said in a strangled voice. “At the playground.”
He threw the brace in the bed of the truck and leaned in the window. “Did he hurt you? Is Amber okay?”
“We’re fine. It’s just the shock. He said he followed us from the ranch. He said you h-had so much land, it was easy to watch without b-being seen.”
Wyatt glanced around the parking lot and the street alongside it but didn’t find the beat-up blue truck Bradley drove. “What did he want?”
“To talk to Amber.” Susannah squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds. “I was sitting on a bench while she played on the slide. As soon as she saw him, she ran to me and buried her face in my lap.” Her shoulders lifted on a deep, shaking breath. “He kept coaxing her to look at him. Promising treats and toys. But she wouldn’t.”
“Did he get mad?”
She nodded. “He started yelling at us, but the other mothers noticed. So he stomped off. I didn’t see where he went.”
Her hands gripped the frame of the window. Wyatt put his palms over them and found her fingers clammy and cold. With a deep breath, he tamped down on his anger, making sure he stayed calm and quiet. “Everything is okay. He won’t bother you again. This time we will tell Ford—Travis can’t keep violating that protection order.”
Opening the truck door, he offered a hand to help her down and then walked her around to the passenger seat. “Just relax,” he said as she settled in. “You and Amber are safe with me.”
He looked in on the little girl as he came back to the driver’s side. “You okay, Princess?”
Eyes wide, face solemn, she nodded. The absence of her usual saucy grin riled him almost as much as her mother’s distress.
As he drove the truck toward the interstate, Susannah put a hand on his arm. “Weren’t you going to pick up your computer at the repair shop while we were down here?”
He shrugged. “Not a big deal. I’ll come another day.”
“But it makes sense to do that now. Why waste the fuel?”
Wyatt couldn’t argue with her logic. “Okay. It won’t take but a couple of minutes.” He parked right in front of the shop window and locked the truck doors while he was inside. Bradley would not get to them again. Ever.
Mission accomplished, they headed north. He kept an eye on the rearview mirror, scanning for Bradley’s vehicle, without success.
After a few minutes, Susannah seemed to finally relax. She turned sideways, her knees drawn up on the seat. “On a more cheerful note, I take it you’re free? No more brace?”
“Free and clear.” He bent forward over the steering wheel and then sat up straight again, just because he could.
“The doctor had nothing to say about what you should or shouldn’t do now? You’re back to ‘full speed ahead’?”
“No bucking broncs,” he said with a grin. “No steer wrestling. No lifting over a hundred pounds for a couple of months. Basically he told me to use common sense.”
“That’s what has me worried,” she teased. “I gather you’re planning to ride again. Soon.”
“This afternoon, I’m thinking. Caesar has been eating himself silly in the pasture all summer. It’s time he got to work. It’s time I got back to work, took some of the load off Ford and Dylan and Garrett. They’ve got their own jobs to do. I should do mine.”
“Law, art and ministry,” she said, slowly. “They’re cowboys because you went to work on the ranch as a teenager. Then they all left to follow their dreams. But you stayed, all these years, holding the ranch and the family together. I have to wonder what your goals once were. What you wanted to do.”
When he glanced at her, he found her blue gaze intense.
“What did you dream about, Wyatt, before your world caved in?”
Chapter Six
He was silent so long Susannah began to wonder if she’d offended him by asking.
“History,” he said, at last. “Even as a kid, I loved reading books about the past.” A slight smile lifted his mouth. “Especially ancient battles.”
“Where would that have taken you?”
This pause wasn’t quite so long. “My mom and I talked about college. I thought I might teach one day. Maybe write books.” He shook his head. “As you said, just dreams.”
“Though not forgotten. You still read history.”
“When I have a chance. Just for fun.”
A possibility occurred to her. “Have you considered going to college?”
He snorted a laugh. “Not in over twenty years.”
“The world needs good teachers.” Watching him with Amber, she was sure he would be.
“The Circle M needs a full-time manager.”
But what did he need? “Is that what you really want to do? Your brothers have their own lives now—you’re not a caretaker anymore. Maybe this is the point to reconsider your goals. Your future.”
His frown should have warned her. “The ranch is my past, my present and my future. That’s all there is to it.”
“But are you happy?”
He blew out an exasperated breath. “I promised Henry MacPherson I’d take care of his land and his cattle for the rest of my life. I intend to honor that promise. Maybe it’s not what I thought I wanted when I was a kid—hell, there are plenty of days in the year I’d rather be a history teacher or a short-order cook at Kate’s Diner, anything besides going out in a cold, wi
ndy rain to take care of cattle too dumb to stay safe on their own. But that’s what I do because that’s the job.
“Whether I’m happy or not doesn’t matter one damn bit.”
Susannah sat back against her seat. “I...see.” What else had she expected? He was obviously a man for whom commitment mattered most of all. “Mr. MacPherson would be proud.”
“I hope so.”
Knowing what had happened to Wyatt when he was just a teenager, she understood his dedication to the ranch and to his brothers. Her years with Travis had sown in her an equal dedication to her children, a determination to build for them a life free of worry and of the threat of looming catastrophe. She’d brought them into this world. They would always come first. But in the last few months, she’d realized that what she wanted mattered, too. That she had to grow as a person.
After a mostly silent ride to the ranch, Susannah walked around the front of the truck as Wyatt helped Amber out of the backseat. “Give me about ten minutes,” she said in an effort at a truce, “and I’ll have some sandwiches made for lunch.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He looked up the hill toward the barn. “I think I’ll go pull that horse of mine in and give him a good brushing. Then we’ll go out for a walk.” Though he faced her, his eyes didn’t quite meet hers. “Thanks, anyway. With the good breakfast you made this morning, I’m not likely to starve.”
Amber, who hadn’t said a word since the playground, raised her head. “Can I see your horse?”
“Another time—” Susannah started.
But Wyatt crouched down to Amber’s level. “You want to meet Caesar?” When she nodded, he did, too. “Then let’s go get him.” He straightened up and held out his hand. “Come on.”
Susannah followed, watching with a smile as her daughter hopped and skipped alongside the big man in a display of the perfect trust a child should have in her father.
If this were a perfect world.
But the world wasn’t perfect. Or at least I’m not, Susannah thought. She’d made the mistake of running away with Travis, an emotional choice that had turned out badly for herself and her children. Surely, with all that had happened, she’d learned her lesson. Surely, she could use reason and logic to move her life in the right direction.
A Family in Wyoming Page 9