by Casey Hagen
She gave him a once over. “Boy, you have the worst poker face. Is she okay?”
He nodded. “I’m sure she will be.”
“She’s not local,” Myra said.
“No, not local,” Slade confirmed.
“She might also be a target for Cutter.”
The thought had crossed his mind a time or two on the way home. Super hero was not in his job description. She said she would look for a job to pay for the repairs of her guitar. Surely she would find a job in the next town, all things considered. At least, that’s what he told himself. “I have a feeling she’s leaving town soon enough.”
“As soon as tomorrow? Because he might get out tomorrow.”
He sighed and propped and arm on the door frame. Dead on his feet, he got to the point of it. “She’s not my problem.”
“Neither was I. Neither is Matt. And still, you help anyway.”
“I’ve got to set limits. At some point, enough is enough.”
She shrugged. “You could set the limit after helping Ryan.”
“I’m not marching a woman in here, someone Ivy could look at as a mother, just to have her walk away. She sees enough of her own mother’s back,” Slade said.
God, he was tired to the bone. Tired of being strong for everyone. Tired of having all the responsibilities heaped on him, and him alone. Tired of wondering when, not if, he was going to fail everyone.
“Fair enough,” she said.
He would have been grateful that she had let it go if she didn’t have that mischievous look in her eyes.
3
Ryan was screwed. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
She had been walking through Fort Mavis for four hours, applying to job after job, waitressing mostly. Local diners, a family restaurant, fast food restaurants, they had all eyed the bruises on her neck, the only bruises they could see, and turned her away with a shake of their heads.
For the first time in her life she understood financial struggles with every fiber of her being. She had been lucky to be raised by an excellent provider. Watching her father devote his energy to his career had taught her a solid work ethic, one that she applied to her former life as his personal assistant, and one she was trying like hell to enforce now, despite the repeated rejections. If she missed actually having a relationship with him, well, security came with a cost.
After striking out, she had to admit defeat and check out of her meager motel room. She wouldn’t be able to afford it for another night. With her duffel bag slung over her shoulder and her guitar case in hand, she pulled open the door of The Coffee Pit. In between a pizza joint and an antique store, the place looked like a trendy coffee shop she would find in D.C. A chalkboard hanging behind the counter boasted dozens of specialty coffees and a variety of baked goods.
A short, middle aged woman with dyed red hair waited behind the counter. Noreen, according to her name tag, made no secret of her examination of Ryan’s neck.
Noreen cocked her head. “Are you that girl who tangled with Cutter last night at Lucifer’s?”
Ryan raised a brow. “You heard?”
Noreen snorted. “Honey, everybody heard. Cutter has been a thorn in the side of Fort Mavis since the dirt bag hit puberty. Always had that daddy of his cleaning up his messes for him. Now that his dad is gone, his uncle seems to be inclined to do the same.”
Ryan ran her fingers over her still-tender neck. At least her voice had almost returned to normal this morning. Not that she would be singing anytime soon, not without her guitar. “Yeah, well, at least he’s in jail now.”
“For now, but that family has more money than God, and will have him out of there in no time,” Noreen said as she wiped down the counter.
Ryan couldn’t help but smile. “Noreen, you’re just full of sunshine and cheer this morning.”
Noreen shrugged. “Just keeping it real with you. You heading out of town?”
Funny, despite the events of the evening before, she didn’t really want to. For once she felt like taking her time, hanging around a while, getting to know some people. Maybe run into a handsome cowboy so she could see how those steel-colored eyes looked in the brilliant Texas sunshine. “I don’t think I have a choice. Can’t find a job. Cutter broke my guitar. Duncan stiffed me on my pay. So, I guess I’ll be using my thumb to hitch a ride. Unless, of course, there’s a job opening here?”
“Unfortunately there’s not and it’s too bad, too, ‘cause I like you. You’ve got spirit.” Noreen winked.
“Thanks for that. It’s nice to know someone sees it.”
“I only speak the truth, which is why I’m going to tell you,” Noreen pointed a finger at her, “you look like shit.”
Ryan laughed. “It hasn’t been my best week.”
“I would say not. You look like you’ve had one hell of a makeover between the neck and that eye.”
Ryan’s fingers went to her cheek automatically. “You can see it?”
“Your skin is flawless otherwise. You would have a tough time convincingly covering that.”
“Not the best impression for my job search.”
“You might have a hard time with the local businesses, but there are some ranches around here that have work; they come with a place to stay, if you’re looking to hang around.”
“My truck is here. If I had my way, I would earn the money for the repair, and then go. I would have paid it today had Duncan not stiffed me.”
“Yeah, well Duncan Travers is a damned coward. Likely, the dickless wonder is worried about how he’ll look to Cutter. If you go down Mills Street, about a thousand feet or so, you’ll end up at Mill’s Feed and Seed. They have a community bulletin board there. Some things for sale, some jobs, too. Might be worth checking out.”
“I appreciate the tip.”
“Any time. So, is there something I can get you?”
Ryan surveyed the list of gourmet coffees. “You know, I think I’ll take a toasted marshmallow and coconut iced coffee.”
“Coming right up.”
Ryan leaned on the counter and watched out the windows. Too bad there wasn’t something for her here, because it really was a cute little town; the cute cowboys, one in particular, didn’t hurt. Here it was the next day and she could still feel the swirl of his rough thumb on the inside of her wrist. Not that she was looking for a relationship, but a night of fun might be nice. With the long days and keeping up appearances working for her father, she had never let loose and had a one-night stand.
“Here you go,” Noreen said as she pushed the drink across the counter.
“How much do I owe you?”
Noreen held up a hand. “It’s on the house.”
“Thanks, Noreen. Maybe if I find something, I’ll see you around.”
She followed Mills Street, just like Noreen said, and arrived at a two-story barn-like structure with authentic clapboard siding. The white paint had started to curl in places. She climbed the wide wooden steps and smiled at the way her boots echoed on the old planks of the porch.
The front door stood open, hitched back with a bungee cord. A stooped, older gentleman nodded from his perch on an old wooden stool at the cash register.
“Good morning.” She smiled. “I’m looking for your job listings.”
He pointed a gnarled finger to a corkboard in the corner. “Right over there, Miss.”
“Thank you.” She passed a display of weed killer and pest control pellets. Right before the tool section was a rather large corkboard, at least three by six feet. Flyers for yard sales, church-sponsored spaghetti dinners, and yard services ran along the bottom of the board, hanging off, with tear-away phone numbers.
Ads pinned along the top featured ranches in the area with a list of positions they sought to fill. Some positions had been crossed out with pens. She found a couple housekeeping positions that looked like they had potential, as long as they didn’t mind her only being a short-term employee. She jotted down some numbers and tucked her pen and
notebook back in her leather purse.
She took one last glance when a poster next to the board advertising a fundraiser for The Dolan Children’s Fund caught her eye. They were calling for performers to add to the lineup for the event, almost a month away. Too bad she wouldn’t be there or she would be all for it. She took two steps and turned back. She jotted down the information and the sign-up deadline.
Just in case.
***
Slade climbed off of his horse, Satan, and turned over the reins to one of his more experienced ranch hands. “Thank you, Will. Make sure he gets a good brushing.”
“You got it, boss.” Will walked the horse to the barn while Slade headed for the house for a quick shower. The morning fog had burned off into a beautiful cloudless day with dark blue skies. Riding out to a couple of outposts to check on conditions in the first section of pasture hadn’t been a hardship, and now his workday was done. For the first time in far too long, he was taking Ivy out for some father/daughter time. He wanted to get her riding boots, maybe look at some saddles and bridles. She was seven, and at some point in the next couple weeks he wanted to find her a horse of her own.
She had been waiting patiently for a yes. She’d managed to only ask three times in six months and each time, when he said “We’ll see,” he pretended to not see her little face fall. Well, today he would light up that little face, just like he had been wanting to for the past six months.
Maybe, if he was lucky, he would find something for her before her mother stopped by for one of her impromptu visits, so when she walked away from Ivy, like she always did, Ivy would have something to focus on.
He found her in the kitchen with Myra, standing on a chair next to the counter, scooping cookie dough and dropping it in uneven lines on a cookie sheet. “Good day, ladies.”
“You’re a happy one today,” Myra said.
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s gorgeous out there and my workday is already done.”
“Breathing room has been a long time comin’ for you. You hungry? Everyone ate about a half hour ago, but there’s plenty left over. I could make you a plate,” Myra offered.
“I brought a little something with me for my ride this morning, so I’m good, but thank you.”
“You were the one who took the last piece of apple pie, weren’t you?” Myra said
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said to Myra, and then smiled and winked at Ivy.
“Uh-huh.”
“Hey, Trouble. I want you to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. You and I have some shopping to do.”
Ivy bounced on her tiny red cowgirl boots that she refused to take off. Her blonde braids swung around her shoulders. “What are we getting, Daddy?”
“It’s a surprise, darlin’. You just make sure you’re ready when I get out of the shower. And by ready I mean…?” He waited her out.
Ivy rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips. You wouldn’t know at the moment that she had any communication issues. She conveyed attitude loud and clear. “I need to make sure I go to the bathroom.”
He tugged her braid and hopped away. “That’s right. I’ll be right out.”
Forty minutes later they rolled into Fort Mavis, with the windows down and Keith Urban turned up loud. Ivy kicked her feet to the beat and sang every single word, on key.
Maybe he needed to get her into some music and singing lessons. The idea made him think of Ryan. Right, like had hadn’t thought of her all morning already. He wondered about the healing bruise she had tried to hide under heavy makeup. Was she running from a boyfriend, a husband maybe?
Slade turned down Mills Street and switched off the radio. There were a couple of trucks parked in front of Mill’s Feed and Seed. Another pickup on the side was backed up to a side door where employees loaded grain into the back. He pulled up to the front and shut off the engine.
Ivy peered up at him with wide eyes. “My surprise is the Feed and Seed?”
“Yup.”
She heaved a sigh. “Okay, but I don’t think I’ve seen anything I’ve wanted to buy in there.”
“You may be surprised, young lady.” He picked her up under one arm, hauling her in like a bag of grain, making her giggle. She was getting heavy, a reminder that she was growing fast, and before he knew it she would be all grown up and not needing her Daddy anymore. Her first seven years went by in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Slade felt old. This parenting thing was not for the faint of heart. Damn it, he hadn’t intended to be doing it alone, either. At the time he hadn’t seen the signs, but looking back, they were there. Lisa had changed her major in college five times, and then dropped out before earning a degree. She changed jobs like she changed underwear.
He’d constantly tried to make her happy. He moved to the city. He took a corporate job so she could stay home. When that wasn’t enough, they had Ivy. Lisa pretended to be happy for a while. Then he arrived home to her sitting on the couch, luggage stacked next to the door, and he knew. She was taking off. He assumed she was going to try to take Ivy.
When he told her that she wasn’t walking out the door with Ivy without first talking about when he’ll see his daughter, she looked at him and said, “I’m not walking out with Ivy at all. She’s all yours.”
That was the moment when he realized that he had failed his daughter in the biggest way possible. He had given her a mother who could walk away from her own daughter as if she was nothing more than a discarded piece of old furniture.
He would spend a lifetime trying to make it up to Ivy.
Now that they had settled into their forever home, he was starting with a horse.
He set Ivy down in front of the community bulletin board. This was always his first stop when looking for anything. He believed in supporting the local community. It didn’t hurt that this is where he’d stumbled on his ranch crew. They had been a unit at the Rambling Red Ranch when it had gone under. They advertised themselves on the board as a unit and it couldn’t have been more perfect. They were trained, they had a leader they respected, and they knew how to work together. Since then, he consulted the board before everything.
“What do you say, Trouble; should we see what we can do about putting you on a horse of your own?”
An ear-piercing squeal split the air. “Really, Daddy? Can we? Please? Can we?”
“It may not happen today, but let’s see what they’ve got.” He picked her up and hoisted her onto his hip where she could read the ads alongside him.
He turned to her to find her tapping her bottom lip with her index finger, something her mother did a lot. It took great effort to not grit his teeth. “See anything that jumps out at you?” he asked.
She turned solemn eyes on him. “What if I find two I want?”
“Ivvvyyyy,” he warned.
She sighed. “I know, I’m pushing it.”
“Hey there, Slade. Ivy,” Tony Carlton said as he tacked up an advertisement for a ranch hand. “What are y’all looking for?”
Tony owned a ranch of his own and was an expert on horses, so it couldn’t hurt to get his take, as long as Tony didn’t try to sell him on a fancy horse. Ivy was seven, and for all he knew she would lose interest over time. “We’re looking for a good horse for Ivy. Any thoughts on what’s up there?”
Tony scanned the ads and raised his eyebrows. “Well, I have to be honest with you. A couple of these are just too young for her. She needs a horse that’s trained, trained well, and has a bit of age on him. At least four years old, I would say, but you don’t want one so old that she’s going to be saying goodbye anytime soon either.”
“You mean ‘cause it’ll die?” Ivy said.
Tony’s face reddened. “Uh, yeah, I guess so. Sorry, Slade.”
Slade laughed. “No worries. Nothing gets past Ivy. You’ll get used to it.”
“Look, I have some horses at my place for sale, if you want to check them out. My housekeeper’s son, Jace, is five and he rides most of them. If
you want to take a ride out there now, I could show you what there is. No pressure. You’ll know if you find the right horse, and the right horse may not be at my place.”
“You know, I think I might just take you up on that. Let me just do something about Ivy’s footwear and we’ll head up to the Double C.”
“Sounds good.” With a tip of his hat, Tony headed for the register.
Slade leaned his forehead against Ivy’s. “What do you say; you want your own pair of cowgirl boots?”
She grabbed his cheeks, gave him a huge grin, and stared him right in the eye. “I want red ones, Daddy.”
“Of course you do, Trouble, of course you do.”
Ten minutes and over a hundred dollars later, Slade headed back through town in the direction of the Double C, Ivy sitting next to him, kicking her feet complete with shiny red boots. Ridiculously overpriced boots. He’d better have bought a week’s worth of smiles with those boots.
“Daddy, look.” Ivy pointed ahead to the railroad tracks where Ryan sat on the base of the railroad crossing arm. She had a duffel bag and guitar case at her feet, sunglasses pulled over those dark blue eyes of hers, and a large drink lifted to her lips. He could have done without the sight of her drinking from a straw, like she hadn’t a care in the world. He’d almost put her out of his mind, but with one glance he was right back at Lucifer’s, captivated by her.
“Is she homeless?”
“I don’t think so, darlin’.”
“But she might be?”
“Well, I suppose…”
“We need to help her.”
Okay, note to self, get a grip on that. It was bad enough Slade had accidentally made a habit of taking on others’ problems. He didn’t want to pass that trait on to his little girl. He wasn’t proud of what he was about to do, but… “Don’t you want to get to the Double C and see those horses?”
She crossed her arms and gave him a hard look. “Daddy.”
Somewhere along the line she had learned his look, and now she turned that shit right around on him. “Fine, we’ll see if she needs anything.”